New Canaan's Traffic Calming Committee Eyes Road Improvements

Traffic calming committee. It kind of sounds like Dr. Phil meeting a group of crazed NASCAR drivers racing for the checkered flag. But it's not. Once a month, members of the police, fire, and department of works, meet with those New Canaan residents who are interested and concerned about everything from speed limits to speed bumps on the roads in their town.

"People used to be able to come to the police commission meetings, which can be intimadating," said Jim Cole, police commission chairman. "You had to run through hoops to get on the agenda. This is a way to come in and informally introduce a subject, express your opinion, and maybe get it to the police commission for corrective action."

The traffic calming meetings are a judgement-free zone where residents can suggest ideas no matter how extravagant or far-fetched they may seem.

"We want to get as many residents in here as we can," said Cole. "We give them as much a voice as we can. We educate them on things that work and don't work. This is a place where they can come to express an opinion."

A group of five or six residents usually show up to the meetings held at the police department. If somebody thinks they should have speed bump on their street, it'll get consideration. If someone else wants a blinking warning light to signal a treacherous curve, their voice will be heard.

Cole himself has a strong opinion on the the speed limit along Main Street. As it stands now, the speed limit is 30 miles per hour near the bottom of Main street and 25 miles at the top. He's focused on getting it changed to 25 miles an hour for the entire road.

"It's my issue," said Cole. "I want to do something about speeding on Main Street. This is a personal mission. I've heard from people in town who live along the street. The visibility of reducing the speed limit on a road like that over a period of time will cause people to slow down. If it has that kind of effect, then it's worthwhile to me."

Cole, who has faced opposition on the uniform speed limit from others within the commission, can petition the state department of transportation to have it changed. Best case scenario, the state will either accept or decline his proposal within six months.

"I'm representing the interests of all the people who think we should have a 25 mile per hour speed limit for all of Main Street. I'm not going to let it die."

And the rest of the traffic calming committee doesn't want to see it fizzle, either.     

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