By Andreas Yilma Citizen’s News
BEACON FALLS — The town is exploring options to slow down speeders in town with painted signs and speed tables.
Town officials are looking to follow in the direction of Prospect which installed a speed bump in November on Straitsville Road, years after painting signs on the road that read “SLOW.”
“Some ideas of what we can do before we do the speed hump enforcement and that’s what Prospect did with painting the slow signs in the road,” First Selectman Gerard Smith said during the Board of Selectmen meeting on July 11. “So I think we’re going to do that.”
Smith said he has talked to Prospect Mayor Robert J. Chatfield and found the speed bump and SLOW paint significantly helped slow down traffic in Prospect.
Town officials are eyeing four town roads, Burton Road, Beacon Valley Road, Rimmon Hill Road and Skokorat Road.
Smith said the town is looking to install two speed tables on each of those roads which is estimated to cost about $30,000.
Selectman Michael A. Krenesky said the paint would be the precursor to the speed tables.
“So get used to the fact that when it says slow that you should slow down because all of a sudden you’re going to wake up in the morning and there’s going to be speed table there and you’re going to be sorry you didn’t slow down,” Krenesky said.
The town is expecting to add the painted signs within the next 30 days.
“It’s in the preliminary stages of what we’re going to do,” Smith said.
Smith said there’s constant complaints of speed and he encourages residents to slow down.
Smith said he talked to a few other municipal leaders and they are all seeing the same problem.
“I encourage parents set the example and slow down and talk to your kids about safe driving,” Smith said.
