Residents of Mill Road on the eastern side of town say speeding motorists are a major hazard for the many young families that walk and cycle in the area.
Saying it’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or worse, residents are calling for the town to implement traffic calming measures on Mill, a narrow roadway of 31 homes that runs east off of Silvermine Road and then hooks to follow the river toward Norwalk.
“Ever since we’ve moved in there, the level of speeding is unbelievable,” Neil McMorrow told members of the Police Commission at their Sept. 18 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “The volume of traffic when we first moved in was not that great. And maybe in 2015 or ‘16, I contacted New Canaan Police, I have contacted Norwalk [Police]. New Canaan put a solar[-powered] speed [sentry]—unfortunately, under a tree canopy, so it really didn’t work. And Norwalk had an officer sit on a Tuesday afternoon. He was very nice, but it’s not that busy on a Tuesday afternoon. So it’s all relative. But I’ve witnessed many, many absolutely close calls where people could have been killed from people speeding in those straightaways right by my house. I mean at least probably a dozen.”
One of those instances happened about two months earlier, according to Mill Road resident Lindsay Quinlan. Addressing the Commission, she said she has two young children and that “my husband and my children and I were nearly hit by a car.” (McMorrow said he saw the near-crash.)
Quinlan said, “I yelled at the car. And when I tell you my children and I were almost killed, that happened. And it is frightening how fast these drivers are going on this road. And as my neighbors have mentioned, there are young families. There are residents of our road that have lived in this neighborhood for years and years now. And they have said that this has remained a problem that has largely been unaddressed. As my neighbors pointed out, before something really horrific happens and we’re coming back having a different conversation, my hope is that we can find some way to curb the speeding and really save lives.”
Town officials said that although data gathered doesn’t point to a consistent speeding problem, that anecdotally they agree there’s an issue on Mill Road with pedestrian safety and they can take steps to try and address it.
Public Works Director Tiger Mann said he would get a crew out to the area to cut back some of the roadside overgrowth that can affect sightlines for both drivers and walkers. Mann also said that he could put “edge lines” on the side of the road—except in one stretch where doing so would make them too narrow—to indicate to motorists where they need to drive. (Some of those in attendance said such additional striping would be ineffective and isn’t in keeping with the character of the rural street.)
“I’ll start looking at the sight lines and see if we can trim up some of the overgrowth,” Mann said. “So that might help give it a little bit more of an expanse and give the pedestrians some room and also have the car be seen by the pedestrian. We’ll go out there and take another look and see what else can be done.”
Some of those in attendance from the neighborhood called for the town to install speed bumps or “speed humps” to try and slow down vehicles—however, Mill Road is an emergency vehicle route, officials said, meaning it cannot get speed bumps.
New Canaan Police Deputy Chief Andrew Walsh said the department did receive complaints about speeding motorists this past summer and responded by setting up officers for speed enforcement 13 times. In that period, officers clocked just four speed violations, Walsh said.
“That could be for various reasons—whether it was the time of day or there wasn’t a speeding issue at that time, or the officer, it’s a narrow road, so having a full police car there is hard to hide,” he said. “We also did a traffic study, as was brought up. We can’t measure the walkers or the bikers. We do understand that it is a highly traversed area for pedestrians and bikers. It’s a beautiful road, it goes along the river. It’s very bucolic. We did measure the speeds.”
The average speed on the road was 17.75 mph, and the 85th percentile of speed was 23 mph, he said.
“There were a couple speeders here and there,” Walsh said. “The maximum speed was 49 mph, so that’s obviously very quick on a narrow road.”
Volume-wise, the traffic appears to be about the same as it was in 2020, based on a past study, Walsh said.
Yet crashes are already happening on the road, according to Mill Road resident Danne Woo. Drivers speeding on Mill Road take turns and bends quickly and “there was one instance where a car just came around too quickly and completely totaled our neighbor’s car,” he said.
“So there have been accidents,” Woo said. “ It’s happened. It really is only a matter of time that someone’s going to get seriously injured if not killed. We’ve been there for six years and it’s just been progressively getting worse and worse. I think GrayBarns is a factor. I think going from Norwalk to Wilton is another factor. It’s a pass-through. But if there’s anything that we can do to help remedy this problem and hopefully save lives in the future, I’m all for that. I don’t know what the solution is, but there should be something.”
The Commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 16.
The frequent and excessive speeding on certain roads (Weed, Wahackme and Frogtown) is unacceptable and will certainly lead to future accidents. Speeding is consistent and far above the posted limit. The town is on notice to address the situation.
We walk on North Wilton road and feel the same way! People fly down the road and we have almost been hit many times!
Sounds like it’s time to bring back the “Slow Down In Our Town” campaign!
Please add White Oak Shade to the long list of excessive speed and dangerous roads in town.
While walking to a neighbor’s house or getting the mail, I’ve had many close calls!
Please do the speed limit!
The same problem exists on Cheese Spring and Marioni Roads… The street is a huge cut through from Ridgefield. I’d walk my dog in the morning and have to jump off the street. Maybe we should put up our own speed bumps 😉 . New Canaan police are never on the east side of town. More likely to see a Wilton cruiser. Its not like NC police a short of resources. You can see three NC cruisers sitting in town at six am within 300 yards of each other. (Cherry St., Municipal parking lot, and by St A church). You would think traffic control on some of these roads would be policing 101.
Same problem on Wahackme Road. I walk every single day from Wahackme Lane to Irwin Park and feel like I could be hit at any point. I have now learned that I need to stop walking, step off of the road and onto the grass every single time I see a car (which is often). Problem is, there is sometimes no where for me to go since there is so much overgrown brush and poison ivy where I need to step to get off of the road. The speeding on Wahackme is out of control. And does the town need to provide a safe walking space off of the road for those of us walking on these busy streets?
The problem, as I see it on Mill Rd, is Andy Glazer’s Graybarns. It’s astounding to me that he’s gotten away with using a public road for his personal valet service to begin with. But then people use their GPS to get back to Silvermine road and it takes them via Mill. Mill Rd should be local traffic only.
Back in March of this year, several neighbors and I spoke at a Police Commission Meeting concerning speeding cars along Old Norwalk Road especially near Kiwanis Park where there are many school children, seniors, dog walkers, park visitors, young families with children in strollers who enjoy the playground. I suggested installing Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon Lights at the crosswalk between Holly Road and Kiwanis Park to slow down cars to allow for the safe passage of pedestrians in the crosswalk.
On several occasions speeding cars hit the “Yield to Pedestrian” sign in the crosswalk. One time the impact was so great that the sign rested on the ground near the nursery school fence.
They fly through in town roads at excessive speeds. Combine this with the pot smoking wafting from the cars, the kids on the electric bikes, and a tragedy is only a matter of time. Need more speeding tickets issued.
Same issue on Country Club Road, a winding, hilly street that connects 123 and 124. Getting the mail is death-defying.
There is an important theme here that really can’t go unnoticed. Please also add Clapboard Hill Road to the list. It is within walking distance of East School and there are a growing number of students and families who walk. Little Brook got a fresh sidewalk over the summer thanks to the town but residents have to navigate an awkward, at best, and dangerous, at worst, intersection where cars are either accelerating to go up Clapboard, or careening down it.
Same problem on Lakeview Ave. People always speed down that street, and the fact that there’s a huge curve on it makes the problem even worse. I’ve seen cars come around that curve at like 45 mph and see people at the last minute and have to swerve to miss them. It’s really only a matter of time before someone is hurt or killed.
On school days Old Norwalk Road is bumper-to-bumper with school buses and vehicles going to area schools and entering Kiwanis Park for the nursery drop-off.
After the morning school rush is over, Old Norwalk Road looks like a the local Indy-500. Traveling downhill from Route 123 speeds become excessive near Kiwanis Park. Some cars screech to a halt by the crosswalk. Other drivers just zip by pedestrians who are in the crosswalk.
I agree with Deborah Shaw’s observation “Getting the mail is death-defying” for residents who do not have mailboxes on the side of the road nearest to their home. In the 1990s a resident was struck and killed by a car while he crossed Old Norwalk Road to retrieve his mail.
The town should work towards widening certain roads or adding sidewalks (concrete or gravel). A long term plan implemented over a decade or more.
Bringing back “Slow Down In Our Town” and enhanced enforcement would be a great idea. I live on a blind corner on Down River which is about a half mile from downtown. It’s nerve-wracking pulling out on Main Street. We’re all part of the problem and need to moderate our speeds. Parents need to speak to their kids about e-bike and scooter safety too.
I think spike strips work better than any signs or flashing lights. 123 is out of control!