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Madison Asks State for Wall Street and Route 1 Intersection Study

Having long been seen as a potential danger to pedestrians and drivers alike, the intersection of Wall Street and Route 1 is once again on the town and police radar. A requested study is due back from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) in late winter and the town will consider at multiple options to improve safety at that intersection.

Madison Chief of Police Jack Drumm said the Board of Police Commissioners put in a request with the state in early December 2015 for a study of the intersection. Drumm noted it’s not the first time the department has requested a study of this particular crossroad.

“When you have a state road, you have to request a study through the state DOT,” he said. “The state does the study and then they come back with a recommendation.”

While the department and the town await news from the state, Drumm said there are many factors to consider improving the intersection.

“You have to look at the whole situation that exists down there,” he said. “You have handicap parking spots right on the corner, you have the municipal parking behind the movie theater, then you have another drive that goes behind the Post Office, so now you have people coming out of multiple spaces wanting to go right and left so it creates a traffic conundrum.”

Drumm said it is a tough intersection to regulate because of the heavy flow of traffic on Route 1 and the right on red heading south off of Wall Street.

“Most people don’t stop at a right on red, they kind of coast through it, so it creates an issue for people walking across the street,” he said. “People that go to the library, go to the Post Office, who walk often near there, for them it is a sensitive issue and an important issue.”

Town Engineer Mike Ott has designed additional and improved sidewalks to be installed as a part of the Downtown Beautification Project since completely eliminating the right on red option might not be the best solution, according to Drumm.

“By just simply saying, ‘No right-hand turns,’ the traffic would probably be backed up to Bradley Road and Wall Street because of people trying to make left hand turns coming out of the Post Office.”

With such a complex issue, Drumm said it’s important for the town to seriously consider the state recommendations and their own, in-house assessments.

“I am just asking people to look at this at 360 degrees. What are all the ways we can possibly help this?” he said. “Let’s not just put a Band-Aid on it. There are a lot of factors here that affect it. We don’t want to keep revisiting this every two years; we need a solution that works.”