Project Delayed—

Raised Crosswalks Planned For Queen Street, Glover Avenue

By Andrew Gorosko

The town plans to install two raised crosswalks near Newtown Middle School after Labor Day to test the practicality of such devices, which are intended to both slow traffic and to make its safer for pedestrians, especially students, to cross the street in the congested area.

The town had initially planned to have the two raised crosswalks in place before school resumed for the 2008-09 academic year on August 27, but delays, including resolving a stormwater drainage issue, have resulted in the construction starting later than planned, said town Public Works Director Fred Hurley.

The two devices should be installed by mid-September, he said. Raised crosswalks are among a range of devices used for “traffic calming,” which is a set of methods designed to have motorists reduce travel speeds in a given area.

One raised crosswalk is planned for Queen Street, near Newtown Middle School, just south Queen Street’s intersection with Lorraine Drive. That raised crosswalk would replace a nearby existing painted crosswalk on Queen Street.

The other raised crosswalk is planned for Glover Avenue, just east of Glover Avenue’s intersection with Meadow Road. There is no crosswalk in that area.

Mr Hurley said the town needs to resolve a potential stormwater drainage issue near the Glover/Meadow intersection before installing the raised crosswalk there. That raised crosswalk would be the first of the two such devices to be installed, he said.

Unlike conventional painted crosswalks, which consist of painted white lines on an asphalt surface, the new devices will be elevated above the road surface.

The raised crosswalks would be constructed of segments of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a rugged plastic that withstands the rigors of traffic flow.

The devices function as both crosswalks and as broad speed bumps, known as “speed tables,” which are designed to slow the flow of traffic.

The raised crosswalks would be elevated three inches above the road surface. The crosswalks would be six feet wide and be positioned on the flat surface of the structure. Ramps, each of which are 3½ feet wide, would allow vehicles to roll up onto the flat surface and then roll down off that flat surface, Mr Hurley said.

The ramps along the edges of the raised crosswalks will be painted yellow to make the devices highly visible. Street signs will be posted to make motorists aware that they are approaching raised road surfaces, he said.

“This is an experiment,” Mr Hurley said of the local use of raised crosswalks. If the devices are shown to be practical and effective, such traffic calming measures might be employed elsewhere in town, as needed, he said.

Part of the experiment involves learning the practicality of raised crosswalks during wintertime conditions amid snowplowing activity, he said. Because the devices are bolted to the pavement, they could be removed, if necessary.

A possible alternative to raised crosswalks would be the use of “distinctive crosswalks,” Mr Hurley said. Although such crosswalks are not elevated above the roadway’s surface, they are distinctively colored and/or textured to differentiate the crosswalk from the roadway.

The planned installation of raised crosswalks on Queen Street and Glover Avenue follows repeated urgings from nearby residents that the town take steps to better control traffic in that congested area near Newtown Middle School.

Noting that installing raised crosswalks has high symbolic value in terms of the town addressing those public concerns, Mr Hurley said, “We’re hoping it will transition from symbolic to practical.”

State law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians standing in crosswalks.

On August 6, following a public hearing, the Legislative Council approved a town ordinance on traffic calming. In the ordinance, the council designated the Police Commission as the local agency responsible for traffic calming measures. The Police Commission is the local traffic authority.

The traffic calming ordinance provides the town with a legal foundation for pursuing traffic calming projects.