Speed Bump Installed on Schoolhouse Road

By Colleen Gundlach

Schoolhouse Road, a leafy South Norfolk byway near the Winsted line, has an interesting history that lives on long past the time when children attended the South End School for which the road was named. Signs at the intersection with Winchester Road once had, according to Ann Havemeyer, curator of the Norfolk Historical Society Museum, a hand pointing one way to Winsted (via Schoolhouse Road) and the other to Winchester Center, giving a clear indication of its location at the corner (of Schoolhouse and Winchester roads).

Today, more than a century later, the road that was once a mere passageway has become a direct link between South Norfolk and Winsted and is used by commuters on their way to Hartford and beyond. Recently, drivers enroute from Winchester Road to Grantville Road experienced a change in the terrain of Schoolhouse Road. During the week of June 16, town workers installed a brightly colored speed bump about halfway down the road, along with a sign warning drivers of the upcoming bump.

First Selectman Matt Riiska said a Schoolhouse Road resident requested the speed bump be installed to calm the speeding of motorists using the road as a thoroughfare to Winsted. “We had a speed bump available,” Riiska said, “so it was placed where it is on Schoolhouse. As with all of our speed bumps, they are movable and are removed before winter. I have asked residents to slow down on all our roads many times but speeding still persists.”

One Schoolhouse Road resident thinks it doesn’t go far enough and would like to see one or two more speed bumps installed. “One speed bump is not enough. There would need to be an additional two or three throughout the length of the road,” the resident said. “Traffic on the road increases between 7 and 9 a.m. and again between 4 and 6 p.m. Most of the time the speed limit is adhered to, but unfortunately others do not. An unannounced speed trap may be even more effective.”

Kurt Olson of Winchester Road has mixed feelings about the speed bump. “People definitely speed down through there,” he said. “I have a work van fully loaded so I need to come to a complete stop and go over it or else everything goes everywhere in my van. I hate it but I understand why it is there. It is a shame people can’t just not speed through there…just another example of everyone else having to pay the price for a couple of people who chose to not follow the rules. We should have left it dirt.”

In fact, Schoolhouse Road was a dirt-covered, unpaved road for most of its length until the late 1980s. Travelers were forced to slow down as they came down the hill on the rough, winding road. Paving brought the opportunity to drive faster.

Bart Weinrich, a Bruey Road resident, agrees that speed is an issue on Schoolhouse Road, but feels that a “random speed bump on a rural road….is really unsafe.” He said that radar-enabled speeding signs or rumble strips with “slow down” sign make the most sense. “With either of those, there’s no seasonal maintenance,” he said. “There’s also no delay to emergency response vehicles and no one runs the risk of damaging their vehicle.”

Riiska hopes the bump will deter speeding. “The speed limit on town roads is 25 m.p.h.,” he said. “By slowing down, we will all save people from injuries or worse, reduce damage to property and maybe we could spend tax dollars on something other than speed bumps.” He added, “We do have additional speed bumps on order and will be placing them in areas when they are requested. We put them out when we receive concerns from residents.”