KENT—“Speeding and noise enforcement” are the top items listed on First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer’s to-do list in his Town Hall office.
The state Department of Transportation (DOT) lowered speed limits on both Route 7 and Route 341 through town this spring to 25 miles per hour in the village center and efforts to control speeding along both state roads have picked up with Resident State Trooper Vicki Donohoe issuing citations. But now Lindenmayer is poised to push control to another level.
Wednesday a data tracker was installed to do an analysis of speeds and traffic volume. The tracker will be moved around town to gather data that will be used to determine where speed enforcement cameras might be placed.
“We’ll have it north on Main Street and then down at what I call ‘the speedway’ by Kent Greenhouse,” said Lindenmayer. “We had it here in the spring, but there was trouble with the installation, and we lost a lot of data.”
The tracker has since been in Washington, CT, where town officials gathered similar information.
Traffic speeds and noise have been major problems in Kent, a destination town whose Main Street is the high-volume, high-speed Route 7 corridor.
If installed, a speed enforcement camera would take photographs of offenders license plates and $50 tickets would be issued. The fines could rise to $75 for repeat offenders.
“We’re not trying to harass people. We’re trying to create a sense of civic understanding about safety.”
—Marty Lindenmayer, first selectman
“It’s a tool,” said Lindenmayer. “We could have 24/7 coverage [by police officers] on all our roads and there is no way they could catch every speeder. This camera takes a picture of the license plate, and every image is reviewed to make sure it is right. Then a ticket is sent to the owner of the vehicle.”
He added that the tickets will not affect points on the driver’s license or insurance rates. There is also leeway built into the system for persons traveling a few miles an hour over the speed limit. “Everyone says, ‘Oh, I can go five or 10 miles an hour faster and I won’t get a ticket,’” Lindenmayer said with a smile.
Lindenmayer will seek a special appropriation to purchase the camera and to contract for Traffic Logix’s monitoring service. “We can’t wait on this,” he said. “It gets crazy around here in the summer and fall—good crazy, but still crazy. Speeding through town is a safety issue. We need people to go slower.”
If approved by the Boards of Selectmen and Finance, a town meeting would be needed to pass an ordinance concerning the use of the enforcement cameras. The state would have to approve the installation and there must also be signage warning motorists of the camera surveillance.
He said Traffic Logix would analyze the data for the town and take a percentage of the fines to pay for the service. All data is dumped after being reviewed. “We’re not trying to harass people,” he said. “We’re trying to create a sense of civic understanding about safety.”
While Lindenmayer sees the camera as a safety issue first, any money accrued by the town after paying Traffic Logix would be put into a special fund used for transportation projects. “There are very specific uses allowed for the funds,” he said, “and we have to report back to the state.”
Noise is the other side of the traffic equation. The town and its environs are attractive to motorcyclists who often irritate day trippers and residents alike with their excessive muffler noise. Lindenmayer said monitors are also being developed to determine noise levels but are not yet as advanced as the speed cameras.
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Amy H.
August 8, 2024 at 5:16 pm
Elizabeth St is a speedway for drivers trying to avoid the 1 traffic light in town. It’s a frequented route during the school year for KCS and Kent School students using the access walkway to the off campus Engineering Building on Main St. There needs to be better speed monitoring on that route.
Dean Gilbert
August 10, 2024 at 10:12 am
Seems the plan is to reduce visitors to Kent. As soon as I see a speed camera my 1000’s of dollars in commerce is gone from that town. And many more like me do not support petty cash collection and surveillance states. Sure, just a little fine now, wake up, all the data is saved and sold. I’ve often wondered how far north of a million dollars the Bikers bring into town each summer?? Lets drive them off too? Some peoples idea of a safe quiet town is a long row of vacant storefronts. Do not let that happen to Kent.