Residents Describe Queen Street Area Traffic Problems; Seek Solutions

By Andrew Gorosko

Queen Street area residents last week described persistent traffic problems there to members of a traffic consulting firm that is studying what steps the town could take to better manage traffic volume and speed in the town center.

The residents spoke at a May 4 public forum to representatives of Vollmer Associates, LLP, of Hamden, the firm that is conducting the Queen Street Area Traffic Study. The study focuses on Queen Street, Glover Avenue, and also parts of Church Hill Road, Main Street, South Main Street, Commerce Road, and Mile Hill Road. A town study panel is guiding the $49,000 project.

Approximately 55 people attended the session at Town Hall South, about 15 of whom are connected with the traffic study.

The study addresses traffic congestion, vehicular and pedestrian safety, excessive speeds, and existing confusing intersection designs. Vollmer is studying the use of traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps, crosswalks, and sidewalks, as well as employing traffic signals, roundabouts, and redesigned intersections.

Vollmer presented a wide range of potential traffic improvements and solicited public comment.

David Hannon, deputy director of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO), served as chairman at the session.

Mr Hannon read a statement from First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, who was not present. In that statement, Mr Rosenthal said, in part, “It is unfortunate that this study has been marred by some serious false accusations made…by a member of this [study] committee who was appointed by me to represent the Economic Development Commission, as well as the interests of Glover Avenue and other impacted area residents.”

Mr Rosenthal was referring to study committee member Bruce Walczak of 12 Glover Avenue. Mr Walczak had written a flier about the traffic study that was distributed to town center residents and had also written letters to the editor of The Newtown Bee questioning aspects of the traffic study.

“The statements [by Mr Walczak] regarding the hiring of the professional consultant are misleading, false, malicious and borderline slanderous,” Mr Rosenthal asserted in the statement.

In a flier distributed to town center residents, Mr Walczak had urged them to attend the May 4 session to comment on traffic problems in that area. In that pamphlet, Mr Walczak implicitly questioned the propriety of Vollmer Associates conducting the traffic study, suggesting a conflict of interest in the process.

Mr Walczak notes in the pamphlet that “a Queen Street resident,” Robert Geckle, is a member of the town traffic study panel who has spearheaded efforts to resolve Queen Street traffic problems while also serving as the chairman of the Fairfield Hills Authority, which has also retained Vollmer Associates to perform a Fairfield Hills planning study.

Traffic Study

Traffic Engineer Kermit Hua of Vollmer Associates described to residents the various traffic improvement concepts the firm has formulated in addressing how to better manage traffic flow in the Queen Street area.

Traffic information, plus a mechanism through which residents may send email comments to the consultants, will be posted on the town’s website on the Internet, www.newtown-ct.gov/Home/.

Among the traffic improvement concepts, the firm variously suggests that the hazardous intersection of Glover Avenue and Queen Street be converted into a traffic roundabout; be converted into a bypass intersection with added landscaping; be converted into a conventional T-shaped intersection, or be converted into a T-intersection with a three-way-stop design.

For the intersection of Queen Street, Mile Hill Road, and Tinkerfield Road, Vollmer variously suggests prohibiting left turns from southbound Queen Street onto eastbound Mile Hill Road; narrowing the end of Queen Street at the intersection; or installing a set of traffic signals.

At the intersection of Church Hill Road, Main Street and West Street, Vollmer suggests creating a traffic roundabout surrounding the Main Street flagpole; closing one of the two one-way legs of West Street and making the other leg a street for two-way traffic; or installing traffic signals at the intersection. Mr Hua pointed out that constructing a roundabout at that intersection is a “sensitive” topic, which would involve governmental takings of adjacent properties and the elimination of some parking spaces in that area.

For the intersection of Queen Street and the main entrance to Newtown Shopping Village, Vollmer suggests that various crosswalk improvements be made to enhance public safety.

At the intersection of Church Hill Road and Queen Street, the firm suggests the installation of new crosswalks, sidewalks and pedestrian-activated traffic signals.

At the intersection of Queen Street and Newtown Middle School’s main driveway, Vollmer suggests that the two legs of that driveway be consolidated and that a large speed bump be installed to slow traffic on Queen Street.

The traffic-calming devices, which are variously known as speed bumps, speed humps, and speed tables, would be installed in the Queen Street area, as needed, to slow traffic. The devices would be a different color than the surrounding pavement to draw attention to themselves.

Gary Sorge of Vollmer Associates said such devices can effectively reduce vehicle travel speeds.

John Eberle of Vollmer Associates said, “You’re seeing a lot of different options here.”

One of the main traffic “chokepoints” in the area is the intersection at the Main Street flagpole, he noted.

 

Public Comment

Rick LaBash of 16 Wendover Road said, “We want traffic to slow down...to keep speeding down, to keep ourselves safe.” Mr LaBash suggested that the town use digital photo equipment for speed enforcement purposes. Such gear would document which vehicles were violating speed limits, he said.

Dan Shea of 44 Queen Street expressed disappointment that the traffic consultants did not provide details concerning traffic volume and speeds on the southern section of Queen Street. Since Wasserman Way opened to traffic in the late 1990s, there has been a dramatic increase in traffic on that section of Queen Street, Mr Shea said. “It wasn’t always like that,” he stressed. “We have a virtual highway going through a residential area,” he said.

Traffic is so intense that it is too dangerous for children on Queen Street to play in their front yards, according to Mr Shea. He said that installing traffic signals at the intersection of Queen, Mile Hill, and Tinkerfield would result in yet more traffic using Queen Street.

Mr Shea urged that Queen Street be restricted to one-way traffic and that it be narrowed down to a one-lane width. He urged that various measures to be taken to cut vehicle speeds on that street.

Laura Lerman of 55 Main Street said that traffic in the town center will not disappear. “We have to be realistic,” she said, noting that Queen Street is in the town’s commercial center.

One Wendover Road resident urged that the town install traffic signals at the Main Street flagpole intersection as a public safety measure. He also urged that Commerce Road be extended to Wasserman Way. Wendover Road also needs some attention in terms of its traffic problems, he added.

Gary Sheehan of 72 Queen Street said it is unsafe for pedestrians on Queen Street. He suggested that school bus drivers who are caught speeding there for a second time lose their driving privileges. Speed bumps would be a good addition to Queen Street, he said. Commercial trucks and buses should be kept off the street, he said.

Steve Wasko of 40 Queen Street said the town needs to reduce the high speed of commercial traffic traveling on Queen Street. Speed bumps would not be effective and would add vehicular noise to the area, he said.

Frank Gardner, who lives near Toddy Hill Road, said traffic problems exist throughout town. “This [Queen Street] is not the only [traffic] problem in town,” he stressed.

Priscilla Jones of 5 Meadow Road said the town center is a dangerous place for pedestrians. She urged that Queen Street remain open to two-way traffic. Converting Queen Street to one-way traffic would make traffic conditions worse on Glover Avenue, she said.

Lisa Floros of 32 Queen Street observed, “Pedestrians get no respect in Newtown…It is really sad…It is pedestrian-unfriendly.”

Jill Beaudry of 36 Queen Street said she wants to have sidewalks installed along Queen Street. The area is not safe for pedestrians, she said. Traffic should slow down, she added. Ms Beaudry urged that Commerce Road be extended to Wasserman Way to create an alternate local north-south route to relieve traffic pressure on the north-south Queen Street.

The 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.

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 northern 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.

John Bocuzzi of 63 Queen Street said that installing stop signs and speed bumps in appropriate locations in the town center would improve traffic problems. Extending Commerce Road to Wasserman way would relieve traffic problems in the town center, he said.

Mimi Malkin of 18 Queen Street said motorists display no respect for children and pedestrians walking in the Queen Street area.

Joseph Borst, a Legislative Council member, urged residents to lobby the government to get Commerce Road extended to Wasserman Way. Mr Borst also urged that parents have their children ride school buses to and from the public schools as a way to relieve vehicular congestion.

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, leading to congestion.

One woman from the Brushy Hill Road area suggested that the town create a road link for school buses that would connect Queen Street to the rear section of Reed Intermediate School at Fairfield Hills.

James Gaston of 18 Main Street, who is the senior burgess on the Borough Board of Burgesses, said installing sidewalks and speed bumps along Queen Street is a good idea. He expressed concerns about rerouting traffic from Queen Street to other nearby streets.

Mr Hannon said members of the traffic project’s study panel and the consultants will be analyzing comments made at the May 4 session. Mr Hannon termed the comments, “very, very worthwhile, very insightful.”

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

In a 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.