Town Center Traffic Plan Slated For Public Session

By Andrew Gorosko

Residents interested in learning how the town may better control the growing traffic volume in the town over the next 20 years, will have an opportunity to hear expert opinion on the topic when the Borough Board of Burgesses convenes a public session next week on the Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan.

The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Tuesday, December 19, at Booth Library at 25 Main Street.

The 29-page traffic plan, which largely covers traffic flow within the borough, lists a wide range of recommendations on how the town center’s growing traffic volume can best be managed approaching the year 2026, focusing on the reconfiguration of several major intersections, including the Main Street flagpole intersection.

Vollmer Associates, LLP, of Hamden produced the traffic plan for the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO), on behalf of the town. The $49,000 study’s cost was split between the town and HVCEO, which is the regional transportation planning agency.

Following public comment on the traffic plan, town officials would set road improvement priorities and apply for grants to be used toward specific improvements.

The consultants investigated existing traffic problems in order to recommend various improvement options for Queen Street, Glover Avenue, Church Hill Road (Route 6), Main Street (Route 25), Mile Hill Road (Route 860), and Commerce Road.

Excluding a proposed extension of Commerce Road to Wasserman Way, the total estimated cost of the proposed road improvements is $1.89 million. Funding would come from local, state, federal, and private sources. Cost estimates are based on 2006 prices. More than half of the improvement costs may be available from state and federal sources.

In the draft report, Vollmer recommends that the triangular intersection of Queen Street and Glover Avenue be reconstructed as a modified “T” intersection, with a southbound right-turn bypass lane provided on Queen Street, plus the installation of associated crosswalks and traffic signs. Each leg of the three-way intersection would have a stop sign. Motorists who are entering westbound Glover Avenue on the bypass lane from southbound Queen Street would be required to yield.

The report also recommends a reconfiguration of the flagpole intersection at the junction of Main Street, Church Hill Road, and West Street. The proposed changes would include the installation of traffic signals and an alteration of traffic patterns.

The traffic plan also suggests the extension of Commerce Road to Wasserman Way to create a local north-south connector road.