Old Lyme Safety Committee Backs Moving McCurdy Road Speed Sign, Plans Two New Installations

OLD LYME, CT — The Old Lyme Road and Public Safety Committee unanimously backed relocating a speed feedback sign on McCurdy Road on Sept. 8 as the town prepares to install two additional signs and reviews traffic-speed data collected at several locations.

Committee members said the existing McCurdy Road sign is partially shaded and obscured by foliage. They agreed that moving it closer to Route 156, where it would have better sunlight and visibility, could improve its effectiveness.

Sophie Diamond moved to relocate the sign to an existing speed-limit sign closer to Route 156. Mary Devins seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

New Speed Signs Planned For Route 156, Town Woods Road

Old Lyme has two speed feedback signs awaiting installation in addition to three already in use. The state Department of Transportation has given the town permission to install one of the new signs on Route 156, while the other will go on Town Woods Road.

Committee members discussed finding a location on Town Woods Road where shade would not interfere with the sign's solar panel. An older sign requiring manual battery charging is also available, and committee member John Flood agreed to investigate the cost and process of returning it to service.

The committee also discussed establishing a procedure for periodically sharing data from the signs with First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, the Police Department and the committee. The town has a new contract providing cloud access to data from its three installed signs, and similar access will be available for the two additional signs.

Police Enforcement Planned On Four Mile River Road

Committee members discussed a resident's complaint to the first selectwoman about speeding on Four Mile River Road and delivery trucks blocking motorists' views of approaching traffic.

The Police Department plans to conduct enforcement in the area. The University of Connecticut's T2 Center also installed a traffic counter nearby to record vehicle speeds.

UConn installed traffic-monitoring devices at three locations — Route 156, Four Mile River Road and Grassy Hill Road — and monitored traffic for one week. The devices recorded vehicle speeds but did not collect vehicle identification information, according to the minutes.

The committee separately discussed safe entry and exit at commercial properties along Route 1 and concerns involving the Route 1 and Four Mile River Road intersection. No formal action was recorded on those issues.

Camera Privacy Concerns Discussed

Members also discussed automated traffic enforcement safety devices and Flock cameras. The minutes state that the committee recognized Gov. Ned Lamont's request that Connecticut municipalities pause implementation of enforcement speed cameras until uniform guidelines are established concerning privacy, data retention and data sharing.

Diamond led a discussion of privacy issues involving data collected through automated enforcement and Flock cameras, along with alternatives to enforcement cameras for addressing speeding. The committee took no recorded vote on the issue.

Members also considered whether to move to a bimonthly meeting schedule but made no change. The committee plans to meet as scheduled in October.

Chair Greg Futoma, Diamond, Mary Devins, Flood, Danielle Kuczkowski, Rosemarie Padovano and Ken Swaney attended the meeting. The committee unanimously approved its Aug. 11 minutes and adjourned at 7:02 p.m. on a unanimous vote. The meeting was held in the American Legion Room at Old Lyme Town Hall.