Police Commission members conducted a special meeting last week to discuss the traffic problems posed by the flagpole intersection of Main Street, Church Hill Road, and West Street. They invited the chief elected official of the borough to discuss the matter with them.

But Borough Warden James Gaston, Sr, urged the Police Commission on March 24 to broaden its review of local traffic issues and to support having a traffic study performed on town roads, generally. Mr Gaston also is a town selectman.

The Police Commission is the local traffic authority, serving the town and the borough.

Police Commission members have been reviewing traffic data which indicate that during a six-year period, representing calendar years 2009 through 2014 inclusive, there were 94 reported traffic accidents in the area of the five-legged flagpole intersection, reflecting a high accident rate. Some of the collisions there involve vehicles striking the flagpole itself, as the 100-foot-tall steel structure is not shielded by protective barriers.

In opening the March 24 session, Police Commission Chairman Paul Mangiafico told commission members that Mr Gaston is well versed in the history of the flagpole intersection, where Main Street (State Route 25) and Church Hill Road (US Route 6) intersect with the bifurcated town road known as West Street.

The Police Commission has received much mail on the topic of solving traffic problems that exist at the intersection, Mr Mangiafico said.

Among the opinions expressed, some people say that police should simply better enforce the traffic laws at the intersection, while others say that only some minor changes are needed there, Mr Mangiafico said.

Yet other people say that a traffic signal should be installed on Main Street somewhat north of the flagpole in order to improve traffic flow in the area, while others urge that the town be very cautious in any dealings with the state about any changes to the flagpole intersection, the chairman added.

Mr Gaston asserted that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) would like to have a four-lane road linking Danbury to Bridgeport. What has prevented that from occurring is the presence of some wetlands in Monroe and the presence of Main Street flagpole in Newtown, he said.

The state holds a right-of-way along Main Street which extends laterally to the sidewalks that flank the street, Mar Gaston said.

Mr Gaston said that state legislation designates the flagpole as a landmark, providing it with certain protection from changes. Also, any proposed changes to the flagpole are subject to review by the Borough Historic District Commission, he said.

Occasionally during the past 25 years, some entity has pushed for changes at the flagpole intersection, he said. Those drives for change eventually subside, he added.

The last such strong push for changes at the intersection came as part of the Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan, a 2006 traffic study paid for by the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials, which was the regional transportation planning agency.

Past suggestions for flagpole intersection changes, which included the installation of a roundabout or the installation of traffic signals, would have been damaging to the area, according to Mr Gaston.

Installing a roundabout would involve the state acquiring properties adjacent to the intersection to create enough space for such a traffic control feature, he said. Also, the presence of traffic signals would create traffic problems, he said.

Overall Study

Rather than focusing attention on the flagpole intersection, Mr Gaston urged that the Police Commission pursue a wide-ranging traffic study that would address the traffic issues that exist throughout town. Such a project could be implemented by a large ad hoc committee, he said.

Such a project could take up to two years to complete, he said.

Mr Gaston said there are many locations in town with worse traffic problems than the flagpole intersection.

Police Commission member Brian Budd said that in terms of dealing with flagpole intersection traffic problems, installing traffic signals might be considered. Such traffic signals, however, would not be installed on the flagpole itself, he said.

“The traffic lights will destroy Main Street,” Mr Gaston said. Traffic signals would cause traffic congestion, he said. The DOT does not want traffic signals installed there, he added.

The DOT has suggested that a traffic roundabout be installed at the intersection.

An overall study of town traffic issues should precede any such traffic study focusing on the flagpole intersection, he said.

Mr Gaston said that an ad hoc committee would report to the Board of Selectmen. Such a committee would share its findings with the Police Commission, he said.

Police Commission member Virgil Procaccini, Jr, pointed out that the intersection carries a high traffic volume and has several crosswalks, but there is little traffic control there. The Church Hill Road and West Street entries to the intersection are controlled by stop signs.

Mr Gaston observed that to avoid traffic problems at the intersection, all that motorists need to do is be respectful of others.

“All you have to do is drive with respect,” he said, adding that if motorists drive with respect, they will have no trouble negotiating the intersection.

Mr Gaston said he has never experienced a “close call” at the intersection. He said that members of his family have never had problems driving there. The borough warden told Police Commission members that the people he knows tell him there is no traffic problem at the flagpole intersection.

Police Commission member Joel Faxon said that collaboration is important in solving problems. Collaboration is a gradual process, he added.

The traffic issues posed by the flagpole intersection should be addressed in a way that balances public safety with the historic character of the area, he said. “It’s a difficult balance,” he said.

“I could not imagine downtown Newtown without a flagpole,” Mr Faxon said.

Mr Gaston said he has received many phone calls and e-mails from residents on the flagpole issue. “People say ‘Leave the flagpole alone,’” he told Police Commission members.

Mr Gaston asserted that there are more dangerous places to drive in town than the flagpole intersection, such as the section of Church Hill Road lying just west of the Exit 10 interchange of Interstate 84.

Upcoming Discussion

Mr Mangiafico said March 25 that he plans to discuss Mr Gaston’s recommendation for a townwide traffic study with members of the Police Commission to gauge their views on the topic. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for April 7.

If a townwide traffic study were to occur, it could be organized by the Board of Selectmen, he said.

The commission chairman observed, “As far as I’m concerned, there is a [traffic] problem there.” He said he uses the flagpole intersection often in his travels and is very familiar with the traffic problems that occur there, having made a point of observing the area during traffic rush periods.

“It is a very difficult situation. It seems that any potential mechanism to improve [the intersection] has some negative aspects to it,” he said. “It’s complicated,” Mr Mangiafico stressed.

“This is far from over,” Mr Mangiafico said of the Police Commission’s addressing the flagpole intersection traffic problems.

Mr Mangiafico added that the commission is having Police Chief Michael Kehoe prepare some information listing the various areas in town considered to pose the most serous traffic problems.

“There may be other locations where we have a discomfiting number of accidents,” he said.

He added, however, the flagpole intersection is different than other places with traffic problems, in that the flagpole itself is a physical obstruction and that perpendicular parking is allowed directly in front of the Newtown Meeting House there.

That parking poses difficulties for large trucks seeking to keep to the right of the flagpole while making a left turns from westbound Church Hill Road onto southbound Main Street, he said.

Mr Mangiafico stressed that the Police Commission is not seeking to have the flagpole removed from the intersection. “It won’t be removed,” he said.

In 2013, the DOT conducted a traffic count near the flagpole intersection. That study showed that the average daily traffic flow on Main Street just north of the flagpole was 18,100 vehicles; on Main Street just south of the flagpole was 14,200 vehicles; on Church Hill Road just east of the flagpole was 9,300 vehicles, and on West Street just west of the flagpole was 1,200 vehicles.