Keeping the Roads Safe

By Colleen Gundlach

The first letter to the editor about slowing down traffic traveling through Norfolk was published in Norfolk Now back in 2017. The writer, Barry Webber, encouraged townspeople to make a concerted effort to travel the speed limit when driving around town. He wrote, “If each of us pledges to travel the speed limit on our roads, it will automatically slow down the rest of the traffic.”

Many Norfolk drivers started doing this, much to the irritation of other drivers trying to fly around the corner near the Frog and down past Infinity—and it works. Unfortunately, the 1,500 or so residents in town are not always in the right place at the right time on Route 44 to slow down the speeders.

Fast forward to November 2021, when co-chair Michael Selleck advised the Norfolk Economic Development Commission (EDC) of his intention to revive the traffic calming committee previously chaired by Larry Hannafin. Selleck suggested that residents join in a letter-writing campaign to encourage the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to decrease the speed limit coming into Norfolk from the east where the road slopes down toward Botelle School. Selleck himself had already been writing to the DOT and legislators in an attempt to get the speed limited reduced from 40 to 35 miles per hour.

This issue has been a contentious one for many years. In November 2018 the DOT conducted a speed limit study on the area between Grant Street and Laurel Way, with special emphasis on the area in front of Botelle School. The study recommended that the speed limit in the area remain at 40 miles per hour but that special signage be put near the school.

Connecticut’s Office of the State Traffic Administration (OSTA) approved a sign to be put on Route 44 near Botelle that would read, “School Speed Limit 30 MPH When Flashing.” The DOT approved it as well, with work to be done mostly by the town.

All the necessary permits were obtained, but in August 2019 the DOT notified First Selectman Matt Riiska that the installation done by the town was incorrect because of discrepancies in size and color. Several phone calls were made to remedy the situation, but in September of that year the town was notified that the sign would have to be removed. 

Eventually the matter was resolved, and in early 2020 the sign was finally properly approved and installed. But according to Selleck, the traffic didn’t slow down. “The state still refuses to reduce the speed limit coming into town to 35. New Hartford, Winsted, Canaan, Salisbury and Lakeville all have signage that alerts drivers to a reduction in the speed limit coming into the town,” he says. “Reducing the speed from 40 to 35 seems very reasonable.”

In 2020 State Senator Kevin Witkos also brought the matter to the attention of the state police in the Canaan barracks. He requested that state police do periodic directed patrols, which are still being done from time to time. “The speed of vehicles going by Botelle School is my main concern,” he says.

Selleck has been doing his own study of traffic going by his house on Route 44 near Laurel Way. Using a radar gun loaned by the DOT, he can occasionally be seen in front of his home monitoring traffic speeds. “I have recorded semi trucks going by here in excess of 50 miles per hour and they don’t hit their brakes as they go down over the hill toward the school,” he says. “Others hit that hill, realize that it’s an 8 percent grade, and they slam on the brakes. It’s a dangerous situation all around.”

The latest decision from OSTA is that safety concerns need to be addressed to the Local Traffic Authority for the town. Joseph Ouellette, the executive director of OSTA, says, “If the LTA agrees that the speed limit should be restudied, they will contact our office.” Norfolk’s LTA is Matt Riiska.

Bill Brown, a previous member of the traffic calming committee, feels that the state is passing the buck. He says Selleck is getting the state’s attention with the letter-writing campaign, but the town itself needs to support him, not just the EDC. “The DOT is completely unresponsive to the needs of our town. They do what they want to do. Norfolk needs to appoint a permanent commission with a formalized structure to deal directly with the DOT and let them know that we mean business.” He feels the town needs to push for a traffic light at the intersection of Route 44 and Laurel Way.

With the state putting the responsibility back onto Riiska as the town’s LTA, Selleck and the EDC face the frustration of proving the need for change. They will continue to move forward with the letter-writing campaign, but Selleck says that the impetus has to come from the townspeople as well. Anyone who would like to support the struggle to calm traffic coming through town should contact Joseph P. Ouellette at DOT.OSTA@ct.gov.