Making Tolland Safer: Mountain Spring/Old Post Road Intersection

The Town of Tolland has taken steps to improve the safety of the Old Post Road and Mountain Spring Road intersection, which was the site of UPS driver Randy Collins' serious accident, among many others.

Earlier this month, town crews painted traffic calming lines, stop bars and "stop ahead" signals at the intersection, according to Public Works Director Clem Langlois, Jr. Highly reflective stop signs are also on the way to replace the regular signage.

The problem intersection was studied by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. back in the summer of 2011. The business described the intersection as an "unsignalized intersection located in a rural area with less than 2,000 vehicles per day on each road." There are stop signs for cars traveling on Mountain Spring Road; Old Post Road has no stop signs at the intersection.

According to the VHB report submitted to the town, speeding was a large contributor to the danger of the intersection.

Although the posted speed limit on Old Post Road in 25 mph, VHB found that 85 percent of drivers were traveling at speeds of 37 mph or above driving westbound, and 45 mph or above eastbound.

"These high speeds are problematic given the geometry of the roadway and driver expectations," the report stated.

Speeding drivers also negatively affect another important safety measure for the intersection: intersection sight distances. While VHB recommends a minimum ISD of 500 feet approaching from both east and west on Mountain Spring, the steep hill of Old Post Road, a curve in the road, vegetation and speeding drivers all contribute to failing ISD numbers. The VHB table is attached above in a PDF.

While the town has completed many of the recommendations in the report, VHB did note that it is not recommended to make the intersection a four-way stop, since studies show that drivers tend to ignore the sign on the main road if the side street traffic volume is not high enough.

Check out photos of the new traffic control measures above.