Raised Crosswalk Is Making Glover Ave. Couple Just Plain Cross

By Andrew Gorosko

Because Patricia and Robert Kubit live on a heavily traveled road in the center of town, they are accustomed to the flow of traffic past their home at 11 Glover Avenue.

But since the town installed a temporary, experimental raised crosswalk in front of their house on November 5, the Kubits have gotten a much closer look at that heavy traffic which now slowly passes by, they explained this week.

A raised crosswalk is a hybrid device made of hard rubber segments that serves both as a heavily marked crosswalk and as a broad speed bump known as a speed table.

It is intended to have motorists slow down, as a “traffic calming” measure, and also to provide pedestrians with a safe place to cross the street. State law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians who are in crosswalks. Another raised crosswalk is in place on Queen Street in front of Newtown Middle School.

 The Kubits said that they now hear vehicle brake noises, especially truck brake noises, that they had not heard before, now that vehicles are greatly slowing down to drive over the raised crosswalk.

Mr Kubit said he expects that the presence of a raised crosswalk in front of his house has damaged his property’s value.

Some motorists who are unhappy that they have to slow down to drive over the raised crosswalk beep their horns, causing a noise problem, Ms Kubit said.

Ms Kubit said that there is not a lot of pedestrian traffic in that area, so she wonders why the town installed the raised crosswalk there.

Backing out of their driveway has become a dangerous proposition with the presence of raised crosswalk right in front of their house, Ms Kubit said.

 The raised crosswalk has become an annoyance, Mr Kubit said, explaining that drivers on Glover Avenue slow down when they encounter the device, and gawk at nearby properties, creating a lack of privacy.

Ms Kubit explained that the flow of traffic past their home does not bother the couple.

“But don’t put a speed bump in front of my house…It’s a distraction,” Mr Kubit added. The couple has lived there 11 years.

The slowing of traffic has made it seem as if there is always traffic in front of their house, Mr Kubit said.

Ironically, he said he sometimes sees children who are crossing Glover Avenue jaywalking near the raised crosswalk.

One of the reasons that the town installed the two raised crosswalks is to provide students at the nearby Newtown Middle School with safe places to cross the street.

It is second time that a raised crosswalk has been in place on Glover Avenue. A raised crosswalk was located there in the fall of 2008, before being removed by the town after it was damaged by a snowplow.

The Kubits said they have no objection to having a conventional painted crosswalk in front of their house, but a raised crosswalk creates too many problems for them.

Mr Kubit pointed out that the presence of a raised crosswalk will not necessarily cause motorists to stop for people on that crosswalk, although it is required by state law.

Motorists simply need to be cautious in how they drive to ensure pedestrian safety, he said.

Advised of the Kubits’ concerns about the raised crosswalk, Director of Public Works Fred Hurley said that town police have nearly completed a traffic study that has been underway in conjunction with the presence of the two raised crosswalks.

That study is expected to show whether the presence of the raised crosswalks causes motorists to take alternate routes to their destinations.

The town has been experimenting with the temporary raised crosswalks to learn whether permanent raised crosswalks of durable road construction materials should be installed.

Mr Hurley said he expects the town to remove the two raised crosswalks within the next few weeks. Such temporary devices are considered a hindrance to snowplowing.

Mr Hurley said that the Kubits’ opinions on raised crosswalks are necessary for the town to consider. “This kind of information is important,” he said.

Some people may like raised crosswalks and other people may consider such devices to be an imposition, Mr Hurley observed.

Mr Hurley said he plans to meet with the Police Commission, which is the local traffic authority, in reviewing the upcoming results of the traffic study based focusing on the presence of raised crosswalks.