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(Copyrighted and printed with permission of The Suffolk Times) Save Historic King's Highway By Freddie Wachsberger Thank you for giving Southold Citizens for Safe Roads this opportunity to respond to "Untying a Gordian knot," your editorial of Aug. 31. We appreciate your support of legislative action to limit traffic; a town's right to do so was reaffirmed by the courts in the case of East Hampton. We don't support your suggestion that a compromise agreement with Cross Sound Ferry might avoid legislation; a 20-year history of CSF's apparent disregard of its commitments to the town suggests that only a legally binding and enforceable solution will end this problem. Of course the town will be forced to defend any legislative remedy against a challenge by CSF — that's par for the course, and the people of Southold Town must not be bullied by this deep-pockets out-of-state corporation. Further, the fact that Schneider Engineering did a $2,000 parking study for SCSR is irrelevant. Engineering firms work for many entities; Dunn Engineering, for example, prepared CSF's traffic study and was also engaged by SEEDS (Sustainable East End Development Strategies). This is a critical moment in this 20-year-long issue; the grants given to CSF to upgrade its facility in New London to "take the traffic off I-95" and the inference that the ferry is considered a "state road" is most alarming. We all know what I-95 looks like; and Southold's Route 48 is, for most of its length, a "pass-through" road with two lanes in each direction. But it ends in Greenport. From Greenport to Orient, the single road, laid out in the 17th century to give the settlers access to their farms in Oysterponds, and known as the "King's Highway," is lined with historic homes and passes through the Orient National Historic District. It is also lined with farms, some of which are still being farmed by descendants of the original families, and most of which are protected through the town's various agricultural preservation mechanisms. The road was designated a N.Y. State Scenic Byway. In no way can it be conceived as an interstate highway. The communities it passes through are part of the cultural and environmental heritage of Southold Town, a heritage which supports the town's economic base of tourism, agriculture, and second homes. If "interstate" traffic is allowed untrammeled growth, the inevitable result would be an attempt to widen this road. We cannot let the Connecticut's economic engine of casinos, NASCAR racing and amusement parks destroy these historic communities which represent all that the town's initiatives, such as the purchase of open and agricultural land, the Waterfront Revitalization Program, the Coastal Management Zone, and the Scenic Byways program, are meant to preserve. If a ferry system is to be part of the interstate highway system, it should go to Shoreham, where drivers can access a four-lane road direct to a connection with 495. Regarding parking on Cross Sound's residentially zoned "trust property," please keep in mind that the entire Cross Sound terminal site is in a county-designated Critical Environmental Area, and that the potential negative impact on the environment, and particularly on the fragile aquifer, the source of our drinking water, prompted the Suffolk County Water Authority to recommend strongly against additional parking on the site as long as 15 years ago. Even the existing parking lot should never have been approved without a complete environmental review as required in such circumstances by the State Environmental Quality Review Act. This must not just be seen as available land to cover with cars; that's exactly what CEA designation is meant to guard against. The entirety of Orient Point, which includes a county park and the Orient State Park, a federally designated National Natural Landmark, demonstrates a confluence of intentions by local, state, county and federal agencies to preserve a significantly fragile environment. This is a very serious issue. Anyway, without legal controls, additional parking would not solve the problem of parking on Route 25; CSF would simply add a few more Seajet crossings and continue to overflow its site. As you say, the state should be compelled to put up "no parking" signs and they must be enforced. We realize that this is altogether a very difficult issue, but we believe it is one of the most critical for the future of Southold Town, and the Town Board deserves the support of its citizens for finally tackling it. | ||||||||
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