Resident Brings Traffic Concerns To Police Commission

By Andrew Gorosko

In response to a resident’s concerns about local traffic hazards, the police chief has urged that residents organize a public drive to build broad support for improved travel safety.

 Speaking at a November 7 Police Commission session, Deborra Zukowski of 4 Cornfield Ridge Road told commission members that she is concerned about the number of motor vehicle accidents that occur locally. She urged that commission members address the travel hazards that are posed by local “poorly engineered roads.” The Police Commission is the local traffic authority.

Sections of Castle Hill Road, Boggs Hill Road, and Toddy Hill Road exhibit poor road engineering, Ms Zukowski said. The section of Castle Hill Road near King Street is especially hazardous due to a steep slope and difficult curve there, she noted. Ms Zukowski’s home is in the vicinity of that road section where there are often motor vehicle accidents during wet or snowy conditions.

Poorly engineered roads leave motorists with little room for error while driving on them, Ms Zukowski said. She urged that motorists keep their speed down to prevent accidents.

The town should identify local poorly engineered roads and then seek state funding to improve them, she said.

Ms Zukowski, who is a computer engineer, said she is seeking to analyze local accident records to better understand the problem.

Police Commission member Robert Connor, Jr, said the quality of the engineering that went into the construction of locally hazardous road sections may not actually be the issue, noting that those road sections were likely simply cowpaths that were eventually paved over without the benefit of road engineering.

Chief Kehoe said the town has identified locally hazardous road sections. It is costly to redesign and reconstruct roads, he added. There are limited funds available for road improvements, he said.

Most of the accidents that occur on Castle Hill Road near King Street do so because motorists drive too fast there when the road is wet, he said.

Chief Kehoe urged that Ms Zukowski and others concerned about the frequency of traffic accidents to organize a “grassroots action” that would lobby the government to address their issues.

Also at the November 7 Police Commission session, Lisa Floros of 32 Queen Street expressed concern over an October 17 hit-and-run accident on Queen Street, near Borough Lane, in which an 8-year-old boy was injured by a motorist who then drove off.

Police are investigating that accident.

Ms Floros urged that the new town government, which is slated to take office on December 1, continue working to improve traffic conditions along Queen Street.

During the past several years, residents’ concerns about traffic problems in the town center, and especially along Queen Street, have been a focus of much Police Commission attention. The town commissioned the recent Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan to address those issues.