Invest In Better Roads,

Not Obstructions

To: The Editor,

I would like to start by thanking James F Walsh of 3 N. Branch Road for his willingness to volunteer his time to our community. That said I would also like to raise my voice in opposition to his declared intent to have obstructions placed on our roadways as a means to slow traffic. I feel that doing so is a waste of taxpayer’s money, which would be better spent improving the roads by widening them and fixing the numerous blind curves and potholes.

I have lived here for over 34 years and for many of them I commuted to lower Fairfield County on the Old Newtown Turnpike, which naturally runs off 302 at Key Rock Road, across Hattertown Road, down Poverty Hollow, through Hopewell Road, the reservoirs, and on to the Parkway or I-95. My stop was in Westport where I kept my office.

Based on the traffic analysis compiled by the Police Department, it is obvious there are a large number of commuters still using that route, witness the 8,000 to 10,000 car trips a week. My suggestion is that rather than spend our money wasting a patrolman’s time or buying and installing fancy speed monitoring devices, we begin to deal with the fact that our population is growing and the roads are not.

As for Mr Walsh’s personal agenda of slowing traffic on Key Rock, which he refers to as “our road,” I can only say his road is a dead end with no traffic problem other than intersecting Key Rock as Key Rock goes from a straightaway to a hilly twisting road. He should have done a better job of studying the traffic pattern before he invested in a house in that area. His situation is like the person who buys a house on a dirt road and them complains to the town that it isn’t paved.

We live in a town where the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so I would like to ask all of those who make up the 8,000 to 10,000 trips a week to join me and write to our selectmen in opposition of road bumps and unenforceable speed restrictions. It is time we addressed the condition of our roads. Let’s fix Hattertown, Hanover, Boggs Hill, and all the other artery roads our commuters need to reach their ever more demanding jobs!

Sincerely,

Lou Reda

17 Tamarack Road, Newtown                             September 25, 2011