Shoulder Lines, Stop Signs Approved at Fairfield Beach

Streets in the town's Fairfield Beach neighborhood should have more shoulder lines and another two stop signs by next summer to reduce chances of a pedestrian getting hit by a car.

But the Fairfield Beach Residents Association's requests for raised center medians on Reef Road, Beach Road and Fairfield Beach Road, and a roundabout by Penfield Pavilion were denied Wednesday afternoon by the town's Police Commission.

Arthur Hersh, a commission member, said emergency vehicles wouldn't be able to maneuver around the traffic islands, while commission Chairman Donald Kleber said speeding in the neighborhood was "marginal" and the number of accidents had been minimal in the past three years.

Adding and increasing the width of shoulder lines, also known as "fog lines," wouldn't affect emergency vehicles, and Police Chief Gary MacNamara said they would highlight the interaction between pedestrians and cars in the neighborhood. MacNamara didn't think shoulder lines would provide a false sense of security to pedestrains because people would be walking in the road anyway.

Michael Galante, a traffic engineer with Frederick P. Clark Associates in Fairfield who had suggested the roadway changes, said shoulder lines would draw cars away from the edge of the road where pedestrians usually walk. "I'm trying to better define the travel lane, where the car should be. I am using it, in this case, as a traffic calming measure," he said.

Kleber said the Police Commission has no jurisdiction over sidewalks but fully supported adding them in the neighborhood.

The proposal for shoulder lines called for widening them by one foot on either side of Fairfield Beach Road from Reef Road to Penfield Road; widening the shoulder line by one foot on the north side of Fairfield Beach Road, from Penfield Road to Beach Road; widening the shoulder line by a foot on Fairfield Beach Road from Reef Road toward the western end of Fairfield Beach Road; adding shoulder lines on Beach Road from Fern Street to Fairfield Beach Road; adding shoulder lines on Penfield Road from Quincy Street to Fairfield Beach Road; and adding shoulder lines on Rowland Road from Edward Street to Fairfield Beach Road.

Galante said each travel lane should be at least 11 feet wide after the shoulder lines are either widened or added.

The commission also approved adding stop signs at the end of Edward Street, where it intersects with Fairfield Beach Road, and at the end of Birch Road, where it intersects with Fairfield Beach Road.

Galante said the stop signs wouldn't serve as a speed deterrent but would define the right-of-way for motorists at those "T" intersections.

MacNamara said the shoulder lines would be painted by the town's Department of Public Works and wouldn't affect parking spaces. Galante said the work probably wouldn't be done until next spring because the weather would have to be warmer for the paint to be applied.