PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES
April 21, 2014
8:00 p.m.
South Windsor Town Council
PURPOSE: To receive citizen input on the Avery Street Reconstruction Project
Mayor Anwar called the Public Hearing to order at 8:00 p.m.; and requested that the Clerk of the Council read the call of the meeting (a copy of which is attached hereto). There were approximately eighty (80) people present in the audience.
Mr. Jeff Doolittle, Town Engineer presented the project plan as shown in attached, Exhibit B and an Informational packet was also given to the Town Council, as shown in attached Exhibit C.
Mayor Anwar asked if there was anyone from the public that would like to speak.
Mr. Bob Girardin, 104 Pine Knob Drive came forward and stated that the roundabout in Ellington since it opened in November has had three accidents. A sidewalk is being proposed on the east side of Avery Street if you are coming north. When you are past the roundabout the sidewalk is shown on the west side which is all swamp lands. The sidewalk should be put on the same side all the way down the street. Mr. Girardin stated he is in opposition of a roundabout and would prefer a traffic light.
Mr. Ray Gough, 42 Woodland Drive stated he is happy to see streets reworked and is not against the Avery Street project or roundabouts. Mr. Goff then stated that with that said he does not feel a roundabout is necessary for this area. If funds are saved by not doing the roundabout, more of Avery Street can be complete.
Mr. Steve Weitz, 303 Oak Street came forward and explained that he is a retired Municipal Traffic Engineer. Mr. Weitz stated that the modern roundabout is smaller and people do not whip into the intersection. Having to travel this area all of the time and using this intersection, something needs to be done for safety reasons and he feels this area would benefit from a roundabout.
Mr. Tim Birch, 678 Avery Street stated that he would be directly impacted by this proposed roundabout. The proposal of a roundabout seems too much and he would have a hard time getting out of his driveway. Mr. Birch said he would prefer a four way stop.
Mr. Bob Dickinson, 19 Birch Road first gave a lot of credit to the Town Engineer and the Engineering Department and feels there recommendation should be considered. The non-roundabout solution concerns him because of the very wide intersection. The only way to solve this issue is to narrow down the medians coming in both directions so the width of the intersection would not be so wide. The roundabout would slow traffic down. Once people get used to roundabouts they seem to work very well.
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Mr. Matt Curylo, 26 Woodland Drive came forward and explained that he is about two houses down from the proposed change. Mr. Curylo stated that he is not skeptical about the roundabout and would be in favor of the creation of one on Avery Street to create a safe environment.
Ms. Brenda Koboski, 141 Woodland Drive thanked Town staff for all of the time and effort put forth on this project. The intersection needs to be fixed and she is in favor of a roundabout.
Mr. Barry Priest, President of Council at Avery Street Church who property is most affected by this redesign explained that the Town Engineer asked what the preference would be for the two intersection design proposals. The design were shown to church members and 70% of the members were in favor of a roundabout.
Ms. Lorraine Gaffney, 300 Benedict Drive explained that she travels in this area quite a bit and is not in favor of a roundabout. The street is very busy and not conducive to all different vehicles.
Ms. Jane Kinsley, Steep Road stated that she travels this area frequently and explained that Vernon Circle had a lot more traffic and a roundabout did not work in that area and was taken out. A traffic light seems more reasonable and it would be cheaper. The intersection can be straightened out.
Ms. Amy Webber, 65 Perrin Lane explained that she drives Avery Street every day and suggested that going north on Avery there is a bush that could be cut down which would help with sight lines a lot in the short term.
Mr. Bentley, 276 Avery Street stated that where you have more then four roadways coming into an intersection as you have in Ellington and the volumes are moderate or low a traffic circle will work. Where you have a lot of traffic a traffic circle could be a problem. The best solution would be to have a signalized intersection.
Mr. Robert Dziedzic, 271 Avery Street stated he is against a roundabout and does not agree with putting one in a residential area does not make sense. There were three accidents in the roundabout in Ellington and a bicyclist was also hit and hurt in that roundabout. Why isn’t all of Avery Street being done at once?
Ms. Pat Greaves, 815 Avery Street came forward and questioned if there are eight accidents within a four year period how does that relate to other intersections in the community? What warrants this kind of a change? I have not read anything about the cost of this project and who would be in charge of the cost? Ms. Greaves also wanted to know how the cost would impact the taxes. Ms. Greaves voiced concern that there are 800 or so people traveling on Avery Street and if a roundabout would encourage more people on this street. Do not want more people traveling on the road.
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Mr. Tom Wells, 639 Avery Street stated that he has lived at this address his entire life and is not in favor of a roundabout. People drive too fast on this road and if you widen the road speeds will be increased. The resident on the west side of the street had requested that the sidewalks be on the east side of the street but did not realize the amount of property that would be taken from certain property owners. The impacts of the neighbors should be considered before this project moves forward.
Ms. Gwen LaValle, Evans Crossing came forward and explained that her concern is in the winter time she has to travel down Avery Street which can be hazardous when it snows. A roundabout is fine on flat land, but with hills it could be dangerous.
Ms. Valerie French, 300 Beelzebub Road stated that she does not see the financial need to change this intersection.
Councilor Mirek read two letters into the record. One letter from Ms. Catherine Gonzales, 754 Avery Street, speaking in opposition to a roundabout in the proposed design of Avery Street. The other letter was from Alf and Carol Alver, 232 Oak Street, speaking in opposition of a roundabout.
Councilor Wagner read a letter into the record from Ms. Donna Geoffroy of 176 Oak Street, speaking in opposition of a roundabout preferring a four way intersection and aligning the roads.
Councilor Pendleton read a letter into the record from Mr. Michael Sullivan, 24 Jared Court, speaking in favor of proposed changes to Avery Street, but does not agree with the roundabout in this area.
Mayor Anwar read a letter into the record the record from Mr. David Wolff, 19 Welles Lane, speaking in favor of the sidewalks and the roundabout in the design of the Avery Street reconstruction.
Mr. Jeff Doolittle, Town Engineer came forward to address various questions that were asked about the redesign of Avery Street. Mr. Doolittle explained that the slope coming down from Beelzebub Road will be cut down for both the roundabout and a four way stop to improve the sight lines. The roundabout will be shifted further south then the current stop sign coming down the hill on Avery Street. It will be sized to accommodate school buses and delivery trucks. Larger vehicles may have to use the truck apron that is standard for the design. The Engineering Department worked with the Fire Department to make sure their vehicles can fit around the roundabout adequately. Coming down the hill from Avery Street people may have to stop if there are other vehicles in the roundabout but would
have to stop if there was a four way stop. If sidewalks were constructed, it would allow for children to have one common bus stop for closely spaced houses instead of buses stopping at every house. Avery Street is primary funded through Federal funds (80%), the State would fund 10% and the Town would fund 10% ($327,000). The Town has to meet Federal guidelines and stay within a budget so the whole project on Avery Street could not be complete at one time and would have to be done in sections to stay within the budget and meet those guidelines. There are plans for future sections of Avery Street to be reconstructed south of the current project.
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The culvert that crosses Avery Street between Beelzebub Road and Kelly Road needs to be replaced. The drainage needs to be completed from the lower sections moving upward. The State regulates all traffic lights which has to meet certain criteria to be considered. Avery Street, Woodland Drive and Beelzebub Road do not meet any of the criteria for a traffic light. The next point Mr. Doolittle stated was that a traffic light would be the most expensive solution costing approximately $100,000 to install and then there would be cost to operate and maintain the light.
Answering questions from the Council, Mr. Doolittle explained that the Town’s share of the total project cost would be $327,000. The plantings that block sight lines would have to be discussed with property owners. There would be a need for property takings required from Avery Street Church. That property taking will be the same whether the four way stop or the roundabout is done. There will also be property taking from two properties on the Woodland side of the intersection which would also be the same whether the four way stop or the roundabout is done. The intersection corners will be widened for sidewalks. There may be a property taking on the northwest side which will depend on what is done with the brook. The truck apron in the roundabout is raised slightly but is
made to be mountable by truck tires and has a slight incline for drainage. The deficiencies that were found for fire trucks going around a roundabout will be addressed with the proposed roundabout. The roads coming into the roundabout or four way intersection will be traditional roads but will be graded so water does not make a puddle in the middle of the intersection. The truck apron material in the center of the roundabout has not been finalized yet. The Town does not want it to be noisy.
Mayor Anwar then asked for a Straw Vote, the results of which were as follows:
Those who feel the intersection should stay status quo and have nothing done: 7
Those who feel the intersection should not stay status quo and something should be done: 25
Those supporting the design to include a rotary as discussed: 14
Those in favor of the design to include a four way stop sign: 21
The public hearing was closed at 9:12 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
________________________________
Deborah W. Reid
Clerk of the Council
Public Hearing Notice – Exhibit A
Project Plan – Exhibit B
Informational Packet – Exhibit C
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