The Bike & Pedestrian Committee voted to endorse engineering’s request that Connecticut DOT conduct a formal road safety audit on Post Road between Mill Plain and North Benson, a segment included in a recent MetroCOG/CtDOT walk audit for the state’s active transportation planning.

Committee members told engineering that a formal road safety audit with DOT participation would help the town identify improvements and make the case for state-supported changes. “A road safety audit is to get the state on board with looking at the post road and helping to propose changes that will make it better for, well, safer for cars, but also for, pedestrians and cyclists,” a committee member said.

The committee noted Stratfield Road as a local precedent: a previous road safety audit involving DOT helped secure town funding and consultant work that led to improvements now being discussed publicly. The committee approved the motion to endorse DOT participation and a safety audit with an aye vote recorded; Francisco seconded the motion.

The endorsement asks engineering to request DOT’s inclusion on their audit list; committee members acknowledged the list may be long and said the town could commission its own audit with DOT participation if necessary. No funding appropriation was made at this meeting; the vote was an endorsement to support engineering’s outreach to DOT and to advance a formal audit process.