Glover Avenue Crosswalk Repainting Approved For Pedestrian Safety

By Andrew Gorosko

A town work crew started repainting the traffic-worn crosswalk markings on Glover Avenue at its intersection with Meadow Road on Wednesday morning, but then it started to rain, requiring that the crew stop the work and resume when it becomes dry enough to continue.

Joe Tani, the town highway department’s operations manager, said Thursday morning that Glover Avenue crosswalk repainting work would resume soon, possibly that day.

The town’s effort to clearly show the crosswalk on Glover Avenue follows a Tuesday night Police Commission session at which traffic/pedestrian safety in the town center was a prime topic of conversation, with a focus on the Queen Street/Glover Avenue area. The Police Commission is the local traffic authority.

In the past, a temporary rubber “raised crosswalk” had stood on Glover Avenue in the spot where the painted crosswalk now exists. Such a device combines a broad speed bump with a crosswalk.

Resident Lisa Floros of 32 Queen Street on Tuesday night urged the Police Commission to have the Glover Avenue crosswalk repainted to make it clear to drivers that there is a crosswalk there. Many people would use it, she stressed, adding that it would be safer for pedestrians to have a clearly marked crosswalk in place there.

State law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians who are standing in crosswalks.

Also, Ms Floros asked commission members about the prospects for making pedestrian-oriented improvements to Queen Street. She noted that she has long sought such improvements for the mile-long north-south road that links Church Hill Road to Mile Hill Road.

Police Commission Chairman Duane Giannini said an engineering study is being sought for that area to determine what specific speed-calming devices would be effective to improve safety. The commission is seeking funds for such a study in the proposed 2011-12 town budget, he said.

Additional funds would be needed for any construction work required to make physical improvements in the area, he said.

There are devices other than “speed tables” that could be employed to slow the speed of traffic, he said. Speed tables are broad speed bumps that require motorists to slow to avoid damaging their vehicles.

Devices such as “bumpouts,” “neckdowns,” and “chicanes” might be used on roads to slow the speed of traffic, Mr Giannini said.

Ms Floros urged that the commission take action to make Queen Street a safer place for pedestrians. The commission has regularly discussed Queen Street traffic/pedestrian safety issues for the past decade.

Priscilla Jones of 5 Meadow Road asked whether residents would have a say in what exactly is studied in a traffic engineering study on improving Queen Street.

 Margaret O’Neil-Murphy of 8 Meadow Road noted that the past placement of a raised crosswalk on Glover Avenue at its intersection with Meadow Road was unsuccessful, but she urged that a conventional painted crosswalk be reestablished there.

Fred Hurley, town public works director, said the town would repaint the Glover Avenue crosswalk, post crosswalk signage there, and have a portable plastic sign positioned in the center of the road noting the presence of a crosswalk.

 Mr Hurley added that all local crosswalks will be repainted to make their presence clear. There are more than 20 crosswalks in town, according to Police Chief Michael Kehoe.

 Although traffic law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians standing in crosswalks, Mr Giannini urged pedestrians to be especially careful when using crosswalks.

 Mr Hurley said the town is seeking funds that would be used to acquire solar-powered devices to enhance pedestrian safety during crosswalk use.

Such devices allow a pedestrian to activate a switch that triggers bright flashing lights that indicate to approaching drivers that the pedestrian wants to use a crosswalk there. Two such devices have been proposed for the Glover Avenue crosswalk.

Mr Hurley suggested that the town consider using strips of slightly raised, textured, colored concrete on certain roads to serve as speed claming devices that would slow the speed of traffic. Such devices may not pose problems for snowplowing, he said.

“This speeding issue is not going to go away,” Mr Hurley noted.

“We need to put the right solutions in the right places,” said commission member Bruce Walczak.