Petition Seeks Traffic-Safety Effort In Newington

Billy wrote:

We live on Hartford Avenue and every day there are vehicles going probably 80 mph-just absolutely flying- down the street. Being that our son, as well as several other kids, like to meet at E Green school to play, it's an absolute disaster waiting to happen.

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I live in the area wrote:

There are no sidewalks on Lloyd to mention, nor down Tom-Lin. These are the main roads where the kids who walk go to get to the school. The kids do walk in the middle of the road and ride bikes without helmets, I have called the school on this before. Sidewalks would be a huge improvement on all of the roads around that area.
The roads in town are not designed to handle the amount of traffic that is now put on them. We need thoughtful town planning to alleviate this situation. Maybe the town could use the state's million dollars to hire a firm to do just that instead of renovating a parking lot!

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Concerned Resident wrote:

How much longer are we going to have to hear the group on Fisk Drive whine about nothing being done ont heir street? Every talk show that the town has had the last couple of months they are on bashing the Town Council for not doing anything. They are blaming the town council for not having enough police, yet this council just approved 3 more officers (this town council should not be held responsible that the other councils did not give money to hire officers). If you watched the show last night they even got the blame for the location of the speed enforcement trailer. All streets in Newington are having speeding problems and I can guarantee the people on Fisk are guilty of speeding threw someone elses neighborhood. It sounds like the only thing that will make them happy is to have an officer there 24/7 handing out tickets.
As for the kids walking to Martin Kellogg. Maybe they may want to see the way the kids are walking to school. It is not the drivers on Fisk that are a danger, but the way the kids walk on Llyod that is a danger. They walk in the middle of the road, to the point where cars stop to let them pass since they will not move to the side of the road, thye prefer the middle. If they are on the side of the road they are walking 3-4 across maaking it dangerous for the drivers and when they are riding their bikes they are in the middle of the road, not to the side. They are also not wearing helmets, which is against the law in CT.

Fisk Drive Resident wrote:

The Fisk Drive residents are doing what every resident in this town who has a problem should be doing, bringing it to the attention of those that need to do something- you may call it whining- we call it taking action and it is obviously working. You can sit back and complain in life or you can do something about a problem, we are doing something- I don't know how the kids walk on Lloyd, but my son rides his bike practically on the grass because he's so afraid of getting hit. If there were safe routes for the kids to get to school, then they wouldn't have to walk three across on Lloyd and we'd solve your problem too.... When you walk in someone else's shoes, only then can you criticize them. You obviously don't live on Fisk Dr. and you obviously don't have children.
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Concerned Resident wrote:

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How do you know your son is not one of the kids in the middle of the road? You are not there.

Fisk Drive Resident wrote:

Because if he were, he'd be dead. And I watch him go all the way down the street until he turns on to Tom-Lin and he is on the side of the road- if not up on people's lawns as are all of this kids that I watch walk to school that live on Fisk- at 7-8 a.m. in the morning on Fisk Drive if you are walking in the middle of the road, you won't make it to school alive because the cars wouldn't have time to stop before hitting you they are going so fast. I don't disagree with you that kids are rude and walk or ride their bike in the middle of the road, with no regard for cars. I experience that on a regular basis. My children however have been taught rules, respect and manners and they shouldn't be punished because some other children have not or choose not to listen. Not every kid who walks to Kellogg walks in the middle of the road regardless, those who have the privilege of having a drivers license and the responsibility to drive a several ton vehicle that can kill a pedestrian have a far greater responsibilty of following the speed limit of 25 miles an hour on the street especially in the school zone-not 50-60 mph as they have been registering on the portable police sign. I'm also not just talking about children here, there are elderly as well as adults who walk the street on a daily basis and are at just as much risk of an out of control speeding car as are the children walking to school. Those of us on Fisk Drive are speaking on behalf of all the neighborhoods in Newington that are having traffic problems, and we know there are several and we know where they are - we are looking to the town to solve this problem for all areas where this is an issue- and it's not going to raise anyone's taxes as the money is there already and there are state grants available. As a matter of fact at last night's meeting the Council was able to save approximately $300k in the budget that can be reallocated to situations like this. We are just trying to make sure that Newington is safe for everyone. I don't know why you would have a problem with that. I invite you to walk down Fisk Dr. between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. when school begins again and tell me if you, as an adult feel safe walking on that road.
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