Measures Sought To Improve Queen Street Area Traffic Flow

By Andrew Gorosko

A traffic planning firm has been gathering technical information from town officials in seeking to identify measures that would improve traffic flow along the full length of Queen Street and other roadways near the town center.

David Hannon, deputy director of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO), said this week that representatives of Vollmer Associates, LLP, of Hamden, have been collecting data including aerial photos, topographic maps, and property maps to be used in the ongoing Queen Street Area Traffic Study.

HVCEO is the regional transportation planning agency, which is overseeing the $49,000 study that is jointly funded by HVCEO and the town. Vollmer representatives met in January with members of a local advisory panel that is guiding the traffic study.

Vollmer will analyze past traffic studies to aid it in understanding traffic problems in the Queen Street area, Mr Hannon said.

During the past several years, Queen Street residents often have attended Police Commission meetings in seeking to resolve their concerns about the volume, speed, and noise of traffic along the congested road. The Police Commission is the local traffic authority.

The north-south, mile-long Queen Street links Church Hill Road to Mile Hill Road. The northern section of Queen Street contains a retail district and Newtown Middle School. The southern section of the road is residential.

Vollmer soon plans to formally count traffic flow to learn the number of vehicles traveling through the Queen Street area, Mr Hannon said. A past study indicated that Queen Street carries approximately 6,000 vehicles daily.

Mr Hannon said, “This is the Queen Street ‘Area’ Traffic Study,” stressing the word “area.” Streets do not exist in isolation, but interconnect with other streets, requiring that the surrounding area also be studied to understand the traffic problems on Queen Street, he said. The study addresses what measures could be taken to improve traffic flow during the coming 20 years.

Vollmer soon plans to conduct a public meeting that will sequentially be held in several spots along Queen Street. At that session, the traffic planners will view various traffic problems in the presence of local people who are familiar with those problems, Mr Hannon said. That field visit likely will be held during the afternoon peak traffic-flow period, which occurs from 5 to 6 pm on weekdays. A date for that session has not yet been scheduled.

The traffic study will produce a spectrum of recommendations, ranging from small specific changes that could be made soon, to broader long-range changes that could be made farther into the future, Mr Hannon said.

One topic that the traffic planners will immediately address is determining the best location for a pedestrian crosswalk on Queen Street to serve Newtown Middle School, he said. Such a crosswalk now crosses Queen Street, just north of Queen Street’s intersection with Glover Avenue.

A more practical location for that crosswalk may lie farther north on Queen Street, Mr Hannon said.

The use of “traffic calming” devices, such as speed bumps and curb extensions, also will be reviewed in traffic study.

Also under consideration is converting the existing intersection of Queen Street and Glover Avenue into a conventional “T-shaped” intersection, or alternately converting it into a traffic roundabout or rotary. The existing triangular intersection of those roads contains a traffic island.

The consultants also will study whether improving the intersection at the Main Street flagpole would lessen Queen Street traffic flow. Such improvements could include installing traffic signals at the flagpole, or constructing a traffic “roundabout” or rotary around which vehicles would flow without first stopping, in order to facilitate travel in that area.

Also, the consultants plan to estimate the traffic effects of potentially linking Commerce Road to Wasserman Way to create an alternate local north-south traffic route.

Such a new road would extend southward from the western side Commerce Road in an area that is planned for future industrial development. Such a new north-south route is viewed as a possible way to relieve traffic pressure on the north-south Queen Street.

The current traffic study will incorporate information from a 2003 study that addressed pedestrian safety on the congested 1,300-foot-long section of Queen Street lying between Church Hill Road and Glover Avenue.

The current traffic study will focus on traffic safety, vehicle access, and traffic volume issues.

The planning consultants will analyze existing vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle usage along Queen Street and area roads. The planners will identify roadway deficiencies, as well as estimate future traffic volumes based on anticipated development in the area.

The traffic consultants plan to hold a public session in late April at Newtown Middle School to field comments for the traffic study.

In their final report due in late June, the consultants will provide conceptual plans for improving traffic flow on Queen Street and nearby roads, as well as providing cost estimates for such work.

Queen Street carries especially heavy traffic in the mornings and afternoons, when students are arriving at and departing from the middle school. The school is at 11 Queen Street, near the congested and hazardous intersection of Queen Street and Glover Avenue.

The turning traffic that enters and exits commercial driveways along Queen Street compounds the traffic congestion there. Currently, traffic signals are located at the intersection of Queen Street and Church Hill Road and also at the intersection of Queen Street and the main entrance to Newtown Shopping Village.

To alleviate traffic congestion on Queen Street, school officials have recommended that more students use school buses to decrease traffic volume. Many parents transport their children to and from school in private autos.