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Police lieutenant outlines data‑driven traffic safety tools, urges collaboration with town planners
Summary
Lieutenant Ryan Dean told the Newington Town Council that the town relies on data (portable/permanent speed displays, crash repository, DOT counts) and coordinated planning to target speeding and improve pedestrian safety; councilors pressed him on Cedar Street, medians and state approvals.
Lieutenant Ryan Dean, speaking to the Newington Town Council, outlined how the town’s local traffic authority uses data and interdepartmental coordination to address speeding, intersections and pedestrian safety.
Dean described the tools Newington deploys: portable and permanent speed‑display devices that record vehicle counts and speeds, the Connecticut crash repository for PR‑1 accident data, and traffic counts provided by Connecticut Department of Transportation. He said the town uses those data to determine when enforcement, signal changes, crosswalk improvements or physical road‑narrowing measures are appropriate.
"Our goal isn't to write tickets. Our goal is to stop traffic and make people safer," Dean said, noting that radar, laser units and officer deployment remain part of enforcement but that much work is preventative and design‑focused. He emphasized the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and state DOT requirements as limiting factors for changes on state roads.
Councilors asked for specifics about coordination with planning and engineering. Dean said proposals and new developments are reviewed jointly so traffic impacts can be assessed early; the town borrows covert traffic‑count equipment from the state to validate developers’ studies where needed. He also offered to provide signal timing and queue data on request.
On crosswalk paint and flashing beacons, Dean said municipal crews repaint crosswalks each summer and that rapid flashing beacons are being installed where grant funding and state permits allow; local roads can receive devices directly, while devices on state roads require DOT encroachment permits.
Councilors raised Cedar Street repeatedly — a state road that Dean said carries roughly 30,000 vehicles per day in segments and is governed by CT DOT, though the town can recommend treatments and supply local data. Dean pointed to recent local projects such as Robins Avenue (a lane‑narrowing treatment) where redesigns reduced speeds and crashes. He said the town has two permanent speed display units and recently received two more from the state for broader deployment.
Dean also explained enforcement tools: portable speed displays provide 85th‑percentile speeds and time‑of‑day risk reports used to concentrate patrols during peak problem hours. He said the portable devices record vehicle data for analysis but are informational and not used to issue automatic citations.
The council praised the department’s responsiveness to resident complaints and asked staff to share more corridor‑level data — including signal timing and crash trends — as planning for town‑center redevelopment continues. Dean agreed to provide speed and crash summaries and to coordinate with the town manager and planning staff on projects that could change traffic patterns.
The presentation concluded with councilors noting upcoming pedestrian improvements on Garfield Street and plans to apply for state funding to expand flashing beacons and pedestrian facilities; the town manager confirmed construction and grant activity tied to those projects. The council did not take any formal votes on policy at the meeting.
