A state Department of Transportation (DOT) official is offering some ideas on how the Main Street flagpole intersection’s traffic problems can be alleviated through a redesign of the five-legged intersection.

William Britnell, principal engineer in DOT’s highway design unit, said that creating a “roundabout” at the flagpole intersection would improve traffic flow there, alleviating the vehicle-turning conflicts that occur at the intersection, which becomes congested at times.

“Generally speaking, we’re very much in favor of roundabouts,” Mr Britnell said, noting the DOT has successfully created such traffic-calming devices in various parts of the state.

Roundabouts are circular intersections in which relatively low-speed traffic flows in one direction around a central traffic island. Traffic entering a roundabout yields to traffic already traveling in the  roundabout. Roundabouts have no traffic signals.

However, in order to create a roundabout, the state likely would need to acquire some land adjacent to the intersection, he said.

That land is located on the northeast corner and the southeast corner of Main Street and Church Hill Road. The northeast corner at 38 Main Street is a residential property. The southeast corner at 36 Main Street holds Trinity Episcopal Church.

Mr Britnell said he expects that several thousand square feet of land would need to be acquired for roundabout construction. Existing buildings would not need to be removed to make way for such a project, he said.

Existing traffic problems at the Main Street flagpole have been under discussion at the past two Police Commission meetings. The commission is the local traffic authority, serving both the borough and the town. The flagpole intersection has a high accident rate.

Police Commission Chairman Paul Mangiafico has singled out the flagpole intersection as being an especially hazardous place to drive regardless of the direction from which motorists approach it, terming the situation a “monstrous problem.” Some changes are required to improve public safety there, according to Mr Mangiafico.

At a January 6 Police Commission session, several town officials considered how traffic conditions could be improved at the intersection, but came to no conclusions.

The competing interests of the historic preservation of the flagpole, which is a designated landmark,  and public safety come into play in discussions about improving the intersection.

Police Commission members appear interested in improving the intersection in terms of public safety, but acknowledge the historic aspects of the location.

The existing flagpole has been in place at the intersection since 1950. The flagpole is an enduring symbol of the town, along with the adjacent Newtown Meeting House whose steeple is topped by a gilded rooster.

Police Commission members stress they are not interested in having the flagpole removed from the intersection.

The 100-foot-tall flagpole stands unprotected in the intersection of Main Street, Church Hill Road, and the forked westbound and eastbound legs of West Street. Main Street and Church Hill Road are state roads. West Street is a town road.

Past proposals to improve safety at the intersection by removing the flagpole or installing traffic signals at the intersection have met with opposition from those concerned about the aesthetics of the historic area.

In order the build a functional roundabout, the intersection would need to have an about 100-foot-wide to 120-foot-wide outer-diameter circle, in view of the space that long trucks would need to make turns, Mr Britnell said. Roundabouts have much smaller inner-diameter circles.

The perpendicular-parking area that exists in front of the Meeting House would probably need to be removed to make way for a roundabout, he said.

Mr Britnell observed that installing traffic signals at the intersection would result in rear-end collisions occurring there. Also, traffic signals would damage the area’s aesthetics, he said.

In a location such as the flagpole intersection, the DOT would prefer a roundabout over traffic signals, Mr Britnell said.

There are basically three options that the town has in terms of the public safety issues posed by the flagpole intersection, Mr Britnell said. They are: let the traffic situation remain as is; remove the flagpole and install traffic signals; install a roundabout.

Currently, traffic roundabouts exist on state roads in Salem, Ellington, Killingworth, and West Haven. A roundabout is planned for Seymour, and a roundabout has been proposed for Monroe.

Roundabouts are useful traffic-calming devices because they are safe, efficient, and attractive, Mr Britnell said. Roundabout construction is covered by federal and state funding, he said.

Police Commission members are expected to discuss the flagpole intersection issues at upcoming sessions.