With complaints about traffic speed and dangerous driving being made around town, the Police Commission, in conjunction with the Public Works Department, is looking at road improvements as a way to help slow down traffic and make residents feel more comfortable on their roads.

At the commission’s November 1 meeting, Public Works Director Fred Hurley presented a list of roads that will receive double centerline yellow striping, which includes Bradley Lane, Butterfield to Parmalee Hill, Buttonshop Road, Great Quarter, Nunnawauk Road, Osborne Hill Road, Park Lane, and Rock Ridge Road.

The intention with the striping is to encourage drivers to stay on their side of the road instead of riding in the middle, and that the narrowness of the lane will then encourage drivers to slow down. Hurley said that he would also be willing to install rumble strips on some roads to further encourage drivers to stay in their lane by making it uncomfortable to cross over the yellow lines.

“That has some expense behind it, so I’d need to know from this board sooner rather than later,” said Hurley, who noted that he would need to include such work in his budget for next year.

Hurley said that rumble strips have helped slow down traffic on Currituck, and was “well received” on Poppy Hill.

Police Commissioner Scott Cicciari asked if doing rumble strip work would take away from any work that the Public Works Department had already agreed to do, but Hurley said the work would be in addition to that work. Hurley said his department is currently painting stop bars at intersections, with a list of 350 locations where they are being added.

Police Chief David Kullgren and the Police Commission agreed to present a list of suggested areas for rumble strips, possibly at the Police Commission’s next meeting on December 6.

Nunnawauk & Hitfield

Additionally, Kullgren presented a report from the traffic unit on the intersection of Nunnawauk Road and Hitfield Road. Residents had come before the commission at its October meeting complaining about the intersection, saying drivers were not stopping and that there were poor sight lines, which was endangering pedestrians.

According to the report, the intersection between Nunnawauk and Hitfield makes a 90 degree turn and continues to the intersection of Mile Hill Road South. Along Nunnawauk Road is a State of Connecticut Department of Corrections Institution, and a condo complex.

Nunnawauk is 1.2 miles long with a state-approved speed limit of 25 miles per hour. Hitfield is 1,500 feet long and has a number of small dead-end roadways with residential neighborhoods coming off of it. The highest average speed in the area is 34.67 mph, which occurs from midnight to 1 am.

The traffic unit evaluated the intersection and “noticed there was extensive growth along the roadway.” DPW was notified and had the roadside mowed. The traffic unit then conducted nine traffic enforcements in the area, which resulted in six traffic stops, one infraction and five verbal warnings.

Traffic counters were installed to get traffic data. Accident history was looked at, which showed there had been one accident in the last five years that directly involved the intersection, but did not occur from someone running the stop sign.

The traffic unit recommended that enforcement continue in the area, that the vegetation be trimmed on a regular basis, and that no new signage be added.

Kullgren said the traffic counter will be left out for at least a week beyond the commission meeting, to get information on the time of day and direction of travel of the worst speed violators.

“This will let us know the best times of day to get officers out there,” said Kullgren.

A part of the efforts is education, according to Kullgren, and the supervisors at the correctional facility have been contacted and asked to request employees slow down in the area and obey traffic signs and speed limits.

Hurley also recommended “squaring the corner.” He said that the current corner is a gentle curve, and by altering the two roads so they meet at a 90-degree angle would help encourage drivers to stop at the intersection instead of just rolling through it around the curve. It would also increase sight lines for drivers and pedestrians by allowing cars to stop closer to the intersection and be able to see down the road.

Concern For Pedestrians

Resident Kate Twohy, who came representing concerned residents in the Nunnawauk area at both the October and November meetings, expressed concerns that no new signage was to be added in the area.

“I’m hearing nothing about pedestrians,” said Twohy. “It’s upsetting that I’m hearing no more signs. This is not making it safer for pedestrians.”

Twohy was requesting a sign warning pedestrians of the blind corner or warning drivers to look out for pedestrians.

Commissioner Brian Budd said that signs would “not solve issues” and that the police department “can’t enforce every sign.”

Commissioner Neil Chaudhary noted that if the corner was squared and the vegetations trimmed back, then cars would be “much less of a threat to pedestrians, and Kullgren agreed.

Commission Chairman Joel Faxon noted that both the commission and the department are focused on the area, deploying resources and making physical changes to the intersection.

“We can’t do much more than that for now,” said Faxon.

Kullgren also asked that Twohy count all the signs she passed on the way home, stating that it could easily be hundreds. He said that sign pollution is an important consideration, in that the more signs are out there, the less likely drivers are to notice and heed them.

“There’s more work to be done, we’ll be back in December with more data accumulated,” said Faxon.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.