Flanders Road rest stops planned to become ‘text stops’

Two rest stops on Flanders Road may soon become designated “text stops,” reports 27east. The stops would be in memory of Barbara Tocci of Hampton Bays, who was killed in a car accident in 2014 when a utility truck hit her car while she was on her way to work on Route 24.

The suggestion was made two years ago at a town hall meeting by Tammy Olsen, a Flanders resident. Ron Fisher—who owns Fisher Signs & Shirts in Southampton and is also the president of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association—plans to donate the signs.

The rest stops that sit on the Hampton Bays-Flanders border are owned both by Suffolk County and New York State—meaning there’s more legislation to go through before any final decisions can be made. The current issue at hand is the design of the signs and approval of installation.

The goal is to encourage drivers to practice safe driving and remind them not to text. This provides a space for them to pull over to read or compose a text, rather than doing it while driving.

• Flanders Rest Stops Could Be Designated Text Stops Soon [27east]