A group of Toddy Hill Road residents concerned about traffic safety on that heavily used north-south street heard at a Tuesday, November 5, Police Commission meeting that a range of improvements planned for that road by the town are underway. The Police Commission is also the local Traffic Authority.

Candace Slinko of Toddy Hill Road told Police Commission members, “Thanks for getting that rumble strip in. It’s there. It helps.”

Pete Sepe of Toddy Hill Road said, “I think it’s very effective... It’s really appreciated.”

The town used a specialized machine to create a rumble strip along the central double-yellow lines on the roadway. The rumble strip on Toddy Hill Road extends from Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook on the north to South Main Street in Botsford on the south.

When a vehicle drives onto the rumble strip, its tires vibrate markedly, signaling a driver that he or she is traveling in the middle of the road.

Carolyn Sepe of Toddy Hill Road asked whether there is a way to keep tractor-trailer trucks from traveling from Berkshire Road onto Still Hill Road and Old Mill Road, noting the hazards posed by such large vehicles on narrow roads.

The town Department of Public Works has entered contracts to have Toddy Hill Road re-striped and to have new stop signs installed in that area, police Captain Christopher Vanghele said.

On November 5, workers poured the masonry foundations required for installing two solar-powered speed display signs, the captain said. Those displays should be installed soon.

Also, Police Chief James Viadero will be meeting with Fred Hurley, the public works director, to discuss Toddy Hill Road traffic improvements, Capt Vanghele said.

A core group of several Toddy Hill Road residents have been attending Police Commission meetings since the spring of 2017 to urge better control of speeding motorists on that town road.

Over the past year, police have heightened their vehicular monitoring on Toddy Hill Road, using patrol officers to heavily enforce traffic laws. Police also have posted a large portable electronic speed display to warn motorists who exceed the posted 30-mph speed limit.

In response to calls for traffic improvements, the town hired a traffic engineering firm to study the problem and make recommendations for travel safety improvements.