No action taken on Ballard Road speed reduction

WILTON, N.Y. » Shortly after Trooper Timothy Pratt’s passing last October, Wilton Town Board unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a speed limit reduction from 55 mph to 45 mph on Ballard Road.

Eight months later, the state Department of Transportation hasn’t approved or denied the town’s request.

Wilton Town Clerk Sue Baldwin said Tuesday the DOT responded late last fall, indicating that a traffic study couldn’t be done during the winter months. Baldwin said she doesn’t know if the DOT has done anything this year.

DOT spokesman Bryan Viggiani said, “We received the town’s request and are in the midst of our study.”

Ballard Road is a county highway. The county Public Works Department has been not been contacted by DOT, either, a spokesperson said.

Pratt was killed by a passing motorist while assisting a stopped trucker on Ballard Road.

Pratt’s accident was almost three years to the date of an Oct. 21, 2013 letter in which DOT denied the town’s previous request for a speed reduction, saying it wasn’t warranted. The DOT said a speed reduction wasn’t warranted because children don’t walk or ride bikes to Ballard Road Elementary School.

But town officials say traffic on Ballard Road has increased since 2013, especially with the recent expansion of Ace Hardware’s large distribution center.

Pratt had just begun his shift when he was struck while giving directions to a stopped trucker, who had gotten lost on his way to Ace.

In recent years, the Town of Wilton has also contacted DOT about the possibility of replacing the existing Ballard Road bridge over the Northway at Exit 16. At times, traffic backs up on the current two-lane span because of trucks and employees going to and from the large Ace and Target distribution centers, off Ballard Road.

However, the DOT’s main priority is replacing older deteriorating bridges, not those with capacity issues, town Supervisor Art Johnson said.

“It’s unlikely we’ll see anything unless it’s development-driven,” he said.

The town and local economic development officials have attempted to promote the Ballard Road corridor as prime for light industry, but no major activity has occurred there.