This Google Map image shows Gary Park, with Gary Park Drive leading out of it. Davis Road is in the upper right of the screen shot.
SEYMOUR — Police are hoping to crack down on speeding and drag racing near a popular town park surrounded by houses.
Residents Kristen Kotulsky, who lives on Davis Road and Carolyn Griffing, who lives on Gary Park Drive, raised their concerns during the Nov. 17 Board of Police Commission meeting.
“Our street has turned into a drag racing street,” Griffing told the board. “Cars are speeding there on weekends and very early in the morning.”
Kotulsky, who walks her dogs in and around the park, said on several occasions she has seen cars traveling pretty fast on both Gary Park Drive and the adjacent David Road.
“I’ve seen people walking along the road and jump out of the way to dodge speeding cars,” Kotulsky said.
Gary Park is heavily used by kids’ soccer teams and youth baseball leagues, and there’s a large playscape there where moms and dad congregate with their little ones.
Community Police Officer/K‑9 Officer John Oczkowski, during his monthly report to the police commission said police will beef up enforcement in the Gary Park/Davis Road area. He plans to tackle the problem with a more visible law enforcement presence when possible.
Oczkowski said police were fortunate to receive a grant from the Katharine Matthies Foundation earlier this year, which enabled the department to purchase a $2,100 traffic data collector. The device gives police the ability to count vehicles, along with vehicle speed. It gives police a way to measure the extent of the problem and how to respond.
The unit was used about two weeks in the West Street area residents complained about speeding. West Street is a heavily-used cut through road to Route 67.
The unit collected data from some 46,000 drivers on West Street. The average speed in the 25 m.p.h. zone was about 30 m.p.h. — but there were some vehicles moving between 70 and 85 mph.
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis also responded to several inquiries from residents at a previous police commission meeting about installing speed bumps, saying while they do slow drivers down, they are not good for the town snow plows or emergency vehicles.
