Residents voice traffic concerns

Hamden, Conn. (WTNH) - Some folks in Hamden are tired of their residential road looking more like a speedway. They say drivers speeding along Ridge Road in Hamden are making their neighborhood dangerous, and they met with the town Wednesday night to discuss it.

A street sign at the corner of Ridge Rd. and Park Rd. is bent way over, with a big dent in the middle. The damage is from the last time that a car came barreling down Ridge Road, failed to negotiate the turn and ran off the road.

"I'm always seeing actually hit-and-runs and sometimes they go on to the grass," said Kami Brown.

Brown lives directly across the street and says she can't have friends park in front of her house because it's just too dangerous, and there's no way she'd let her children out in the front yard.

"I can't even walk out there without concern," Brown said, "and they're six so it's scary."

In fact, in November her children were waiting at the bus stop and just moments after they boarded a car came flying off the road and smashed into a tree, in the exact spot.

Brown is among a handful of residents now appealing to the Traffic Board to do something.

"The speeding is a huge part of this," said Doreen Redente, "and people don't even realize how fast they're going on that road and it is a safety issue."

The speed limit is 30 mph, but News 8 could tell from just a short time visit to the area that drivers are going more like 50 mph. And it's not just the cars, it's also the trucks. News 8 cameras caught one truck careening down the street, even though the sign clearly states "no trucks allowed."

The Traffic Board listened to the resident's concerns, and they had one big advantage: the chairman used to live in the area and knows firsthand how bad it is.

The chief of police agreed to step up speeding enforcement and stop sign enforcement. Meanwhile, the town said they will paint the double-yellow line around the turn, hoping that will keep drivers on the road a bit better, and they will post an electronic sign telling drivers how fast they're going.

"I was very impressed," said Redente, "that's exactly what we wanted to hear happen."

The Traffic Board wants the issue studied further, but it is a big first step.