Which Do You Want First?

By Rosanna Trestman

First the good news: Suddenly, Norfolk, CT has become both a tourist target and a destination for locals looking for a night out. The bad news: ditto. Just as we despaired that downtown’s storefronts would never fill and pined for some economic get up and go, along comes Infinity Hall, whose lengthy construction process certainly got our attention and whose industrious P.R. department got the attention of everyone else in the tri-state region. Norfolk is a happening town, judging by the lively sidewalk traffic and steady stream of automobiles witnessed this past summer. The word is out. Add the farmers market, the music festival and no fewer than nine recent news articles singing our praises, and overnight downtown Norfolk is the quintessential bustling burg. That bad news is that each and every pilgrim probably arrived by car. The issue of too few parking spaces has been deftly tackled by the Economic Development Commission (EDC), which has started the process of erecting “No Parking” and “Limited Parking” signs downtown, and has created a map delineating legal parking spots. As proposed, it should ease congestion, but it will leave fewer parking opportunities, which would surely rattle anyone anxious to ditch their car before curtain time (valet parking has been suggested). Signs indicating prohibited parking spots will solve the first problem, but how about additional signs (we can deal with the esthetics later) directing motorists to legal parking sites further away? Additionally, the EDC parking map could be posted in storefront windows and on the Infinity Hall Website. Visibility, or lack thereof, is another safety hazard. Large vehicles parked in front of the Pub and the Hall make it impossible to safely exit Station Place. Maybe parking along that stretch of road could be designated for compact cars. Another example is the curve (marked by the blinking traffic light) which is a dangerous blind spot for motorists turning left onto 272. Parking is only one part of the overall malaise brought on by success. Once visitors to town find a spot and are on their own two feet, dodging vehicles on 44 is yet another trial. The approach to Norfolk from the east is downhill. Motorists are instructed to reduce their speed, but the downward momentum into town negates that. Posted speed limit signs are clearly not doing the job, but additional and more visible crosswalks might. At present we have only the crosswalk in front of the library. However, the commercial and cultural core of Norfolk, which includes the Green, the Historical Society and the very active Congregation Church, is bifurcated by 44. There is a false sense of security crossing the road there. Vehicles passing through at high speed are heedless to our rural pace and the fact that we don’t treat it as a highway, but a local road. To obtain or refurbish crosswalks the town must apply to the Department of Transportation. If approved, they will apply line striping (reflective paint is in the experimental stage), but it is up to the town to install the portable cone, which usually has a sign reminding motorists to yield to pedestrians. While they are designed to signal drivers of potential pedestrians in the road, they unintentionally work as a traffic tamer, as cars cannot help but go through the gauntlet with care. Portable radar machines are another method of reminding the driver to ease up on the pedal. Their intended goal is to slow down drivers with the implication that their speed is being monitored. But, perversely, they also encourage acceleration as many a motorist uses them to clock their highest speed. Finally, there is nothing that says “slow down” like a State Trooper parked on the side of the road. Recently Greg Naylor has taken it a step further by writing a good five tickets a day. That’s a start.