"Right now, it's September and not August, but if we can keep at it, maybe it begins to sink in." Deputy Mayor Roy Stevenson said that in late September about the left-turn restrictions onto Hill Street. He was describing a bet. A quiet month can teach drivers a new route, and the habit could hold when traffic comes back next year. "And when next summer comes, it would be some improvement due to people having been trained by this pilot program," he added, then called his own hope "a little bit over-optimistic."
That bet frames the whole month. October in Southampton Village is when the next season gets tested. The turn restrictions run until October 30. The first water-quality fix at Lake Agawam has produced its first numbers. Seasonal kitchens are closing up, and the fall's biggest arts programming sits on the same few blocks of Hill Street and Jobs Lane where the traffic experiment is underway.
What Changed at Hill Street
The Village Board adopted the pilot at its August 25 meeting. The resolution cites residents' reports of rising rush-hour traffic on streets south of Hill Street, which they said was hurting quality of life and safe access to their own homes. The consultant VHB recommended turn bans aimed at that residential cut-through traffic. Ryan Winter, VHB's project manager, presented the plan. Trustee Willa Bernstein argued for a physical channelizing island at Lee Avenue. The vote was 4 to 1, with Trustee Rob Coburn voting no because of uncertain costs and missing traffic data.
Here are the rules in effect through October 30, 2026:
- Halsey Neck Lane onto Hill Street: no left turns, weekdays, 3 to 7 p.m.
- Captain's Neck Lane onto Hill Street: no left turns, weekdays, 3 to 7 p.m.
- Lee Avenue onto Hill Street: no left turns, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The weekday restrictions don't apply on holidays the Village recognizes.
At Halsey Neck and Captain's Neck, cones go up and come down each day. At Lee Avenue, the channelizing island Bernstein argued for is now in place, which is why that turn is closed around the clock.
One detail has caused some confusion. The Southampton Village Police Department's notice reads "NO LEFT TURNS PERMANENT FROM LEE AVE." The Board's adopted resolution says something different. It makes the Lee Avenue restriction part of the temporary pilot and tells the Board to decide afterward whether any of it becomes permanent. It also lets the Police Chief end the pilot early for safety reasons. As of today, no permanent decision has been made.
The Early Read Cuts Both Ways
Coburn voted against the pilot, and he also gave the first progress report, a little over a week in. His update was mostly positive. He saw "decreased use of the southern entries onto Hill Street" and none of the "day one, day two disorder" he said had happened at every other village pilot in recent years. He also reported more speed on Hill Street and more U-turns on Hill Street and nearby side streets.
So the cut-through traffic south of Hill Street is down, and the cost has shown up on Hill Street itself. The Village's Fall 2026 newsletter says the same thing more generally. It describes rush-hour drivers coming from the east and cutting through side streets, and it warns that turn restrictions can push traffic somewhere else. In July, the Board tried a different experiment that closed Ox Pasture. Residents praised that closure and asked for the Lee Avenue and Captain's Neck turn restrictions to come back, which tells you where this pilot came from.
The Fall Calendar Sits on the Same Blocks
This matters beyond commuting because several of the village's fall cultural venues are inside the pilot zone or a short walk from it.
- Thursday, October 8. The 34th Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs October 2 through 12, screens at Southampton Playhouse, 43 Hill Street. The venue has parking. On the same evening, the Village Board holds a public hearing on a proposed local law to ban household garbage from public trash cans. The Parks Department raised the issue after finding more household trash in cans in the business district and at village beaches.
- Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11. HIFF returns to Southampton Playhouse for its last Southampton weekend.
- Monday, October 12, Columbus Day. Tutto Il Giorno, 56 Nugent Street, lists Columbus Day as its last day of the season. Until then, its fall hours are dinner Thursday through Monday from 5 p.m. and lunch on weekends from noon to 3 p.m. It is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- Friday, October 30. The Hill Street pilot is scheduled to end, and the Board is directed to evaluate whether to make it permanent.
- Saturday, October 31. Oktoberfest ends at Shippy's, 36 Windmill Lane. It started September 21 and features German specialties, plus a free draft beer or draft wine for guests who come in a dirndl or lederhosen.
- Through Sunday, December 27. East End Collected 9 at Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, shows the work of nearly 30 artists. Gallery hours are Friday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Also nearby, the Parrish Art Museum's "Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today" runs through February 14, 2027. The galleries close Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the grounds stay open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SouthamptonFest has also come and gone. It opened with an October 2 kickoff, held its main day on October 3, and kept October 4 as a rain date. The festival took over Agawam Park on Jobs Lane with a chowder contest and live music, and a farmers market ran at 76 Main Street.
If you're heading to a weekday HIFF screening or leaving a Jobs Lane gallery and driving south toward the water, the restriction times matter. The 3 to 7 p.m. window applies Monday through Friday, so the Saturday and Sunday screenings fall outside it at Halsey Neck and Captain's Neck. The Lee Avenue left stays closed every day.
Lake Agawam Is Running Its Own Pilot
At the south end of Agawam Park, the lake has its own experiment underway. On August 20, Dr. Chris Gobler of Stony Brook University spoke at an event hosted by the Lake Agawam Conservancy, where he serves as scientific advisor. He reported an overall downward trend in microcystin, blue-green algae, and total algae since 2018. Levels have moved around from year to year, but every year since 2020 has come in below 2018 and 2019.
The newer development is a permeable reactive barrier installed this spring in Doscher Park, at the lake's northern end. Gobler called the first data "spectacular." The barrier had removed more than 80 percent of the nitrates from groundwater flowing through it. It works as an injection well loaded with a carbon source, which lets bacteria already in the groundwater turn nitrate into harmless nitrogen gas.
The second piece is an algae harvester that skims algae and returns cleaned water to the lake. At Gobler's August talk it was still being installed, and we haven't found a public update since.
A longer-range project is also moving forward on Windmill Lane, the same street as Shippy's. The Village is still seeking funding for a downtown sewer system that would serve 254 properties, with a treatment facility proposed at Lola Prentice Memorial Park. The estimated cost is $64 million. As of September, design, permitting, and funding were all still in progress.
Who Keeps Cooking After Columbus Day
When Tutto Il Giorno closes for the season, the village's off-season food map gets smaller. Red Horse Market at 120 North Sea Road is the clearest year-round option. The company says both its Southampton and East Hampton stores are open every day, all year. Southampton hours are 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The store held its grand opening on November 15, 2025. Fran and Martha Pineda own it, and their sons Christian and Anthony manage the stores. Executive chef Joseph Genna runs the kitchens at both locations.
Several other places currently post daily hours, though none of them promise year-round service:
- Citarella, 20 Hampton Road: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The hot bar closes at 5:30 p.m. and the soup bar at 7:30 p.m. Citarella has state approval for a liquor store next to the market. The approval coverage didn't give an opening date.
- 75 Main, 75 Main Street: 8 a.m. to midnight.
- Le Charlot, 36 Main Street: noon to 10:30 p.m.
- Sant Ambroeus, 30 Main Street: noon to 10 p.m.
These hours are what each business posted as of early October, and fall schedules change. Stevenson's Toys & Games is a useful reference point. Roy and Polly Stevenson have run it since buying it in fall 2001, and it stays open all year while some village shops close for the off-season.
What the Board Decides Next
The Board now has data on the Hill Street pilot: fewer cars on the southern lanes, faster traffic on Hill Street, and more U-turns, collected in a month with lighter traffic than August. It also has the question of whether to keep the Lee Avenue island, which is already built. Next summer's afternoon drive home depends on that call. The Board meets in public, and the Village posts its minutes on southamptonvillage.gov.
At Mala Sander+Team, we keep track of decisions like the one coming on Hill Street because they change how a street works and what it feels like to own a home on it. If you want our candid take on what the pilot's outcome could mean for the lanes south of Hill Street, let's connect.