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Southold Gas Station and Convenience Store back with tweaked traffic plan

The applicant for a proposed gas station and convenience store at the intersection of Youngs Avenue and Route 48 tweaked a traffic study to better represent summer traffic. Representatives of Southold Gas Station & Convenience met with the Southold Planning Board Monday night. 

Steven Schneider of Schneider Engineering said the original traffic study took place in November, but many residents had issues at earlier public hearings with that because it did not account of the heavy traffic in summer months.

Originally, Mr. Schneider said he was using about a 2 percent increase in traffic for the summer seasons from November, but added on another 6 percent to better reflect summer conditions.

The proposal includes converting an existing 3,476-square-foot building into a convenience store and gas station with 12 fueling stations and 29 parking spaces, according to a town document.

The proposal was met with disdain from community members at public hearings in the past, citing major concerns about traffic safety. A few supported the idea, saying there aren’t many fueling options along Route 48.

The entrance is also moved about 20 feet west on Route 48 than on the first application, and about 30 feet farther away from the Youngs Avenue intersection in an effort to make it safer.

“We think this makes it better,” attorney Charles Cuddy said.

“From a traffic safety standpoint, you always try to make the curb cuts as far away from the intersection as possible,” Mr. Schneider said.

He also added that this type of gas station will not be attracting many newcomers. It will focus on people who are already out and passing by so there shouldn’t be a notable increase in traffic.

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Photo caption: The site of the proposed gas station in Southold. (Kelly Zegers photo)