Council votes for Douglas Road purchase

The Glastonbury Town Council approved spending $125,000 to purchase a lot at 125 Douglas Road at its meeting on Jan. 21.

The property, on the corner of New London Turnpike, will allow the town to align Douglas Road with Sycamore Street.

There was some question as to whether demolition of the existing home on the property was cost-effetive, as Councilwoman Diane DeLuzio said she wasn't sure if the demolition was appropriate without a complete proposal for the intersection.

The concept, said Town Manager Richard Johnson, would include a traffic signal at the newly-created four-way intersection.

Police Chief Thomas Sweeney said the intersection is already problematic, especially for drivers turning left off of Sycamore.

“There is no good left-hand turn on the [New London] Turnpike,” Sweeney said. “I tend to think... this piece of property keeps many options for whatever the council chooses to do in the future.”

Sweeney added that the traffic on New London Turnpike is expected to get heavier in future years.

Town Engineer Dan Pennington said a comprehensive traffic study was done by Fuss and O'Neill in 2008, and the conceptual plan included a recommendation for the increased level of service.

“While there is an accident history,” Pennington said, “it is not excessive at this point. As traffic increases over time, the gaps will get smaller and those left-hand turns will become more and more difficult to make, and we would expect to see a significant safety problem moving forward.”

Pennington added that a traffic signal at the intersection is also recommended.

“I think the traffic signal really indicates that we have a traffic control device [of some kind], rather than a particular red-yellow-green light,” said Council Chair Chip Beckett, asking if other controls are possible.

“There may be other traffic control devices that fit the bill,” Pennington said. “Roundabouts would be something we'd want to investigate.”

“I think part of our job is stewardship for the future,” Beckett said. “I'll be supporting this.”

The council voted 7-1 in favor of the acquisition, with DeLuzio casting the dissenting vote.