Safety Vs Annoyance—

Crosswalk Use Reviewed

By Andrew Gorosko

In light of comments from a Glover Avenue couple, whose home is next to the site where the town recently had a temporary raised crosswalk in place, the Police Commission is reviewing the negative aspects of such “traffic calming” devices, which are intended to both slow traffic and also to provide a safe place for pedestrians to cross the street.

Patricia and Robert Kubit of 11 Glover Avenue attended the January 5 Police Commission session to state their concerns about the negative effects of raised crosswalks. The Police Commission is the local traffic authority.

In an experiment, the Police Commission endorsed having raised crosswalks installed both on Glover Avenue at its intersection with Meadow Road and on Queen Street in front of Newtown Middle School. The portable rubber devices were in place for about a month, from early November until early December, when they were removed by the town to prevent them from impeding wintertime snowplowing.

A raised crosswalk also was in place in the fall of 2008 on Glover Avenue. It was removed after a snowplow blade damaged it.

The Police Commission chose those locations for the raised crosswalks to aid the schoolchildren in the area who walk to and from the middle school. The commission has been considering whether the town should create permanent versions of raised crosswalks made from durable road construction materials.

Mr Kubit told commission members said that during the two test periods for a raised crosswalk on Glover Avenue, “The noise has been terribly annoying to us.” That noise is created by the slowing and then the acceleration of motor vehicles that encounter the raised crosswalk, he said.

The device consists of a broad speed bump, known as a speed table, upon which crosswalk markings are placed.

At times, the noise created by slowing traffic and by accelerating traffic caused his nearby house to rattle, Mr Kubit said. “The noise generated by the traffic is very annoying,” he added.

He urged the commission to devise some other plan to serve its traffic control goals.

Mr Kubit said that an existing portable plastic sign placed in the center of Glover Avenue, which warns motorists of the presence of an existing conventional painted crosswalk there, does not pose problems. That sign reminds drivers that state law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians who are standing in crosswalks.

Mr Kubit noted that when a raised crosswalk is present, it is in place 24 hours a day, but pedestrians only use it sporadically.

He urged commission members to consider the interests of people who live near raised crosswalks when such devices are employed for traffic control.

Ms Kubit noted that the presence of a raised crosswalk in front of her home made its difficult to back vehicles out of her driveway.

Mr Kubit added that while backing out of his driveway, he almost collided with passing vehicles on two occasions.

Police Commission member Bruce Walczak, who lives at 12 Glover Avenue, which is diagonally across the street from the Kubits, said that a police traffic study has shown that the recent presence of raised crosswalks reflected an insignificant change in the number of vehicles using the roads in the area. Police had conducted a traffic study to learn whether the presence of raised crosswalks would divert motorists from the area.

“We did say that the raised crosswalk [installation] was a test,” Mr Walczak said.

Police Commission Chairman Duane Giannini explained that at a past commission session, members of the public had asked that a conventional painted crosswalk be created on Glover Avenue at its intersection with Meadow Road to aid schoolchildren walking to and from the middle school.

Mr Giannini noted that the raised crosswalk project amounted to a test of the devices. “Certainly, it was an experiment,” he added.

“We understand the issues… Going forward, we’ll be very careful with what goes there…We’ll be looking at other options. I can promise you that,” he said.

Mr Kubit recommended that the Police Commission leave traffic control situation on Glover Avenue in front of his some as it now stands, with a portable plastic sign in the center of the road noting the presence of a conventional painted crosswalk there.

Mr Giannini said the commission would seek a traffic control solution that balances the issues of public safety with the concerns of nearby residents.

Commission members have been considering installing electronic signs near crosswalks that would allow a pedestrian to push a switch which would trigger a flashing signal alerting motorists that a pedestrian wants to use the crosswalk.