'Solving' the Traffic

It’s not fair to suggest that the last two weeks, when Southampton Town, with Suffolk County’s blessing, tested some various strategies for managing the flow of traffic westward in the afternoon rush hours, will be enough to “solve” anything. This is a Gordian knot, but Charlie McArdle is no Alexander the Great, sword in hand, ready to cut the snarl free. At best, the town’s highway superintendent is diligently picking at various parts of the heap, hoping to loosen it a tiny bit.

Suffolk County officials were active participants this time, which is helpful, and they will be sitting down with McArdle in the coming weeks to discuss the survey data they collected. It surely will offer examples of both successes and failures — and the failures can be just as informative, in the long run, as the successes.

The key to the next few weeks is that McArdle’s persistence in experimenting continues to keep the county officials’ attention. For the past few years, they’ve been willing to occasionally allow a few cones here, a flashing light there. This was more comprehensive — and, more importantly, they were not just permissive, they were supportive. They participated in the two-week trial run, and with luck they’ll keep being active participants in the conversation about what’s next. Unfortunately, now it’s time to talk money — and that tends to grind the conversation to a halt.

Volume remains the issue. The various “cops and cones” efforts are designed to manage the volume, to move it from lane to lane and coax it through slower intersections. But managing volume has limitations. Changing traffic patterns is a fluid undertaking, and “solving” one problem here can create a more serious backup elsewhere.

That was clear both weeks. The changes along County Road 39 west of North Sea Road appeared to be successful in moving the westbound traffic through the region more efficiently; the statistics, once they’re released, are likely to back up that perception. (McArdle said preliminary counts showed the highway moving 50 percent more vehicles through than on a typical weekday.)

However, to the east, the ripple effects were significant. The arteries were clear, but the capillaries remain clogged. The patient is improving, slightly, but isn’t out of the woods.

It highlights another overarching consideration: All of this discussion, about more swift and free-flowing rush hours, ignores the simple fact that too many vehicles in too tight a location are bound to lock up. Building more roads or adding more lanes won’t solve the problem, because every traffic engineer will point out that expansions are overwhelmed within a shockingly short period of time. Too many vehicles is … too many vehicles.

Any serious conversation about “solving” the traffic dilemma on the South Fork has to include a discussion of addressing that core problem. Whether it’s individuals in cars or workmen in trucks, there simply are too many at certain times of day and evening. The result will be slowdowns and occasionally gridlock. The only answer is to remove them.

There must be more discussion about those three lanes of traffic heading east and west over the Shinnecock Canal — that’s it, three lanes — being better managed. That means more people-moving options. One bus can take the place of a dozen or more vehicles; one train, which already has infrastructure in place, can do even better. They are not the answer, but they have to be part of the answer.

The South Fork Commuter Connection was a big swing, and it’s had modest success — but it has the benefit of being up and running already. Southampton and East Hampton town officials need to join with Suffolk County and have a substantive conversation with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority about innovative ways to build on its success. Scoot trains that run shorter distances? Electric cars parked at stations for people to use once they get east of the canal? It all should be on the table.

And, yes, it’s no longer trolling to suggest that congestion pricing could play a role moving forward. Perhaps plate readers and electronic toll takers can bring in a steady income that would help with that aforementioned money conversation, funding the police and highway workers that are needed to implement a few effective traffic management solutions at peak hours of the day. The timing of the tolls could encourage motorists to reschedule their days to avoid peak travel times. The success of the program in Lower Manhattan suggests it’s not crazy to think it might work elsewhere, or here.

For now, as Memorial Day approaches, the roads will go back to their dysfunctional routine state. If this summer is anything like last, or worse, it will be easy to see what “drowning in traffic” looks like. Grab a life vest.