Rocky Hill considers speed and red-light cameras to improve road safety

Rocky Hill is considering adding speed and red-light enforcement cameras as town leaders look for ways to address ongoing traffic safety concerns.

Officials held a public meeting Wednesday to hear from residents as they weigh whether to move forward with the proposal, which they said is still in the early stages.

Town Council member Zach Van Luling said officials have received increasing complaints about speeding and drivers running red lights and stop signs.

“There seems to be a real problem with speeding and a real problem with blowing through red lights and stop signs, and public safety is a real concern right now,” he said.

Van Luling said the meeting was intended to help town leaders understand how residents feel about the proposal before making any decisions.

“We want to hear from our residents how they feel and their compelling reasons to be for and against a project like this,” he said.

Some residents said they support installing the cameras if they help reduce speeding.

“Anything we can do to just bring the down general speed would be wonderful,” Heather Wolfe-Taylor of Rocky Hill said.

Others questioned whether enforcement cameras are the right solution and raised concerns about how data collected by the technology would be used.

“I do personally have some concerns about this tool as being the tool we use to do that,” Nichole Pitruzzello of Rocky Hill said.

The town is considering five locations for possible camera installations, including an intersection on Silas Deane Highway that officials said has generated numerous complaints from residents and public safety officials.

“These were places that we had heard reports from residents, from public safety, et cetera, that said that these were places that you want to take a look at,” Van Luling said.

More than a dozen cities and towns across Connecticut have already been approved to install speed and red-light cameras, including the neighboring town of Wethersfield.

Van Luling said Rocky Hill is taking a deliberate approach as officials evaluate the technology, including its benefits and privacy implications.

“We’re in no rush. We know that it is available to us and we want to understand the technology, understand the privacy implications and understand what areas of town could be helped with it,” he said.