On July 23, I attended an East Lyme Town Hall meeting requested by Michael Goss concerning the safety of pedestrian traffic walking on Riverview Road in town. This issue came about following an accident that occurred as a driver was pulling out of Churchwood Condominiums onto Riverview Road in Niantic, and a pedestrian was struck by this driver. He did not sustain any serious bodily injury from being hit, but rather from when he fell and struck his head on the pavement. He was admitted to the hospital with traumatic brain injury.

Goss reached out to First Selectman Mark Nickerson, who arranged for a meeting. In attendance along with Goss and Nickerson were East Lyme Chief of Police Michael Finklestein and Director of Public Works Joe Bragaw, along with residents from the Riverview community as well as concerned citizens from the town.

An initial concern which started the meeting was Goss’s request the town look into extending sidewalks along the entire stretch of Riverview Road, as there is already an asphalt sidewalk along a portion of the road currently.

Could this sidewalk be extended? Bragaw highlighted the expense involved to install the sidewalks, ranging from the need to widen the road to accommodate the sidewalks to the laying of them, which would put the cost in the hundreds of thousands.

The meeting extended into the topic of the hazards of excessive speeding on all the roads of East Lyme, but focusing mainly on the areas the attendees live.

Joe Bragaw brought up the benefits of the town’s speed control signs have played in slowing down traffic when the signs are in place. These signs capture the speed of an approaching car, and flashes the speed of driver under a sign with the posted speed. This electronic sign captures the data, and provides a report to the police department of the speeds drivers are going. Prior to the accident, one of these signs was placed on Riverview Road and the average speed documented was 39 mph, with a few instances of over 50 mph.

The posted speed limit for Riverview Road is 25 mph. Following the accident, East Lyme police sent vehicles to monitor traffic on this road between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., the time when the accident occurred. For the next two weeks, there were no speed violations along the road due to the police presence.

Alan Kronberg of Society Road expressed his concerns of constant speeding on Dean Road and Society Road. His thought was to put stop signs at the exit 73 off ramp from I-95 north.

Bragaw explained using stop signs to control the speed of traffic does not work. The Office of the State Traffic Administration, which establishes a uniform system of traffic control signals, devices, signs and markings for public highways and roadways has determined this is an ineffective means of controlling speeding on the roads.

Another concern is when there is an accident on I-95 north past exit 73, which closes the highway in both directions. Northbound traffic is diverted down Society Road, heading to Flanders Road, and back onto the highway, creating major traffic headaches.

Whenever there is an accident between exit 72 and 75, traffic always ends up using Boston Post Road or Route 156 (Main Street and West Main Street) to avoid the highway. This creates major traffic issues in downtown Niantic as well as Flanders Four Corners. When there is an accident on Flanders Road between Society Road and Roxbury Road, traffic is now using Riverview Road as a detour, causing more issues for the folks in the Churchwood Condominium community and Riverview Road neighborhood.

Ruth Smith identified numerous concerns, specifically line of sight issues coming out of her Gorton Pond community onto Riverview Road, including shrubs and bushes that need to be cut back so you can see oncoming traffic.

Hannah Smith, daughter of Ruth Smith, brought up the need to promote safer driving. Nickerson had installed signs a couple of years ago along the streets of East Lyme denoting “Slow Down. Enjoy our Town” and reminding drivers to “Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalks.” These signs had an incredible effect on people as they drove our streets.

These signs should be renewed while also utilizing social media to educate the community.

After listening to all comments, Nickerson turned to Goss and asked what he felt would be the next best step. Goss felt community awareness was the best approach. He suggested having a separate meeting with citizens to brainstorm an awareness campaign for the town.

Police and public works representatives said the main way to communicate public concerns is by direct contact. Posting complaints on social media is merely venting, whereas calling and stating your issue directly will garner faster results.

Nickerson said he will create a Citizen Traffic Advisory Group to develop solutions to town problems within the next couple of weeks.

Lee Edwards of Niantic has worked in the transportation industry for two decades. Email him at leeaedwards@atlanticbb.net.