Following the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's announcement that it will cut service, Long Island Assemblyman Fred Thiele is pondering legislation that calls for a public referendum on the creation of a Peconic Bay Transportation Authority.

The MTA is proposing LIRR service cuts that would save $6.3 million this year.If approved, the legislation would authorize the five East End towns to put a question on the ballot during the next general election asking if voters support the formation of a Peconic Bay Transportation Authority to replace the MTA on the East End, according to the Southampton Press.

The referendum would not be binding, but it would gauge public interest in the issue. The MTA last week announced that it is prepared to cut almost all train service to the North Fork, along with one peak train from Jamaica to Montauk. All told, the proposed Long Island Rail Road cuts would save the MTA $6.3 million in 2010 and $11 million in 2011. 

In other East End news, Sen. Kenneth LaValle held an environmental summit last week, which focused on protecting the Environmental Protection Fund from disproportionate cuts. Click here for the full story.