How Strict ?—

Queen St. Speed

Reviewed Once Again

By Andrew Gorosko

Police Commission members, who serve as the local traffic authority, this week again discussed the longstanding issue of traffic control on Queen Street and decided in a split vote not to require very strict enforcement of posted speed limits there, but to allow police officers discretion in their speed enforcement.

Initially, commission member Bruce Walczak, who lives on Glover Avenue near Queen Street, urged that “zero tolerance” be the enforcement rule for Queen Street, meaning that if a motorist were driving 26 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone, that driver would receive speed enforcement from police.

Commission Chairman Duane Giannini, however, saw the matter differently.

“I believe the officer needs [enforcement] discretion when he makes a [motor vehicle] stop,” he said. Having a zero tolerance speed enforcement policy would create a “slippery slope” that could lead to problems, Mr Giannini said.

However, Mr Walczak said that the zero tolerance speed enforcement approach is worth trying on Queen Street because that street has major traffic problems.

The mile-long north-south Queen Street has a business district and Newtown Middle School along its northern end. The road’s southern section is residential. The street has been a focal point of local traffic enforcement for the past several years. Queen Street area residents have long complained to the Police Commission about the volume of traffic that uses the street, as well as traffic speeds and traffic noise.

Police Captain Joe Rios pointed out that the police department traffic enforcement unit, as well as regular patrol units, make a point of enforcing traffic laws on Queen Street.

Commission member James Viadero urged that police be allowed to use discretion when enforcing traffic laws.

“What makes Queen Street any different than any other part of Newtown?” he asked. Having a zero tolerance speed enforcement policy could lead to problems, he said.

Commission member Brian Budd agreed, saying police should not be forced into a zero tolerance speed enforcement system.

Mr Budd said the town police department’s reputation for traffic enforcement is now much better than other area police departments’ reputations for such work. Local police make a point of enforcing violations such as illegal use of a handheld cellphone by a motorist while driving, he noted.

 Mr Walczak then suggested that instead of a strict “zero tolerance” enforcement of the 25-mph speed limit on Queen Street, police should issue enforcement to motorists if they are driving more than 30 miles per hour on that street.

Again, Mr Viadero asked why Queen Street should be considered a more important place for speed enforcement than other streets in town. Police discretion is an important aspect of enforcement, he stressed.

Mr Walczak pointed out that Police Commission members have discussed Queen Street traffic issues for many years, adding that the street has been the subject of traffic studies.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said the police department now has a policy describing its use of discretionary enforcement. A zero tolerance speed enforcement policy would be in conflict with that policy, he said.

Mr Giannini said a zero tolerance speed enforcement policy along Queen Street could prompt public requests for such enforcement elsewhere, resulting in police not being able to provide such strict enforcement across town.

Commission member Keith Jacobs urged that commission members research the effectiveness of strict speed enforcement policies that are in effect in other communities in order to gauge its potential local value.

Mr Walczak then made a motion to require police to issue enforcement to motorists if they exceed 30 miles per hour within Queen Street’s 25-mph speed zone.

Mr Walczak and Mr Jacobs voted in favor of the motion, but Mr Giannini, Mr Budd, and Mr Viadero voted against it, thus defeating the motion.

In an ensuing 3-to-2 vote, commission members opted to have some research done on the effectiveness of strict speed enforcement. Voting in favor were Mr Walczak, Mr Jacobs, and Mr Giannini. Opposed were Mr Budd and Mr Viadero.

Chief Kehoe said that such speed enforcement research would be forthcoming.

Fairfield Hills

In another traffic enforcement matter, Police Commission members studied some mapping and a traffic report concerning better traffic control at the town-owned Fairfield Hills core campus.

Because the core campus now has two major uses in place, in the form of Newtown Municipal Center and Newtown Youth Academy, the commission is reviewing what measures may be taken to better control traffic flow.

The Fairfield Hills Authority has provided the Police Commission with some recommendations on traffic control and traffic flow for the area. Improvements would include the installation of some directional signs.

Also under review is the perpendicular parking arrangement that exists along three sides of the Newtown Municipal Center. That parking design sometimes poses traffic accident hazards when motorists back out of perpendicular parking spaces and into the path of oncoming traffic.

Chief Kehoe said the commission would have the authority to create one-way traffic flow along certain roads at the core campus, as needed.

Also, there is a considerable amount of pedestrian traffic at the core campus, said Mr Giannini. Bicycle racks have been installed in certain areas, he added.

Mr Giannini noted that commission members had received traffic information on the core campus at their April 6 session, suggesting that time is needed to study the details. He asked the commission whether a traffic engineering study should be performed for the core campus.

The chairman urged panel members to study the available traffic data and asked that the police department’s traffic specialist attend the May 4 commission meeting to answer commission members’ questions on traffic issues.

Mr Giannini urged commission members to visit Fairfield Hills in the coming weeks to study traffic flow and the parking lots there to help them better understand the site’s traffic issues.

In another traffic matter, Chief Kehoe told commission members that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has agreed to expedite repairs for the set of traffic signals positioned at the intersection of Wasserman Way and the Exit 11 ramps for Interstate 84.

DOT repair crews would now respond more quickly to the intersection to fix the traffic signals there when the signals malfunction.

The traffic signals there recently malfunctioned occasionally during traffic rush periods, resulting in traffic tie-ups in the area.