Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Derby approves $59,000 Rock Road corridor study after police cite high crash share
Summary
Council authorized up to $59,000 to study crashes, signal timing and possible geometric improvements on Rock Road after police said 35–41% of the city's crashes occur on that corridor.
The Derby City Council authorized an agreement not to exceed $59,000 on Sept. 9 to fund a Rock Road corridor study aimed at reducing accidents and improving traffic flow.
Dan Squires, the city’s development director, told the council the corridor carries the city’s heaviest traffic and that police had identified a high share of crashes there. “We’ve identified the fact that between 35 and 41 percent of all of the crashes that are occurring in Derby are occurring on Rock Road,” Squires said, urging a study that would combine crash analysis, intersection warrants, signal timing review and geometry improvements.
Squires said the study would examine signal coordination (including GPS clock coordination used in prior timing projects), look at intersection warrants (Squires added a warrant analysis for a potential signal at Woodbrook and Rock), and identify phased, fundable improvements. He and other staff emphasized that signal timing and geometric changes are complex and that coordination across multiple signals can reduce stops and rear‑end collisions.
Police Chief Kirk (identified in meeting remarks) told the council the city recorded just over 400 crashes citywide in the previous year and estimated about 40% of those were on Rock Road — roughly 200 collisions. Squires and council members said the city will also pursue grant funding where available (the staff referenced federal/state safety programs such as HSIP and regional MPO efforts) to stage any recommended construction.
Council members supported the study as an engineering first step; Council President Nick Engel called the work a practical alternative to the impossible option of “eliminating drivers.” A motion to authorize execution of an agreement with Grant Fanning Transystems, up to $59,000, passed 7‑0.
Clarifying details: Squires noted prior signal coordination efforts reduced travel time and stops on portions of Rock Road; the study’s scope includes crash history review (five‑year lookback), signal timing updates and recommendations for geometric fixes, with implementation options to be phased into the capital improvement plan and evaluated for grant funding.
