A Toddy Hill Road man who has led an ongoing neighborhood drive for better traffic speed control on that residential street and Police Chief James Viadero on February 4 traded some fine points on how best to hold down travel speeds on the north-south town road often used by motorists as a shortcut between Sandy Hook and Botsford.

It was a discussion that Police Commission members and Toddy Hill Road–area residents have had many times since mid-2017, after a serious motor vehicle accident there prompted a neighborhood campaign to better control travel speeds on a straightaway on the street.

At the beginning of the February 4 Police Commission meeting, Peter Sepe, who operates Sepe Farm at 83 Toddy Hill Road, said, “This is a big ‘Thank you,’ for police efforts to hold down travel speeds in the area.” The Police Commission also serves as the local Traffic Authority.

However, Mr Sepe added, “It’s still working better in one direction than the other.” The town recently installed two solar-powered electronic speed displays alongside both directions of Toddy Hill Road to inform motorists of their vehicles’ speeds and when they are driving too fast.

Mr Sepe maintains that the current configuration of speed displays and speed-limit signs is effective in controlling the speed of southbound traffic, but not northbound traffic. The speed limit in the area is 30 mph.

Later in the session, Chief Viadero told commission members, “We’re out there ...[Speed] enforcement activity continues.” The police speed enforcement is ongoing, he stressed.

Later in the meeting, Mr Sepe recommended that to better control northbound traffic speeds on Toddy Hill Road, the town should install a speed limit sign farther north and closer to the northbound electronic speed display than the speed limit sign that is now posted there.

Chief Viadero said the town posted that speed limit sign where a traffic engineering firm said it would be most effective.

Mr Sepe asked why the current configuration works well for controlling southbound traffic, but not northbound traffic.

Police believe the current positioning of speed control signage works well for both travel directions, the police chief said.

The police chief noted that police have noticed more speeding problems in the Swamp Road area, south of the speed-control zone on Toddy Hill Road.

In another traffic matter, resident Joseph Wasik of 80 Engleside Terrace told Police Commission members of traffic/parking problems on that dead end street. The densely built residential Engleside Terrace is near Alpine Drive in the Riverside section of Sandy Hook.

The way in which some vehicles have been parked along the street recently resulted in traffic congestion and vehicular access problems, Mr Wasik said. Police have been assisting residents affected by those problems, he said.

“It’s a rough street, “ Chief Viadero commented concerning the problems there. The chief said he would talk to the police department’s traffic enforcement unit and the town engineer about the problems.

New Police Station

“The building project is going very well,” Chief Viadero told Police Commission members of the ongoing project to convert and expand a 191 South Main Street former office building into a new $15.1-million 25,341-square-foot police station for the 45-member police department.

Due to recent favorable weather conditions, the project is about two to three weeks ahead of schedule, he said. Some preliminary steps required for the planned new construction there have already been accomplished, he added.

The target date for completion of the project is November 18. In addition to direct access to the site from South Main Street, the project will have a secondary accessway for police use only, which connects to nearby Pecks Lane.

Police officials say they long ago outgrew their current quarters at 3 Main Street, where they have been located for about 40 years.