Police Commission Addresses Queen Street Traffic Woes

By Andrew Gorosko

In response to Queen Street residents’ complaints that the volume, speed, and noise of traffic on that road in the town center poses public safety and quality-of-life problems, Police Commission members have listed steps to be taken to improve the situation.

The north-south Queen Street links Church Hill Road to Wasserman Way. Queen Street parallels Route 25. The northerly section of Queen Street contains a commercial district and Newtown Middle School. The southerly section is residential.

Katherine Geckle of 35 Queen Street told Police Commission members November 3 that many school buses ply Queen Street in traveling between Newtown Middle School and Reed Intermediate School, posing traffic problems.

Matthew Murphy of 54 Queen Street said that traffic on the street is so intense and dangerous that it is difficult for families to walk there with children.

Peter McLean of 27 Queen Street said his prime concern is the speed of vehicles using the road, in view of the children who live there.

Queen Street residents also had met with the Police Commission in October to detail their traffic concerns. The commission serves at the town’s traffic authority.

Police Commission Chairman Carol Mattegat on November 3 suggested that the town construct sidewalks on the southern, residential section of Queen Street. The northern section of the road has sidewalks.

Many motorists use Queen Street as a link to Wasserman Way, Ms Mattegat noted. The state built Wasserman Way in the late 1990s to create a major east-west connector road linking Route 25, Interstate 84, and Route 34. Wasserman Way is an improved version of the former Mile Hill Road.

Police will redouble their speed-control efforts on Queen Street, Ms Mattegat said.

Queen Street already receives heavy speed monitoring by police, Police Chief Michael Kehoe noted.

“It’s a multifaceted problem, a regional problem,” Chief Kehoe said of increasing traffic volumes on local roads. The proximity of Wasserman Way to Queen Street likely has increased Queen Street’s traffic volume, he said. The town’s population growth and consequent motor vehicle growth has increased traffic markedly, he said. Many motorists use Queen Street to avoid the problems posed by the problematic flagpole intersection of Main Street, Church Hill Road, and West Street, he said.

Chief Kehoe said that extending the currently dead-end Commerce Road to Wassermann Way would relieve some of the traffic pressure on Queen Street. But such a long-term solution would be costly, he added.  

A short-term solution would involve reminding Queen Street businesses to efficiently plan their deliveries to minimize truck traffic on Queen Street, he said. Also, town police will heighten traffic enforcement on Queen Street, he said. Signage barring through-truck traffic can be improved, he said. Also, the town can post larger “speed limit” signs on the street, he added.

Certain design changes could be made to the street, but such changes would have to be studied carefully to ensure that they do not create some other traffic problems, he said.

A recent traffic study of Queen Street found that the road handles between 5,500 and 6,000 vehicles daily on Mondays through Saturdays, and 3,500 vehicles on Sundays, he said.

Chief Kehoe said he had expected that traffic flow on the road would be about 3,000 to 4,000 vehicles daily, noting that traffic flow has grown significantly on the street.

Police Commission members pointed out to Queen Street residents at the November 3 session that other local roads also handle large traffic volumes.

Ms Mattegat told residents that police will step up their traffic enforcement on Queen Street. She urged the residents to discuss with the Board of Education the problems that are posed by school bus traffic on the street. Also, she urged the residents to discuss with the first selectman the possibility of constructing sidewalks on the southerly, residential section of the street.