KENT, Conn.—The traffic through Kent’s busy village center continues to be a concern for town officials but some additional regulation of the flow may come when the state upgrades its traffic signal at the intersection at routes 7 and 341.
The issue was discussed both at last week’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting and a virtual public hearing held Monday, Aug. 11, by the state Department of Transportation, during which it described the new equipment it may install.
At the selectmen’s meeting resident Chris Harrington complained about the inherent hazard at the intersection of cars traveling south on Route 7 that want to turn west onto Route 341. The cars are shunted onto a small connector lane that circumvents the Civil War monument in the center of the road and exit onto 341.
First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer noted that cars in that lane are controlled by a traffic light. “When it turns green, they just assume they can go, when, in fact, they should consider that they have to yield to northbound traffic on Route 7 that may be turning west,” he said.
Harrington said that his son had “small fender-bender” at the location when he pulled out and was struck by another car. “It continues to be more and more dangerous at this intersection, which is not a cut-and-dried four-way,” he said in an email to the selectmen. “There continue to be close calls there. I see many and have had many people who believe they are in the right by pulling out in front of me as I am fully onto that part of the road.”
He asked for signage to be installed so that drivers will know what to do.
“You guys have the [traffic] numbers. What was it—10,000 cars a day through town? There’s more and more traffic and it’s a matter of time before there is a really bad accident.”
He noted that the Civil War monument in the intersection was placed there in 1885 before the days of vehicular traffic. “You don’t want something like that in the middle of a busy intersection,” he said.
After the meeting, Lindenmayer said the monument will not be moved but that the state’s plans for new traffic signals may be the answer to the problem. “Rick [Osborne, public works foreman] and I sat in on the DOT’s meeting the other night,” he said. “They have plans to redo the whole intersection.”
Those plans won’t take effect until 2027, though, and in the meantime Osborne will request that a yield sign be installed on the turn-off to instruct drivers to give way to northbound traffic.
He said many drivers are confused by the turn-off. “When the [north-south] light is red, it is legal to turn onto Route 341,” he said, “but when it is green, you are supposed to yield.” He said that when the state installs its new lights, something as simple as a flashing yellow caution light might alert drivers to yield to oncoming traffic.
Connecticut Department of Transportation project manager Kaethe Podgorski explained the state’s plans during the virtual meeting. She said that 11 sites out of the nearly 2,800 controlled by the state, including the one in Kent, will receive full replacements of their traffic lights, while 13 others will be partially upgraded. The cost of the total project will be $14 million and will be paid for through state and federal funds.
Factors dictating the work to be done include age, the structure rating, maintenance calls, local input, existing pedestrian issues, and existing hardware.
The state prefers to install heavy black masts to support the traffic signals because it reduces the number of supporting structures. In Kent, two masts, one 40 feet long and one 60 feet long, would be employed, one on the west side of the road to regulate the flow onto Route 341, and one—the longer of the two—on the east side to control the rest of the intersection.
The mast will have new “signal heads,” vehicle detection systems such as a 360-degree camera to assist in the smooth flow of traffic and “pedestrian accommodations,” including ADA ramps. Radar detection will determine the speed of cars approaching the intersection so the lights can adjust and help prevent drivers running red lights.
DOT Project Engineer Dan Veronesi said there are currently three pedestrian crosswalks at the intersection and that a fourth could be added on the north side.
Two temporary property easements will be necessary for the construction phase and two permanent easements for pedestrian crossings. The state will enter into negotiations with property owners to determine compensation, but if no agreement can be reached, eminent domain might be used.
“We’re moving into the final design stage,” Podgorski said. “We expect the plans to be complete in January 2026, with physical construction in spring 2027.”
The public can access the plans through the DOT website. Public comment will be received through Aug. 25 at DOTSignalReplacement@ctgov or 860-594-2020.
