Tempers Flare Over Fishers Island Bike Path

Talks of a proposed bike path on Fishers Island had some Southold town board members seeing red Tuesday.

The board was discussing an extension of the current Fishers Island bike path, something Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said could be cost prohibitive.

Jim Richter of the town's engineering department suggested just widening the road for a specific section to allow for a designated bike path on the shoulder.

Councilwoman Louisa Evans said the concern was that widening the road would make cars go even faster, with nothing between the bicyclists and the fast-moving cars.

Evans said the goal was not to have the work done, but to get an accurate survey done.

Richter said currently, no accurate survey exists and there is no guarantee the road could be re-striped.

Two options exist, Richter said: One, a design with an eight-food wide trail, similar to what's on the East End, or two, widening the road and doing line striping. 

Russell said he would support covering the soft costs of base mapping and a survey for an extension of the bike path, to explore options and determine the least expensive course of action. The end goal, he said, would be to give continuity to the bike path on Fishers Island.

Overall, to extend the path, the cost, between public and private funding, would be $500,000, he said.

Councilman Chris Talbot responded, "You're willing to spend money to do that but you won't spend it on life-saving measures in New Suffolk?" 

Some roadways in New Suffolk are very dangerous, Talbot said, with bicyclists, including children, forced to ride in the street near the cars.

Evans said often, funds are allocated to other areas of Southold Town and not Fishers Island. "We spend a lot of money here that Fishers Island sees no part of," she said. "The residents are asking for something that benefits them."

"So it's recreation versus life-saving," Talbot said.

Russell said there was no reason the town couldn't explore both options, a Fishers Island bike path extension and safety in New Suffolk. He said the matter would be on the agenda at the next work session in two weeks, and that he would sit down with the transportation committee to see where the dangerous roads were in New Suffolk and what could be done to mitigate the problems.