Sandy Hook Center—

Lyddy Seeking To Expedite Traffic Signal Improvements

By Andrew Gorosko

In light of some Sandy Hook residents’ concerns about traffic safety at a hazardous major intersection in Sandy Hook Center, State Representative Christopher Lyddy has been doing some research on improving travel conditions there.

A group of Sandy Hook residents from the Regency at Newtown condominium complex off Oakview Road earlier this month had urged the Police Commission to work to improve traffic safety at the intersection of Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, Glen Road, and Church Hill Road by installing better traffic signals there.

The Police Commission is the local traffic authority. The intersection is controlled by traffic signals that are regulated by the state Department of Transportation (DOT).

The residents are seeking to have traffic signals installed at the intersection that would provide motorists with a “protected left turn” green signal arrow when they seek to turn left from northbound Washington Avenue onto westbound Church Hill Road.

Mr Lyddy said the DOT plans to replace traffic signals at the intersection and provide the requested “protected left turn” signal for motorists.

“At this time, the signal design is complete; however, funding for construction is not in place and therefore an advertising/construction schedule has not been established,” he said through a statement.

“I will certainly be pushing this as a priority for our community,” Mr Lyddy added.

Mr Lyddy explained that due to limited funding, the DOT is setting priorities on which traffic improvement projects should be done. Until those traffic project priorities are set, it remains unclear when the Sandy Hook Center traffic signal project would be done, he said.

During the past several years, the DOT has improved traffic signals at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Queen Street, and also at the intersection of Main Street, Sugar Street, South Main Street, and Glover Avenue.

Although the four-way intersection in Sandy Hook Center is controlled by a set of traffic signals, unusual road geometries, restricted motorist sight lines, and some narrow streets tend to make it a hazardous place for some traffic maneuvers required to pass through the congested area.

The Regency at Newtown residents have said that traffic is especially difficult during the morning rush when they seek to make a left turn from northbound Washington Avenue onto westbound Church Hill Road. A brief cycle on the green traffic signal, which allows traffic to flow from Washington Avenue into the intersection, and simultaneously to flow from Glen Road into the intersection, usually results in traffic initially flowing straight from Glen Road onto Washington Avenue, thus keeping motorists on Washington Avenue from turning left onto Church Hill Road, the residents explained.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe had urged Regency residents to mail letters to Mr Lyddy to make their traffic safety concerns known.