.
Feedback

Newtown's Queen Street Speed Table In Place

The new traffic control measure aims to bring added safety to the area.


A neighborhood effort that was years in the making now has visible proof that their voices have been heard.

Newtown Public Works employees constructed the first of two speed tables on Queen Street today. The one now in place is at the intersection of Lovells Lane and the second, which will be installed tomorrow, will be at the intersection of Burough Lane.

Queen Street -- and the speed with which vehicles travel on it -- has been the subject of several police commission meetings in recent years as residents sought to bring added safety to their neighborhood. The issue came to a head several years ago when a child who reportedly ran after a ball was struck by a vehicle driving on Queen Street, according to Sgt. Aaron Bahamonde of the 

A 2006 study (attached as a PDF) found that the average rate of speed on Queen Street was 35 miles per hour -- 10 miles per hour faster than the posted speed limit. The speed tables are part of an overall effort to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety in the area, which is home to .

Residents can expect minor traffic delays on Queen Street on Tuesday as Newtown Public Works employees install the second speed table. Queen Street connects Mile Hill Road and Church Hill Road.

Bahamonde said the town will be collecting data based on how the new speed tables are working, including the effects on travel speed and pedestrian safety as well as any potential traffic impacts on adjacent streets.

Richard Hooker April 17, 2012 at 02:31 am
This is absolutely absurd on the amount of money spent on this. a triple speed bump made from asphalt would have sufficed. Funny how the town thinks this spending is ok, but they take away our reliable and honest local school bus drivers, and replace them with garbage. This is just WRONG. Where was the vote on this...who made the decision to spend such insane amounts of money on this monstrosity?
Sam Mihailoff April 17, 2012 at 02:40 am
I bet it gets stolen before Memorial Day
AnotherDay April 17, 2012 at 11:07 am
Just think if we put these speed bumps in all the neighborhoods where traffic is too fast or there is a risk of a child chasing a ball into the street. How do we decide where to spend this money? Then we have the other extreme of the 30mph speed trap on Wasserman Way, where there are two lanes of traffic. I have never seen anyone, including police cars adhere to this limit.
B T April 17, 2012 at 11:09 am
It does seem awful weak, as far as speedbumps go. Maybe the town doesn't want to get sued by all the ferrari owners? :)
dave T April 17, 2012 at 11:44 am
Start handing out more tickets... at least that generates a little revenue... maybe even a cell phone usage ticket or 2? I see 1 in every 3 cars with a phone to the ear and I often wonder is it even illegal or enforced at this point.
Bruce Walczak TheNewtownRooster.com April 17, 2012 at 12:24 pm
It is a shame that the management of traffic and drivers inability to drive at the speed limit has come to this. Unfortunately once you go down the path of speed tables they will be all over town. There is no reason to believe Queen Street is unique. Toddy Hill, Currituck, Poverty Hollow,Boggs Hill, to name a few, all deserve the same protection. Frankly there are better solutions, such as the cross walk on Glover and neck downs which do slow traffic down and are much more attractive as a solution. I guess we'll just have to see how up to five speed tables work and how they impact other neighborhood roads or how they diverted traffic. Hopefully one roads solution does not become another roads problem. Please drivers slow down in Newtown or you are going to have a very bumpy drive.
yoda April 17, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Sully, Let it go, people are more stressed then ever and whether right or wrong you"re never going to change this
yoda April 17, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Sully,
Newtown Police Department Citizen Police Academy Informational Program Offered! Knowledge is power!
Red Rooster April 17, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Wasn't this already tried on Glover a few years ago... even since the "2006 study"?
From what I had heard, that was a short lived failure due to an unknowing snowplow. What is the difference between a speed bump and a speed table (besides the cost, of course)?
Clare April 17, 2012 at 01:31 pm
Thank you sadielee. It's amazing to me that Queen St. gets all the attention when there is speeding all over town. AND there are children all over town, not just there. The only thing special about Queen St. is that the people who live there yell louder than anybody else. The squeaky wheel, etc.
Swami April 17, 2012 at 01:48 pm
Yoda - see Dave T's comment. The Law is not being enforced in Newtown. Why not?
Perhaps you can share your Knowledge and let us know the average number of cell phone tickets are issued each week.
yoda April 17, 2012 at 03:08 pm
Dave, that money goes to the STATE!!!! Not NEWTOWN!
yoda April 17, 2012 at 03:39 pm
Sully,
Contact the records dept it's public knowledge!
philip palilla April 18, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Ditto...A complete waste of money...gov't stupidity at it's best. Three 1' asphalt bumps
placed close together would have accomplished more. Since Geckle got a "deal" on the barn, maybe he should have paid for them.
Sam Mihailoff April 18, 2012 at 08:01 pm
speed limit be damned Bruce...after I went over the newest one (closest to Mile Hill,) I had just gone over it and a similar "econ-box" like mine passed me...must have caught air, on other side of road obviously, and in an already marked no passing zone...how fast, I do not know but that little engine was screaming in agony...dopey drivers don't get it i'm afraid
Gary Jeanfaivre (Editor) April 18, 2012 at 10:16 pm
I obtained some information today about the costs involved. The two speed tables on Queen Street are the same ones that were used on Glover a few years ago. Those came at a cost of $8,000 each. A traditional asphalt speed bump costs between $2,000-3,000.
GRC April 19, 2012 at 12:02 am
Already tried that yesterday....I hit it at 50mph in the truck to see if I could catch some air. Big jolt - but no air :(
GRC April 19, 2012 at 12:03 am
Dave,
Yes - it's being enforced. I got pulled over by the motorcycle on Monday and got a$125.00 ticket.
WaxyGordon April 19, 2012 at 01:13 pm
OH YEAH..Wasserman Way is a big time speed trap..and nothing but a speed trap
Sam Mihailoff April 20, 2012 at 01:44 am
does the town plan to roll them up come winter or just replace them after the plows "modify" them...but they sure do look real purty...
MM April 20, 2012 at 03:53 am
Why on Queen Street? I have been asking Newtown police to set up radar on my street for years. What continues to amaze me is that no one in Newtown drinks alcohol and drives. Why don't our finest sit outside the alcohol serving establishments in town - they would make a lot of $$ giving out dui tickets and also SAVE LIVES!!!
Sam Mihailoff April 20, 2012 at 04:08 am
an unmarked clunker could be Newtown's Bonanza right on Church Hill near Starbucks...LOOK MA NO HANDS...SIGNALS OR BRAKES EITHER...WEEEEEEEEEE, I got my half-caf-latte grande big gulp...and my cellphone
dogpile April 20, 2012 at 09:32 am
The last time they put these in Anthony hit one with his town truck and ripped it out in the middle of a snow storm.
kagayou April 21, 2012 at 08:26 pm
Wouldn't it be better to teach your kids not to run into the street after their ball rather than spending $8000 on speed bumps that are going to be vandalized, ruined, worn out and hated?
Alex Tytler April 22, 2012 at 10:34 am
"Speed limits are intended to inform drivers of the maximum reasonable and safe travel speed. However, there is little agreement on what constitutes a safe speed. In a nationwide survey of current speed zoning practices, all states and most of the 44 localities reported using the 85th-percentile speed as the basic factor in setting speed limits. However, the posted speed is often set up to 10 mph lower than the prevailing speed based on a subjective consideration of other factors such as road-side development. The relative subjectivity of the speed zoning process points to the need to re-examine the criteria and procedures used in setting speed limits.
Properly established speed limits foster voluntary compliance and separate the occasional high-risk driver from the vast majority of drivers. On the other hand, speed limits which are set artificially low tend to be ignored and misallocate resources, apprehending and prosecuting motorists driving at safe speeds. Over time this could lead to a loss of respect for all speed limits and create the impression that traffic law enforcement and the judicial system are unfair. The same public when emotionally aroused demand and often get reduced speed limits by believing the lower limit will slow down traffic and reduce accidents." http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/sl-irre0.html
Hawkish Newtowner April 23, 2012 at 12:59 am
Well said! The town budget is stretched thin yet we can spend $16,000 to satisfy a couple of squeaky wheels? Where do I submit my town funded pet peeve list?
Mike Kelley April 23, 2012 at 01:07 am
Posted signs within 1/4 mile of both the Day Care Center and the Middle School has not slowed traffic for years. Continued Radar enforcement by Newtown Police on a regular basis did not work. Looks like these are working from what I have seen over the last week. Hope it continues. The paper quoted above, published in 1990 may or may not be relevant today. I'll drive the speed limit. One or two minutes earlier from one side of town is not a big deal.
Alex Tytler April 23, 2012 at 10:07 am
The point is that 90% will drive to the conditions. Putting in speed tables changes the conditions and people will slow down. Changing the number on a sign doesn't change the conditions.
tom johannsen April 23, 2012 at 05:48 pm
I won't "honor" them anyway. Will still go the same speed I always travel that road on. They don't go all the way to the edge of the road so you can take the bump with two wheels on and two off. HA! Speed limit is too low on that road anyway. -Speed Racer
Michael Nesmith April 23, 2012 at 05:55 pm
Wouldn't want them in front of my house!!! How dreadful!

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Newtown Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Thomas Paine June 18, 2013 at 01:47 pm
Why is it the panel for this event does not include a single advocate for gun-owners' rights? WithRead More all due respect to Chief McNamara, why does the panel no include a person who can speak to gun safety from a gun-owning civilian's perspective? ML, you claim that the assembled folks "do not offer judgements about gun ownership" but they are not including a single voice that can offer perspective on gun ownership. I have been to "education" sessions sponsored by Meg's March for Change and they are one-sided indoctrinations into gun control advocacy. >>>> I was in Hartford for the public hearings in January when both Meg and March co-founder Nancy gave their personal testimonies and they all but threatened the legislators on the panel with election day retribution for all those who did not tow the gun-control line of thinking (i.e. March and CAGV). To suggest that Meg "does not offer judgements" is fallacious and disingenuous.
DOR June 19, 2013 at 08:56 am
I'm o n Butterfield. No sightings here. Any specifics as to her location?
Carol Chapman June 19, 2013 at 09:23 am
Norma has been spotted this morning at the intersection of Kenan and Currituck. The red leash isRead More still attached. She was trying to eat a dead squirrel on Currituck. Very skittish, but still in the neighborhood (yay). Please watch for her. My husband and sister-in-law (who first spotted her on Currituck this morning) were unable to get near her. She's in the woods, heading toward Butterfield. Her foster mom is on the scene now. Folks in the neighborhood, please watch for her and call 203-942-4008 if you see her.
Carol Chapman June 19, 2013 at 11:20 am
Carolee Mason (Newtown's Animal Control Officer) is watching her from her car at the moment, armedRead More with catfood to tempt her closer. The foster mom is on her way there again, this time with chicken, and Laura is on her way with hamburger. Problem is, this dog is VERY shy, skittish and quick to run away.
Betsy Kraushaar June 17, 2013 at 07:54 am
If you have goodies left that you are interested in donating to our Girl Scout Troop...pleaseRead More contact me. Our troop has been saving/ fundraising for a senior trip to Europe for the past 5 years. Thanks in advance, Betsy
Llyod Christmas June 17, 2013 at 09:01 pm
Hi Betsy! We have tons of children's books left, and would be more than happy to donate them. HowRead More should I get in touch with you to drop them off?
Betsy Kraushaar June 17, 2013 at 10:46 pm
Lloyd, My email is betsykraushaar@charter.net....I'd love to get some books...Thanks!!!
Every Friday, Rain or Shine, Lone Activist Stands
Elissa Bass June 14, 2013 at 08:44 pm
I do too.
Amy Pare June 16, 2013 at 09:28 am
This is amazing. Where is she standing?