Impeding Traffic On Queen Street Is Not In The Public Interest

To the Editor:

I had the pleasure of participating in the March 16 tour of the Queen Street and Glover Avenue area related to the Newtown traffic study. I must say I was impressed with the professionalism and openness of Mr Hua, the Vollmer Associates consultant who responded to the attendee’s questions and comments during the tour.

Since that time there has been a lot of banter back and forth between Robert Geckle on Queen Street verses Bruce Walczak on Glover Avenue. Reflecting on the issues, and as a resident of Glover Avenue (close to the intersection of Queen and Glover), I am inclined to agree with Mr Walczak’s position. In my opinion, traffic on Queen Street should not be impeded; but rather, the roadway should be improved to safely handle a higher volume of traffic.

The southern-most part of Queen Street is not a quiet, country road in the woods. This section of roadway is an integral, important traffic artery connecting Wasserman Way to the central, commercial borough district. It is also the preferred and most direct route for school buses traveling between Newtown High School, Reed Intermediate School, and Newtown Middle School. To my way of thinking, sound traffic engineering would indicate that this section of Queen Street should be improved to the standards of a major collector roadway, similar to northern Queen Street and Glover Avenue. This might include widening, regrading, drainage improvement, smooth resurfacing, and possibly signalization at Wasserman Way for increased safety purposes.

To impede traffic on southern Queen Street would be a disservice to the general public as it would exacerbate present traffic volume and congestion problems on Glover Avenue and Church Hill Road (Route 6), particularly during school session. Glover Avenue presently handles a far greater volume of traffic than southern Queen Street, and this is a residential street as well. Additionally, impediment of traffic on southern Queen Street may have serious ramifications for emergency response personnel, inclusive of fire, ambulance, and police.

In closing, I do not feel that any proposal which impedes or restricts traffic on southern Queen Street is in the public interest. The public will be better served by improving this section of Queen Street to a traffic collector standard so that it can safely handle its proper and fair volume of traffic to the center business district.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with the readers of The Bee in this regard, and I encourage all interested in this traffic study to attend the workshop scheduled for May 4 (7 to 9 pm, Conference Room, Town Hall South).

Sincerely,

Michael C. Holmes

16 Glover Avenue, Newtown                                        April 26, 2006