Politics & Government

Bedlack: Stop Signs on France Street Are 'Working'

The Public Safety Committee clarifies the process in which stop signs are being installed in town following the controversy created on France Street.

 

Members of the Public Safety Commitee debated the impact that the stop signs on France Street are having and if the process was correctly followed to ensure they were installed properly at their meeting Monday night.

Following a Public Safety Committee public hearing last month, Town Manager Barbara Gilbert, who is the traffic authority for Rocky Hill, and her staff visited the France Street area and installed stop signs on the street near the Murphy Drive and Deerfield Run intersections.

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The stop signs have . One resident John Bedlack, who was one of the , said they are “working” and it is a creating a "slower and quieter neighborhood."

“I see a very few people who cannot accept them,” he said. However, he added “the word is getting around that the stop signs mean stop.”

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Bedlack, who was the only resident to speak at the meeting, said the police in the area have been “vigilante” and he has even asked residents to call the town manager’s office to express their satisfaction with the signs. He added that the stop signs are cheaper than widening the road.

Committee member Timothy Moriarty agrees with Bedlack's position and said he feels the stop signs are helping slow down drivers.

“Sometimes you have to give up something to create safety,” he said.

According to Moriarty, a study showed that 4,000 cars were traveling on France Street on an average day and were averaging a speed of 58 mph when the posted speed limit is 30 mph.

“It was a no brainer for me,” he said about adding the stop signs to France Street.

Gilbert said residents have been complaining that the stop signs have created unnecessary pollution and a waste of fuel. She used a stopwatch and found out the wait at the stop sign was about four seconds if the driver came to a full stop.

Committee member Nadine Bell said she understood the reasoning for signs being installed on the street, however she questioned the process in which it was handled.

“I think we need to be open with the public about the process,” she said. “People at this table tried to do the right thing."

Bell added that she wanted a protocol installed in the future on how stop signs are installed in town. She wanted to avoid the public “perception” that one man argued for the signs and “got what he wanted.”

“There is a thought process to doing it and it is not a knee jerk reaction,” she said.

Committee Chairman Joe Kochanek said it has been more than one individual who has wanted stop signs on France Street.

“France Street has been an issue for a long, long time,” he said. “People are not adhering to the posted speed signs, cutting through from other parts of town to eliminate their way through Cromwell and New Britain avenues. All we did was give people back their neighborhoods.”

Following the installation of France Street stop signs, Gilbert said she meet with her staff and they went over the process. A traffic study must be performed on the street or road in question, which can be done by town staff or an outside contractor. An outside firm did a traffic study on France Street in 2010.

“We are trying to follow the guidelines,” she said. Gilbert added she has the final say in determining if a street has stop signs installed.

A traffic study done by Tighe & Bind for the town in January 2010 recommended traffic calming measures to reduce travel speeds on France Street. The study said the measures “could reduce bypassing or cut-through traffic.” However, it also stated that the volumes are not considered to be high on the street.

Gilbert said she has received several inquires from residents about other streets where stop signs could be placed. At the meeting, she said she is currently looking at two possible areas with one being Falcon Ridge Road and Lavender Lane and the other is the intersection of Forest and Summit roads. Gilbert said that a study showed Forest and Summit roads did not warrant the stop signs and had line of sight issues.

“There is a process outlined in the municipal code that we follow,” she said about determining if a street qualifies for stop signs.  

Town Engineer James Sollmi has been looking other towns' practices and has noticed trends in their decision making process on stop signs. He is also looking at having a roving speed sign in areas where speeding is an issue to help determine the amount of cars traveling on the street and the average speed.


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