Another Perspective On The Flagpole
To the Editor:
On November 1st I was driving south bound on Route 25 around 1:00 pm. As I approached the flagpole there were no vehicles ahead of me and I was going slowly because of the pedestrian walkway.
A woman came directly across from Church Hill Rd, barely bothering to stop at the stop sign. It was all I could do to swerve over to the meetinghouse parking lot with barely enough time to avoid being plowed into my driver’s side. And thankfully no cars were parked out front.
Sitting there shaken I looked in the rear view mirror to see the woman quickly head down West St. There was no time to get a license unfortunately.
We all know this intersection has been discussed and analyzed over the years, but with increased traffic and impatient drivers ignoring a full stop, it begs the question of a resolution.
If the driver had been going a bit faster and if my reflexes weren’t quick enough to avoid being hit I wouldn’t be writing this letter.
Acknowledging that the flagpole is an historical structure we also should be more logical about the fact that this is no longer a horse and buggy town. Is there truly nothing to be done but wring our hands?
Geraldine Carley
Newtown
That is an idea that has been brought up before – 20 years ago after a serious accident a traffic light was proposed. There were two problems:
1. The road is State Route 25, so it has to be the State Traffic Commission and State DOT that change any traffic controls.
2. Some years ago, long before that, the Flagpole and crossroads were designated a Landmark. (I believe National but could be State only.) The roads, intersection, flagpole and traffic control could not be changed without an act of either the State Legislature or the Congress, but once something is a Historical Structure it is damned near impossible to change it. (We are seeing this with the buildings at Fairfield Hills when we accepted Preservation Grants.)
Since December 1996, the flagpole has been on the National Register of Historic Places and also a state-sanctioned landmark.
https://www.newtownbee.com/07042021/the-abcs-of-newtown-f-is-for-flagpole/