Date: Fri 10-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

traffic-study-Route-25

Full Text:

Traffic Study May Help Curb Accidents On Route 25

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members will consider incorporating the

recommendations of a traffic study into the town's zoning regulations as a

regulatory way to lessen traffic congestion and reduce accidents on Route 25

between the Main Street flagpole and the Monroe town line.

P&Z members are scheduled to address the traffic topic at a public hearing

Thursday, May 16, at 8 pm, at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street.

The traffic study seeks to incrementally alleviate traffic congestion on Route

25 by better managing the gaps in road curbing, known as "curb cuts," where

motorists enter and exit businesses.

Route 25 is the main north-south road through Newtown. The two-lane blacktop

road is generally posted with speed limits of either 40 mph or 45 mph, except

in especially congested areas. Route 25 connects I-84 at its northern end with

Interstate-95 and the Merritt Parkway at its southern end. Route 25 is

considered the primary arterial route for north-south traffic flow in the

region.

The Newtown Route 25 Access Management Study was prepared by Wilbur Smith

Associates of New Haven for the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials

(HVCEO). The traffic analysis provided in the report is based on traffic

volume projections formulated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation

(DOT). A similar curb cut control plan was prepared in 1993 for Route 6 from

the Bethel town line to Interchange-10 of Interstate-84.

The 4.9-mile section of Route 25 between the flagpole and Monroe is primarily

zoned residential. It has some retail and general business zoning.

"The increased traffic levels have created areas of traffic congestion and

have increased traffic accident rates on Newtown's roads," according to the

report.

In a 1987 planning report, the HVCEO noted that increasing traffic volumes on

I-84 will lead to a degradation of that road's traffic carrying capacity by

the year 2005. Increased I-84 traffic also is expected to put additional

traffic strains on local roads.

DOT is developing its final environmental impact study for the Route 25

corridor including towns including Trumbull, Monroe and Newtown. The limited

approach to improving traffic flow, such as curb cut management, is the DOT's

preferred alternative to lessening traffic congestion in the Route 25

corridor, rather than widening or relocating the road.

Current and projected traffic volumes on Route 25 combined with vehicles

making frequent turns into commercial driveways results in the need for a curb

cut control plan, according to the traffic planners.

The traffic planning study evaluates current conditions on Route 25 and

recommends that specific changes be made in curb cuts to foster the safer and

more efficient flow of traffic, thus preserving the road's traffic carrying

capacity.

The aggregate effect of many vehicles waiting in traffic to make left turns

into driveways causes travel delays. As traffic volumes increase, the number

of "gaps" in oncoming traffic decreases, causing increased traffic delays and

more accidents as motorists who tire of waiting for oncoming traffic to clear,

cross in front of that oncoming traffic or pass standing vehicles on the

right, heightening the probability of traffic accidents.

Reducing the number of driveways along the roadway will improve overall

traffic safety, according to the traffic planners.

Safety improvements would include reducing the widths of driveways; reducing

the overall number of curb cuts; encouraging adjoining properties to share

common driveways, and more clearly indicating the vehicle entrances and exits

at businesses.

Implementing an effective curb cut program would involve cooperation among the

DOT, the town, property owners, and developers, according to the traffic

report.

The traffic planners recommend that Newtown adopt a curb cut program similar

to those now in effect in Brookfield and Danbury.

By incorporating the curb cut management plan into the town's zoning

regulations, the P&Z would be specifying to developers what is acceptable in

terms of curb cuts along Route 25. The DOT and the town should closely

cooperate on a curb cut plan because they have overlapping jurisdictions in

the matter, the traffic planners say.

The traffic planning study recommends specific intersection improvements for

the junction of Borough Lane and Route 25, and also for the northerly and

southerly intersections of Elm Drive and Route 25.

Members of the public may review a copy of the traffic planning report at the

planning and zoning office in Town Hall South, 3 Main Street, during normal

business hours.