Traffic Problems Extend Beyond Borough

To the Editor:

In response to a letter in last week’s issue, I feel compelled to comment on a waste of taxpayer money. A letter was written regarding the over $40,000 to date, spent on the Queen Street Traffic Study, and the impending costs of fixing a problem that doesn’t seem to be a problem at all. It is to be expected that there will be considerable traffic in the center of town — especially where a school and many businesses are located. I don’t understand why our tax money is spent on appeasing what seems to be one resident when the road is a “town” road that many people need to access.

This money could be better used in traffic studies where there are known problems that affect many people daily. I did not move close to a school, yet still have to deal with heavy traffic each day. The intersection of Toddy Hill Road and Route 34 is deplorable. During certain hours of the day, one can be stuck at the traffic light for ten minutes or more. The traffic on Toddy Hill Road, which is a major cut-through between Route 25 and Route 34, has a speed limit of 35 mph, yet people race up and down at 50–60 mph. And still, nothing seems to have been done to alleviate or ease this problem. But, imagine we try to reroute the traffic off Toddy Hill Road and onto Route 25 and 34 by dead-ending Toddy Hill Road or installing speed bumps? Even living off Toddy Hill I realize this is not a logical solution. But I would rather see money spent on accessing a real problem, and one whose resolution can benefit a greater number of Newtown residents.

Mary Williams

4 Longview Road, Sandy Hook   April 4, 2006