One-way traffic pattern being considered for downtown Mystic
Mystic — The Town of Stonington on March 7 will hold a forum on a suggested proposal to make a one-way loop through a portion of downtown Mystic to improve traffic flow and increase parking.
The forum will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the B.F. Hoxie Fire Station.
Stonington Director of Planning Jason Vincent said he has heard that some residents were going to propose the change to the Stonington Board of Police Commissioners.
The idea is to convert Cottrell Street, which borders Mystic River Park, into a one-way street, with cars heading south from Route 1 to Washington Street, and making Willow Street a one-way street in the northerly direction. In addition, Stanton Place, which is narrow, would be made into a one-way street in the easterly direction.
“We want people to tell us if they like the idea or they hate the idea. That’s why we’re having the meeting,” Vincent said.
Last year, the police commission made adjacent Haley Street a one-way street in the westerly direction, to which people have reacted favorably, Vincent said.
He said he does not yet know how many parking spots the plan would generate. He said he does not want the town to spend the time and money to engineer the plan until he hears how residents feel about the proposed change.
Vincent said if the concept is received favorably, then he would try to get the town to allocate funding to hire a traffic engineer to design the change and present it to the Board of Police Commissioners for approval. He said the actual implementation would not be costly and would require adding only signs and striping.
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