Town Center Traffic Plan Slated For Discussion

By Andrew Gorosko

The borough government will hold a public session on a long-awaited traffic plan that lists a wide range of recommendations on how the town center’s growing traffic volume can best be managed during the coming 20 years, focusing on the reconfiguration of several major intersections, including the Main Street flagpole intersection.

The Borough Board of Burgesses session is slated for 7:30 pm Tuesday, December 19, at Booth Library at 25 Main Street.

The 29-page Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan was produced by Vollmer Associates, LLP, of Hamden for the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO), on behalf of the town. The $49,000 study’s cost was split between the town and HVCEO, which is the regional transportation planning agency.

David Hannon, HVCEO’s deputy director, said this week he hopes there is a good public turnout for the December 19 session.

Following public comment on the traffic plan, town officials would set road improvement priorities and apply for grants to be used toward specific improvements, he said.

The consultants investigated traffic problems in order to recommend various improvement options for Queen Street, Glover Avenue, Church Hill Road (Route 6), Main Street (Route 25), Mile Hill Road (Route 860), and Commerce Road.

Excluding a proposed extension of Commerce Road to Wasserman Way, the total estimated cost of the proposed road improvements is $1.89 million. Funding would come from local, state, federal, and private sources. Funding estimates are based on 2006 information. More than half of the improvement costs may be available from state and federal sources.

In the draft report, Vollmer recommends that the triangular intersection of Queen Street and Glover Avenue be reconstructed as a modified “T” intersection, with a southbound right-turn bypass lane provided on Queen Street, plus the installation of associated crosswalks and traffic signs. Each leg of the three-way intersection would have a stop sign. Motorists that are entering westbound Glover Avenue on the bypass lane from southbound Queen Street would be required to yield.

Flagpole Intersection

The difficulty in navigating the Main Street flagpole intersection results in motorists using Queen Street and Glover Avenue to avoid the flagpole intersection, according to the consultants. The flagpole intersection is formed by the junction of Main Street, Church Hill Road, and the two legs of West Street.

“Because the flagpole sits unprotected in the middle of a busy intersection with five roadway legs, it has been the site of many accidents, which tragically include fatalities…Over the years, proposals to improve safety and traffic flow at this intersection, such as moving the flagpole out of the roadway or signalizing the intersection, have met with resistance from the community because of their adverse effects on the visual character of this historic intersection,” according to the traffic report.

Installing a set of traffic signals and reconfiguring traffic flow at the flagpole intersection would improve the movement of traffic and pedestrians, according to Vollmer.

Under the concept, the 100-foot-tall flagpole would remain at its current location and become part of a small center traffic island. No signal lights or wiring would be attached to or hung from the flagpole.

Under the proposal, the current eastbound section of West Street near the Newtown Meeting House would be converted to two-way traffic flow, and the current westbound section of West Street there would be closed to through traffic and be used for parallel parking accessible via a driveway from Main Street.

The traffic plan also suggests the extension of Commerce Road to Wasserman Way to create another north-south connector road in town.

Although such a connector road may not significantly cut traffic flow in the center of town, it would help alleviate traffic pressure on Queen Street and Glover Avenue, according to Vollmer.

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

The ensuing Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan arose from those residents’ interest in improving traffic conditions along that street.