Wilton Residents Skeptical of Proposed Roundabout

WILTON, CT -- A public hearing called by the Department of Transportation to discuss the proposed roundabout for the intersection of Belden Hill Road and Wolfpit Road played to a full house at the Trackside Teen Center on Tuesday, but the audience was not buying in, according to the Wilton Bulletin.

The DOT has tabbed the area for the $2.6-million safety improvement project because of high crash frequency over the last three years. But a show-of-hands vote initiated by First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice revealed that most of the residents want the state to look for an alternate solution to reduce traffic volume off Belden Hill Road.

The DOT, and the southwestern area of Connecticut in particular, is experiencing a sudden wave of roundabouts. New Milford is about to start the second phase of a new roundabout at the intersection of Still River Drive and Lanesville and Pickett District roads. Monroe's new traffic circle became operational Monday, June 4.

In literature provided by the DOT, roundabouts are described as "one of the most effective countermeasures to reduce intersection crashed and fatalities." The pamphlet cites a reduction in "severe" crashes of 78 percent, with "overall" crashes being reduced by 48 percent. The DOT says it has already converted five Connecticut intersections to roundabouts, throughout the state, reducing severe crashes by 81 percent, and preventing 150 crashes in 2017.

DOT officials at the pre-project public information session noted that no official project has been initiated, and so no source of funding or timeline has been identified.

For more on the story, see The Wilton Bulletin.

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