The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘GROWTH BRINGS CONSEQUENCES’
East Main study focuses on traffic, pedestrian safety, aesthetic improvements
TORRINGTON — Drivers and pedestrians using East Main Street for travel, shopping and work have given the city plenty of ideas for improving the busy thoroughfare, where “safety for pedestrians is almost nonexistent,” according to one person involved in a study of the area.
It’s a main area of Torrington’s business community, surrounded by residential neighborhoods, where development continues every year. East Main Street is a state road, and much of what people would like to see is overseen by the state Department of Transportation.
A team studied the busy East Main Street corridor since last fall, funded by the Northwest Hills Council of Governments, collecting input from residents and business owners, and working with city and state officials to develop a plan to improve the roadway, which runs from Main Street to the New Hartford town line.
The team, which includes Economic Development Director Rista Malanca, consultants from Good Earth Advisors and the BSC Group, Mayor Elinor Carbone, City Planner Martin Connor, City Engineer Paul Kund
zins and a representative from the state DOT, presented its final report this week during an online meeting.
During their research, Good Earth Advisors principle Val Ferro and Malanca met with numerous focus groups, studied traffic, examined areas where accidents are more common, and analyzed how people use the road — or avoid it because of congestion.
“What we’ve seen is tremendous growth,” Ferro said, as she showed old photos of East Main Street from the 1830s to the 1900s. “Growth brings consequences.
“What we have to remember is that the road is a state road, under the state’s jurisdiction, so repairs and changes take a long time and require the state’s approval,” Ferro said.
Michael Kluchman, an engineer, and Mike Santos, a traffic engineer, both with BSC group, said their goals for the study were to improve traffic flow and safety, to improve appearance, safety and connectivity for pedestrians, and to encourage development.
“We want to encourage growth, but the main tipping point is unmanaged traffic that can be detrimental to businesses,” Ferro said. “Safety for pedestrians is almost nonexistent. Vehicles dominate the road with traffic congestion.”
The study team developed focus areas in need of major improvements: the Route 8 ramp area at Elm Street, dubbed a “downtown gateway area”; the Jimmy’s Store/BJ’s intersection; and the Torrington Fair/Walmart and Target shopping center areas.
“We have developed recommendations for traffic, aesthetics, transit and development,” Kluchman said.
For the downtown gateway area, the team recommended burying all utilities to remove the excessive number of poles, wires and service boxes. Sidewalks and curb cuts should be repaired, and more landscaping using trees and better surfaces to enhance the appearance of the road was recommended.
The team also addressed the traffic triangle that includes a diner, Burger King, a large professional structure known as the Glass Building and residential side streets, which are all affected by the entrance and exit ramps for Route 8.
“There has been high interest in development here, but it needs coordinated development, going forward,” Kluchman said.
“To help the long-term vision, we looked at potentially improving traffic circulation in the triangle around Burger King,” Santos said. “The triangle mostly surrounds pavement; the diner, for example, is just one building with a lot of pavement ... and underutilized parking. Creating a better grid for traffic and pedestrians would help, as well as making a two-lane roadway and removing the Elm Street leg in the long term, to reconfigure the roadway.”
For the city’s part, a new sidewalk replacement plan is expected to begin within the next two years. But changes to traffic patterns, signals, lane changes and safety measures all must be approved by the state before they are implemented, the consultants said.
“Immediate upgrades could start with the Route 8 underpass, which has a crumbling media,” Santos said. “We want to reconfigure that roadway, add an additional westbound lane for better traffic movement, and clean up the area and remove other small, crumbling islands. There are ways to give the area a more civic identity, because it’s leading people to the downtown area.”
Ferro’s slide presentation included a speculative drawing that represented the Route 8 ramp area. The team recommended using new ornamental traffic signs, better crosswalks, a small park area, trees and an improved buffer area on the western side of the road.
“New signage and a mural would bring new color and life to a less-thancheerful underpass,” Santos said. “The city has a branding and signage plan and we want to use that in these improvement plans.”
The team pointed to the BJ’s/Jimmy’s Store intersection as “very, very busy, very congested,” Ferro said. “There are multifamily homes, elderly housing, a school . ... There’s a lot going on there.”
More sidewalks and green areas were recommended for this area, as well as a southbound leftturn lane to better manage traffic.
The Target and Walmart plaza areas are some of the busiest parts of East Main Street, Santos said.
“Right now it’s five lanes across, and we’re proposing a small median in the center of that to manage traffic, and to have better left-turn lanes,” he said. “On a daily basis, traffic is about 14,000 vehicles per day. People heading to Route 8 equals between 18,000 and 20,000 vehicles per day.”
Pedestrian safety was a big concern for the team’s study.
“The Northwest Connecticut Transit Authority is installing new bus stops up and down East Main Street, and that’s a work in progress,” Santos said. “Access to the bus stops is pretty bad in some areas. There’s not a continuous sidewalk, and no access to the stop. You can’t stand out there and wait, especially right now with snow on the ground. We’re recommending bus stop shelters to make it better for people.”
The completed East Main Street Corridor Study will be available to people interested in learning more, and is expected to be used as the city works with the DOT on any road or signal improvements or changes.