South Windsor council OKs traffic calming ordinance

SOUTH WINDSOR – The South Windsor town council unanimously approved a neighborhood traffic calming policy it hopes will reduce traffic and speeding on residential roads.

The new policy will be heavily dependent on residents along the streets being in agreement with any proposed road improvements, which could include re-striping of lanes, speed humps, medians and landscaped islands.

Under the policy, after an issue is discovered and 50 percent of the neighborhood signs a petition, town officials will meet with neighbors and begin a traffic calming study involving the police department and consultants, along with data collection. The collection process includes counting vehicles, tracking speeds, crashes, traffic volume and types of traffic. Any improvements must be approved by 75 percent of neighbors.

Councilwoman Janice Snyder wanted to make sure any improvements come in a timely manner, so time limits will be placed on each step of the process. Before the limits were approved by the council in an amended resolution, Snyder said it could take up to a year or more before the improvements were installed.

“It shouldn’t take this length of time, especially if there’s a street in town where we are getting constant calls about speeding,” she said. Once the process is started, the council will be updated after six months.

Town Engineer Jeffrey Doolittle said the process will depend on how organized the neighborhoods are and how much they embrace traffic calming.

“This is going to be a document that changes as we use it,” he said. “As we go through this, we will find ways to streamline this and make changes to improve the process.”

The town’s local road safety committee, which includes members of the police and fire departments, public works, planning department and board of education, developed the policy as a guide to handle resident traffic concerns and complaints. The goal is to get drivers to slow down along local roads, especially those used as shortcuts to major streets.

“You want traffic to go where it is designed to go and not through little neighborhoods,” Doolittle said. “The purpose of this policy is to try to keep excess speeding, excess traffic and excess trucks out of residential neighborhoods.”

Laurel Street resident Dave McDonald, who has complained about speeding and traffic along his road, said the town should use pre-fabricated speed bumps and humps as a temporary solution.

“That would eliminate most of the problem until we can get a permanent solution. We think the town is on the right track,” he said.

The council will also work on ways to fund traffic studies, development of solutions and calming options that could range from $15,000 to $40,000. The funding could come from the town’s capital plan or through the engineering department budget.

“Not every complaint will move on to the next phase where it’s going to cost us money,” Deputy Mayor Liz Pendleton said.

“I don’t want to avoid doing changes in a neighborhood where it is dangerous because of money,” added Snyder. “It’s not going to be a billion dollars. As a council I don’t want to be tied down by money if there are safety issues out there.”

Peter Marteka can be reached at pmarteka@courant.com.