Police Commission Action—

Queen St. Speed Bumps OK’d, Flagpole Changes Opposed

By Andrew Gorosko

Following discussion of the Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan, Police Commission members this week endorsed a proposal to install three speed bumps on the southern section of Queen Street to reduce vehicle speeds there, but opposed a proposal to reconfigure the Main Street flagpole intersection, a plan which is intended to improve traffic safety.

Police Commission members, who serve as the local traffic authority, met April 3 with borough residents to discuss the many aspects of the traffic improvement plan. The draft document, which was prepared for the town by traffic consultants Vollmer Associates, LLP, of Hamden, recommends making about 40 physical changes in the town center to better manage traffic flow during the coming 20 years.

Vollmer’s many proposals include the installation of speed bumps on Queen Street, as well as the reconfiguration of the Main Street flagpole intersection.

It is unclear exactly where such Queen Street speed bumps, or more properly “speed tables,” would be installed, but they would be placed somewhere on Queen Street between its intersections with Glover Avenue and Mile Hill Road.

Queen Street residents have long pursued the installation of such devices on that road to hold down vehicle speeds. The mile-long Queen Street links Church Hill Road to Mile Hill Road. The northern section of the street holds commercial and school uses. The southern section of the street is residential.

Town Public Works Director Fred Hurley said April 4 that speed bumps that would be installed on Queen Street would initially be temporary structures that would be used to test the effectiveness of such devices. If temporary speed bumps prove effective, then permanent speed bumps might be installed, he said.

However, it could be several years before speed bumps are placed on Queen Street, he said. The town would need to legally authorize the use of speed bumps on public streets, he said. Also, the Board of Selectmen and Legislative Council would need to approve the use of such devices, he said.

Flagpole Intersection

At the April 3 Police Commission session, commission members formally opposed Vollmer’s proposal for a reconfigured Main Street flagpole intersection, questioning the design’s practicality.

Commission Chairman Carol Mattegat and member Robert Connor, Jr, expressed particular dislike of the reconfiguration proposal.

In recent critique of Vollmer’s traffic improvement plan, the Borough Board of Burgesses also opposed altering the Main Street flagpole intersection.

Installing a set of traffic signals and reconfiguring traffic flow at the flagpole intersection would improve the movement of traffic and pedestrians there, according to Vollmer. Entry to the intersection is now controlled by stop signs posted on Church Hill Road and on West Street.

Under the concept, the 100-foot-tall flagpole would remain at its current location and become part of a small center traffic island. No traffic signals or wiring would be attached to or hung from the flagpole.

The current eastbound section of West Street near the Newtown Meeting House would be converted to two-way traffic flow, and the current westbound section of West Street there would be closed to through-traffic and be used for parallel parking accessible via a driveway running parallel to Main Street.

The traffic study states there would be a loss of parking spaces in front of the Meeting House, but the visual appeal of the landmark would be enhanced by the addition of a front lawn.

Vollmer considers reconfiguring the Main Street flagpole intersection to be a key aspect of improving general traffic flow in the town center. In the 29-page traffic plan, the consultants investigated traffic problems on Queen Street, Glover Avenue, Church Hill Road (Route 6), Main Street (Route 25), Mile Hill Road (Route 860), and Commerce Road.

After reviewing the traffic plan at an upcoming session, the Board of Selectmen is expected to set traffic improvement priorities and then seek grant funding to cover some costs for those improvements.

During the public comment section of the Police Commission meeting, resident John Madzula of 20 The Boulevard predicted that local traffic volume will continue to increase.

“We’ve really got to come together and work together to solve the [traffic] problem,” he said. “We need more police presence” to address traffic problems, he said, adding that the use of police for increased traffic enforcement would be less expensive than the various measures described in the traffic plan.

If the police heighten traffic enforcement, the motoring public will slow down, Mr Madzula said. Speeding drivers are a problem throughout town, he said.

Installing speed bumps on Queen Street would be effective, he said, terming it “a good idea for Queen Street.”

Of the speeding problem, resident Gary Sheehan of 72 Queen Street said, “Everybody’s in a hurry. It’s a long road. It’s a straight road.”

Ms Mattegat urged that sidewalks be installed along the southern section of Queen Street, noting that it is a hazardous area for pedestrians. Children who live in that area, near Newtown Middle School, are not provided with school bus service, posing hazards for them when they walk to and from that school, she said.

In other business, Police Commission members endorsed a request to create a painted crosswalk across Glover Avenue, near its intersection with Meadow Road, to improve pedestrian safety for students walking to and from the middle school. The crosswalk installation details would be resolved by town officials.