Conversation on Stop Signs to Continue At Public Safety Meeting

The Public Safety Committee will discuss at its meeting Monday night the on France Street, which have delighted some residents and angered others.

Following a Public Safety Committee public hearing last month, Town Manager Barbara Gilbert, who is the traffic authority for Rocky Hill, and town staff visited the area of France Street. Without the committee making a motion or approval from the council, Gilbert had stop signs installed on the France Street side near the Murphy Drive and Deerfield Run intersections.

The stop signs since being installed have created a controversy in Rocky Hill. Gilbert recently said some residents are calling her the "village idiot.”

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"I can 'almost' be convinced for the need for one stop sign on France Street, but it would be a real tough sell," said in comments on the previous story. "But two stop signs within a couple hundred feet of each other is totally rediculous."

said the stop signs will allow the the ability to issue more tickets when people are "gliding thru" them on their way to work in the morning.

"It's a great way to increase town revenue kudos ! for the person with the idea," he said in the comments of the article.

A traffic study done by Tighe & Bind for the town in January 2010 recommended traffic calming measures to reduce travel speeds on France Street. The study said the measures “could reduce bypassing or cut-through traffic,” however, it also stated that the volumes are not considered to be high on the street.

Board of Education member John Bedlack lives on Murphy Drive and is one of the biggest supporters of the stop signs. He has noticed that motorists are traveling slower and, even if they are rolling through the stop signs, he said it is helping prevent accidents and traffic concerns. Bedlack added that he is having an easier time getting out of Murphy Drive and walking through his neighborhood.

“Where is the harm? It is not your choice to slow up,” he said. “Are these the people who are saying it is OK to speed on that road?”

Michael O’Toole is one of the many residents who are upset with the stop signs.

“It is the tip of the iceberg. One person can make noise and get this done,” he has previously said.

Since the signs were put up, several residents have called requesting that stop signs be installed on their streets, which was one of O'Toole's concerns.

“We are going to have to scream twice as loud to get them taken down,” he has previously told Patch.

Gilbert stated at a recent council meeting that not every street will be getting stop signs.

The Public Safety Committee meeting is open to the public and will be at 6 p.m. inside the Council Chambers at Town Hall.

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