Speed Surveillance in Norfolk and Project Hand-Offs at Town Hall

By Matt Riiska

Traffic speed and road work have been the major talking points of many of my submissions for almost eight years. Speed bumps are not the only answer for reducing speeding on our roads. No matter how much I plead with motorists to simply slow down, the problem persists.

I was recently informed of another option: “Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Devices” (ATESD). I recently met with representatives from Sitestream LLC, a provider of this service.
Sitestream produces ATESD monitoring equipment that will monitor your speed, assess your speed in relationship to the local speed limit, photograph your license plate if you are speeding and then issue a citation. Their system is approved by the Connecticut DOT and adheres to all Connecticut laws. The town would receive a portion of the revenue from the issuing of citations.

In the upcoming months Sitestream will be placing monitoring equipment on Routes 44 and 272. The information collected will let us know how many motorists are exceeding the posted speed by 10 miles per hour. This data will let Sitestream know if it makes sense for them to install their [citation-issuing] equipment. There is still information that needs to be reviewed, but we all know that something needs to be done. If this is successful, we will then investigate installing this equipment on town roads.

Over the next few months there are a number of projects that I will be transitioning to the new selectmen. The River Place bridge, although completed, still requires a lot of time to clean up the final invoices and reimbursements from CT-DOT. As has been discussed, the plans for the replacement of the bridges on Mountain Road, Old Goshen Road and Smith Road are being planned. The plans for the new fire house are being worked on with the possibility that additional funds could be required. The fire house committee continues to modify the design to reduce costs. It would be nice if we could get back to a stable environment in Washington, DC.

Summer is not over yet, with many events scheduled for this fall. The Haystack Book Festival starts on Sept. 20, the Norfolk Land Trust Trail Race on Oct. 5 and the Norfolk Rails to Trails Tour de Forest on Oct. 18. Participants and volunteers are needed for all these events.

Have a great fall and please slow down and enjoy everything Norfolk has to offer.