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12/08/2019 11:00 PMWith recent results of a state Department of Transportation (DOT) radar unit finding speeds more than doubling the 30 mile per hour speed limit on Main Street through Deep River’s town center, residents and officials are struggling to find solutions, a process made more challenging in that this local issue is happening on a state road.
Mike DiNello, who with his wife Stacie DiNello owns The Riverwind Inn in the town center, again raised the issue of speeding on Main Street before the Board of Selectmen. DiNello has collected more than 300 signatures from residents calling for a solution to the problem.
At the Nov. 26 Board of Selectmen meeting, Dinello reported that a DOT wireless radar detected 40,000 cars traveling on Main Street in front of the Riverwind over a week. Of those 40,000 cars, 5,200 exceeded the speed limit and were traveling between 36 to 72 miles per hour. The area is a 30-mile-per-hour speed zone.
“These numbers, are to say the least, alarming. This means that roughly 200,000 vehicles are speeding through our town each year. This is a safety problem for our children, runners, walkers and bikers, not to mention the noise pollution,” DiNello said. “Allowing this speeding is decreasing the quality of life in the area. The excessive speeds, not only on Main Street, but on other town roads, are a tragedy waiting to happen and certainly a deterrent for the future, successful, economic development of Deep River, by not commanding a village-like atmosphere.”
First Selectman Angus McDonald provided some perspective on previous studies.
“There have been numerous studies done by the Connecticut State Department of Transportation on this stretch of road,” said McDonald. “The town has put up two different radar lights in the area, and speed in the area has been observed by the state police.
“There is a lot you can do with the numbers and the statistics. There are people who were traveling at speeds of 72 miles per hour at 3 a.m. but, the average speed in that area is 33 miles per hour,” he added. “And yes, there are speeders in this area and we are trying to address that, but the state has refused, at this time, to install any kind of traffic calming changes.”
McDonald and DiNello have spoken with the DOT commissioner on several occasions, but have yet to reach a solution. For now, they plan to continue conversations with the DOT and try to remedy the situation in any way possible.
“Ideally I would like to see some kind of a speed table [a gradual increase to a raised crosswalk] installed at both the north and south entrances of Main Street. I think that would help slow traffic and additionally act as a great cross walk,” said McDonald. “We have spent a tremendous amount of energy investigating this problem and there has been an increase in speed traps, with tickets administered, which has produced results. For now, we are doing all we can, but the reality is that it is a state road.”