Village of the Branch officials weigh traffic signal compromise in historic district

After a state plan to build a larger mast-arm traffic signal in a historic part of Village of the Branch drew opposition, officials are homing in on a compromise.

Last year, the state Department of Transportation sought to replace the longtime wire-apparatus signal system with a new cantilevered, mast-arm one on the corner of Hemlock Lane and Route 25.

Village officials and local historians objected, arguing the proposed system was too large and out of character for the historic district.

The district runs along Middle Country Road and includes local landmarks such as the historic Hallock Inn and  First Presbyterian Church. It was added to the New York State and National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and features structures built between 1700 and 1850, according to the village's code.

Stephen Canzoneri, a spokesman for the state transportation department, outlined revisions to the plan in an email to Newsday.

The signal will now feature a decorative base “consistent with the historic nature of the village,” he said. The overall plan will “enhance safety while preserving the historic district’s aesthetics,” he added. 

Aesthetic tweaks

Controversy over the plan arose from a statewide effort to improve or replace outdated traffic signals, including in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The new proposal will feature two 30-foot-high poles with decorative fluted covers. The poles would be installed on both the northwest and southeast corners of Hemlock Lane, according to the agency's plans. The agency aims to replace the signal in 2026, Canzoneri said.

The decorative cover will have shallow grooves carved into the surface — a callback to Classical architecture from ancient Rome and Greece. State officials pointed to a similarly-designed base in downtown Huntington on New York Avenue near Main Street.

Village Mayor Mark Delaney said the changes look "a lot more aesthetically pleasing." 

“It certainly looks better than what they were going to do,” Delaney said in an interview. “If I had my druthers, it would be even more historical looking, but I also understand that the DOT can’t go out and customize these boom arms that they’re putting traffic signals on. That doesn’t make sense.”

The village, according to its code, established the historic district to "protect, enhance, rehabilitate and perpetuate lands, buildings and structures in the Village having a special historic aesthetic value and interest." 

Protecting historic districts

Richard Smith, the Town of Smithtown's historian and mayor of Nissequogue Village, said historic districts "are an attraction, and there is a desire from the community to protect those things.” 

The historic district has homes and buildings dating back to the 1700s and 1800s. It also includes the Epenetus Smith Tavern, where British officers visited during the American Revolution.

The state's original proposal for the traffic signal, Smith said, was "very industrial looking in scale."

"What makes [the historic district] special is a combination of the overall environment and the great prevalence of historic structures in the area," Smith said in an interview. That proposal "was very out of character with this overall history setting."

Priya Kapoor, executive director of the Smithtown Historical Society, had urged state officials to reconsider the original plan. "We appreciate the local DOT's office taking into consideration the historic nature of the area," Kapoor said in a statement.

Kapoor said the decorative fluted pole base cover and the overall design "seem more in line with the aesthetics we aim to preserve in the Village of the Branch."

"Maintaining the visual integrity of our historic district is very important to us, and any infrastructure updates that respect that goal are certainly welcome," Kapoor added.  "That said, I’ll be interested to see how the community responds and how seamlessly the proposed elements integrate with the surrounding environment once implemented."