Driveway Access Plan Slated For Meeting
Driveway Access Plan Slated For Meeting
By Andrew Gorosko
Residents interested in learning about an ongoing planning study intended to achieve better safety, traffic flow, and ease of access to businesses and homes by improving how driveways intersect with roads will have an opportunity to discuss the topic at a public information session scheduled for next week.
The meeting is scheduled for 10 am Wednesday, September 16, in the land use agency meeting room at the town offices at 31 Peckâs Lane.
The project, known as the Newtown Access Management Study, will present for public comment its draft curb cut plan, which is intended to serve as a planning framework for creating improved driveway access along major local roads. Curb cuts exist in places where driveways intersect with roads.
The road sections under study are Mt Pleasant Road, Main Street, South Main Street, and Church Hill Road.
Fitzgerald and Halliday, Inc, of Hartford, a planning consulting firm, is conducting the study for the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) on behalf of the town. HVCEO is the regional transportation planning agency.
The study started in May and is expected to conclude in October. The studyâs final product will be a curb cut and access management plan. The final plan will include recommendations for revision to the townâs zoning regulations concerning driveway access. Also, a curb cut plan will be formulated to serve as a reference guide for future driveway creation and changes to existing driveways.
 At the September 16 session, the planners will present for public comment a draft plan. The studyâs technical advisory committee is seeking public comment about the draft plan before a final version is written and submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) for its review. The advisory committee includes town staff members, representatives from town boards and commissions, local business associations, and the owners of property lying within the area being studied.
The planning project is reviewing the existing configuration of driveways, intersections, and other access points along roadways. It is evaluating places where new driveways may be needed in the future. The planners are reviewing information on past accidents involving motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians to learn which areas pose travel hazards.
Access management seeks to balance the competing interests of motor vehicle mobility, land access, and community character. It seeks to manage access to properties while preserving safe and efficient traffic flow, including the movement of bicyclists and pedestrians.
Carol Gould, a land use planner with the consulting firm, has said of the study, âThis is really focused on the arrangement of drivewaysâ and how that arrangement affects traffic flow on adjacent roads.
When future development or redevelopment occurs, the town would refer to an advisory planning map for aid in planning access to properties, according to Ms Gould.
The planners conducted an informational session on the project in June.
People interested in learning about the access management planning project may contact George Benson, the townâs director of planning and land use, at 270-4276, or contact David Hannon, HVCEOâs deputy director, at 775-6256, extension 308.