The Derby Fire Department shared this photo after a car crashed on Sentinel Hill Road in September 2020.
DERBY — Police commissioners are taking steps to reduce the high rate of car crashes in the Sentinel Hill Road area that have neighbors fearing for their safety.
During a virtual meeting Monday night, the commission unanimously voted in favor of several recommendations made by a traffic study conducted by Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments. Click here to listen to the meeting.
The study, which the commission requested last November, revealed both some short and long-term solutions to help curb excessive speeding in the areas of Sentinel Hill and Academy Hill roads, as well as High Street and David Humphreys Road.
In the short term, the report recommends installing signs to help reduce traffic speed, and ultimately the number of crashes in the area. The study showed that 23 reported crashes occurred in the area from 2015 to the present, and most happened during dry road conditions. At least two or three sets of “chevron” signs — signs that warn motorists of curves — are recommended.
The report also recommends placing several pedestrian crosswalk signs to highlight the presence of the three existing crosswalks that connect the cross streets to Witek Park. A pedestrian warning sign could also be installed to give drivers a more immediate sense of the potential need to stop to allow pedestrians to cross, according to the report.
The report also recommends “more frequent traffic law enforcement,” as additional signage itself “cannot replace effective enforcement of posted speed limits.”
The report also notes confusion among posted speed limits and making changes to correct that. The speed limit on Academy Hill Road is 30 MPH but changes to 25 MPH Sentinel Hill Road. Residents during Tuesday’s meeting pushed to have the speed limits decreased. The report showed the average speed of drivers traveling in the area was 39 MPH.
Some mid-range solutions, which would be more costly, include adding edge striping on the roads, which would make the lanes feel narrower and likely cause traffic to slow. Adding rapid flashing beacons in the crosswalks is another recommendation.
As far as a long term and more costly option, the report says a redesign of the road could be the best solution.
Commission Chairman Thomas Lenart assured neighbors that the commission is doing everything in its power to make the roads safer.
“We are doing as much as we possibly can from the police commission side to bring you some relief and we are going to do more,” Lenart said. “We are taking this very seriously.”
In addition to the traffic study recommendations, the commission will also ask the local police to speak with the state DOT about revisiting the speed limits on the road, and see if they can be reduced to 25 MPH. They will also request that the city’s Public Works Department be notified of an accident involving guardrail or property damage the following business day to get repairs started.
Several residents said they’re still waiting for guardrails and damage to their properties that occurred from a May 29 car accident to be fixed.
The commission also hopes to hold a neighborhood forum to discuss their concerns and possible solutions. Another suggestion was possibly adding rumble strips in the road to slow drivers, but Deputy Police Chief Scott Todd said that would require much larger public input, due to the noisy nature of them, and many of the houses in the area being close to the road.
Alderwoman Sarah Widomski, who lives on Academy Hill Road, presented the commission with a petition from about two dozen residents.
“There have been multiple, serious accidents,” she said. “Vehicles travel at excessive speeds there. With a recent sale of a number of homes, there are more children in the area, and no paved sidewalks. We have to protect the health, safety and welfare of our neighbors. We would also request more police enforcement in the short term.”
Todd said police do what they can, but it’s a difficult area because there’s no room for officers to sit on the side of the road to use radar, as police don’t have mobile radar guns. Police have deployed a digital radar trailer to slow traffic on Sentinel Hill.
Todd said new signage is on its way and once it’s in, the public works department will install it immediately. A suggestion to install a three-way stop sign at Sentinel Hill, Academy Hill and High Street by Town/City Clerk Marc Garofalo, who lives on Academy Hill, was made. But Todd said unfortunately traffic data doesn’t warrant a three-way stop there, “but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done,” he said.
Other residents like John and Liz Bartone, who’ve lived at the corner of Sentinel Hill and High Street for 12 years, have seen one too many accidents and want it to stop.
“In these 12 years we have witnessed countless accidents at the curb of my home,” Liz Bartone said. “These accidents threaten the safety of my family and the community.”
Barton said the most recent accident occurred in front of her house on May 29.
“The driver took out the wooden guardrails, 100 feet of my chain link fence, drove through multiple pine trees and landed within 25 feet of my front yard. My chain link fence was wrapped around the driver’s car and she couldn’t get out. Nothing has been repaired by the city. My yard looks exactly the same as when the accident occurred there two weeks ago. The guardrails should’ve been replaced the next business day. It leaves my family at risk. I request the city swiftly address these issues and put in more stop signs, rumble strips, guardrails and increase police presence to keep Derby citizens safe.”
Cathy Campbell, who lives on Sentinel Hill, knows all too well of the accidents in the area.
“I had someone upside-down in my driveway, someone upside-down in my side yard,” she said. “I replaced five mailboxes, my wall has been damaged three times. My concern is the guardrails not being replaced at a speedy time. I fear for somebody coming down that hill and going straight into my neighbor’s yard. I don’t even allow my grandkids in the front yard because of all the accidents.”
Mayor Richard Dziekan said the issue with not getting guardrails fixed quicker often have to do with waiting on insurance companies.
“We will take immediate action to repair these guardrails and go after the insurance companies afterward,” Dziekan pledged to residents.
