A Dead-End Queen Street?

To the Editor:

A few weeks ago a number of interested citizens joined Vollmer Associates to provide them with input on area traffic problems, as was well reported in The Newtown Bee. This walk was intended to allow residents to show Vollmer Associates, the consultants conducting the Area Traffic Study, the problems present in the traffic study area.

Unfortunately the tour was originally limited to Southern Queen Street, according to Vollmer because of the limited study budget. Only after questions and some pressure as to why the rest of the study area was being ignored was Glover Avenue included, still only a small part of the study area.

Vollmer needs all of our input. Over the last two weeks Bob Geckle, the spokesperson for Queen Street, has circulated two private letters to the residents of Queen Street asking them to write Vollmer Associates with their input. He suggested which issues might be addressed in their letters, such as neckdowns at the entrance to Queen Street off Wasserman, speed bumps, one-way traffic, local traffic only, and changes to the intersection at Glover and Queen Street.

The traffic study impacts the entire town. Effectively closing Queen Street to traffic entering the shopping area should be of interest to the 5,900 daily drivers on Queen, and to the other 37,000 drivers who use Glover and Church Hill Road. It is important that the rest of town speak up. This study will make recommendations that will be relied on for the next 20 years. Do we really want Vollmer to recommend eliminating one of the major routes into town without any comment from the rest of us?

Yes, there will be a public input meeting held on May 4, at 7 pm, in the lower level of the Police Station. However, by that time the decisions may have been made. In fact, a month prior to the walk of the traffic area, Vollmer Associates had already drawn up computer blueprints for the recommendation to effectively dead-end Queen Street and closing it as a viable route into town. One has to wonder whether the decisions have already been made or do the citizens of Newtown get a vote on this important issue?

Please write or email Vollmer Associates or write your own letter to the residents of Newtown through The Newtown Bee so that your voice may be heard: Kermit Hua, Vollmer Associates LLP, 2321 Whitney Ave., Hamden CT 06518-3510, whua@vollmer.com, Fax: 203-281-1470.

Bruce W. Walczak

12 Glover Avenue, Newtown                                       April 10, 2006