Residents aren't aboard with LIRR East End plan

(10/08/07) SOUTHAMPTON ? As a program designed to alleviate East End traffic congestion comes to an end, some residents say the Long Island Rail Road must do more to help commuters. On Oct. 12, a temporary

News 12 Staff

Oct 8, 2007, 10:52 PM

Updated 6,188 days ago

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(10/08/07) SOUTHAMPTON ? As a program designed to alleviate East End traffic congestion comes to an end, some residents say the Long Island Rail Road must do more to help commuters.
On Oct. 12, a temporary second lane created along Route 39 to ease summer vacation traffic will be removed, and drivers are already dreading a return to the morning bottleneck that for years has created massive daily delays.
In preparation of the lane removal, the LIRR has added six trains from Speonk to Montauk. But residents say the additions aren?t nearly enough. Some critics say the schedules of the added service just don?t make sense.
?There?s one train that arrives in Southampton at 8:58 in the morning, making it impossible for 9-to-5 workers to get to work on time,? says Peter Haynes of the LIRR Commuters Campaign. ?And then on the reverse, there?s a train that leaves at 5:05, which is again not convenient to people who get out of work at 5 o?clock.
A spokesman for the LIRR says despite having only a single track on the Montauk branch, the organization is going to nearly double service.
Southampton leaders are also planning to add extra bus service to ease the commute, a program called the South Fork Commuter Connection. The new mass transit service will run from Oct. 23 to May 22.
Related information: Southampton Town Online Town of East Hampton Long Island Rail Road