At a second public meeting, the Town of West Hartford’s consulting team of VN Engineers and VHB shared locations identified for speed enforcement cameras and other details as the program implementation reaches its next step.

By Ronni Newton 

West Hartford officials and the town’s consulting team sought input at a public meeting in July as they worked to refine plans to implement an automated speed enforcement program in town, and Wednesday night during a second public meeting at Sedgwick Middle School, they revealed the 15 stretches of roadway that have been identified as proposed locations for the cameras, as well as five alternate locations.

The locations are geographically dispersed throughout town, and there will be no more than two cameras per roadway. The exact locations within the stretch of identified roadway are yet to be determined.

The 15 identified locations are:

• Albany Avenue (Route 44) from Ritoli Ridge to Mountain Brook Road
• Albany Avenue (Route 44) from Vandervere Road to Steele Road
• Bloomfield Avenue from Simsbury Road to Abrahms Boulevard
• Farmington Avenue from Whiting Lane to South Highland Street
• Fern Street from Steele Road to Concord Street
• Flatbush Avenue from Price Boulevard to Oakwood Avenue
• King Philip Drive from Albany Avenue to Mohawk Drive
• Mountain Road from Fern Street to Cliffmore Road
• Mountain Road from Avondale Road to Forest Hills Drive
• New Britain Avenue from Vine Hill Road to Cortland Street
• New Britain Avenue from Berkshire Road/Chatfield Drive to Wolcott Road
• North Main Street from Mohawk Drive to Miller Road/Old Meadow Road
• South Main Street from Park Road to Crestwood Road
• Trout Brook Drive from Farmington Avenue to Fern Street
• Trout Brook Drive from Boulevard to Memorial Road

Backup locations include:

• Farmington Avenue west of Mountain Road
• North Main Street north of Fern Street
• Prospect Avenue south of Park Road
• Simsbury Road east of Mohegan Drive
• South Main Street south of New Britain Avenue

A PDF below also shows the identified locations.

The program should be fully implemented by the middle of 2026, Town Manager Rick Ledwith said Wednesday.

The consulting team, VN Engineers and VHB, has been gathering and analyzing data from various sources, including from public input at the first meeting, where 40 possible locations were identified for placement of cameras. The Town of West Hartford has received a $669,007 federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant for the speed management pilot program, and once full approval is obtained, will be able to use those funds to implement the program and place up to 15 cameras in locations throughout town for what will be an 18-month trial period.

Remaining steps include review of the draft of the location plan by the Town Council’s Community Planning and Economic Development Committee (CPED) at its Sept. 17 meeting, and incorporation of any additional feedback into a final plan for the Town Council to adopt on Sept. 29. Ledwith said the next steps include submitting the plan to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and hopefully receiving approval by late October. Because West Hartford’s program is being funded by a federal grant, the plan also needs approval by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), Ledwith said.

Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Devices (ATESD) will become a key tool in support of West Hartford’s Vision Zero Action Plan – a long-term and multi-faceted commitment with the goal of eliminating all fatal and serious vehicle crashes by 2033 – “but we want to do it faster than that,” Ledwith said.

“This is really an important part of our Vision Zero Plan,” Ledwith said, one of the three “E’s”: enforcement, education, and engineering.

The speed cameras will be an important part of enforcement. “It doesn’t replace officers, it supplements the work that our officers are doing today,” Ledwith said. “The chief refers to it as a force multiplier.”

West Hartford Police have enhanced enforcement over the past several weeks, more than doubling the number of motor vehicle stops in August 2025 (882) compared to August 2024 (396) and issuing hundreds of citations.

Education has been ramped up as well, with 35 emails sent out over the summer with information about Vision Zero efforts and tips for pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle safety.

“The impact of engineering is happening on our streets and keeping people safe,” Ledwith said, noting the various curb extensions, raised crosswalks, and other measures surrounding Sedgwick Middle School.

How the locations were chosen

Kevin Ortiz of VN Engineers said there were 16 comments provided at the first public meeting on July 30, and there have been 26 emails received. Further comments via email are welcome, and can be sent to [email protected].

Consultants Joe Balskus and Daniel Amstutz of VHB shared how the data was refined in multiple steps to come up with the list of recommended camera locations.

The first list of possible locations looked at roadways where there have been speed-related crashes and also considered traffic volumes, school zones, and areas with a large number of pedestrians. Roadway segments were scored and took into account open space, school crossings and school safety areas, parks, proximity to places of worship, and areas that have also been identified as Vision Zero focus areas.

Final steps in the screening process included reviewing police data on speeding-related traffic citations, Amstutz said. “The more citations in a segment, the higher the score in the screening process.”

The town has been implementing other traffic calming measures, and recent data on speeding was also reviewed, Amstutz said, including the locations where there have been a high number of speeders. Extra weight was given to areas where a high percent of drivers have been cited for going 10 mph or more over the speed limit.

In some areas the town already has other projects planned – such as on Sedgwick Road, near where the public meeting was being held – as well as projects underway or recently completed, so those areas might not make sense for a camera, said Amstutz. Those projects, along with the speed enforcement camera, “are all part of the town’s strategy not just to have the speed cameras, but also these physical improvements that are changing the way that people are interacting and getting around the town – slower, safer – to get to that goal, zero fatalities, zero serious injuries.”

It’s also a requirement of the state that Qualified Census Tracts (QCT) – where a large number of people who are lower income or minorities live – be considered as part of the ATESD program. No more than two ATESD locations are permitted in any QCT in order not to overburden those communities.

CTDOT and the FHA require justification of the chosen locations – some of which are state roads and others which are local streets – and the backups have been included in case there are siting issues with the initial 15 identified roadway stretches.

Additional comments

Roughly 40 people attended Wednesday night’s meeting, and 10 spoke, some sharing personal stories as they expressed support for the program, and others asking questions or bringing up related traffic safety issues.

“This is probably not a question of if we need it, it’s a question of when – and the time is now,” said Steve Blanchfield, a West Hartford native known to many as longtime assistant coach of the Hall High School football team and coach of the Conard tennis team. He said that 30 years ago this month his father was leaving a Hartford Whalers game at what was then the Hartford Civic Center, and was in a crosswalk when he was fatally struck by a speeding hit-and-run driver who ran through a red light and never even slowed down.

He said he lost his father, his best friend, to an event the town is now working to prevent.

“If this program saves one life and one family from going through what we went through – a heartache I’ve had for 30 years – it will be successful,” Blanchfield said.

“We’re very happy our street is on there,” said a New Britain Avenue resident, who said that many don’t seem to consider that the road is also a residential neighborhood and treat the downhill as a speedway. “We literally put our lives in our hands every day, pulling in and out of our driveway with trucks, semis, cars barreling down behind us.”

Other speakers, like a Robin Road resident, advocated for the need to slow traffic on Trout Brook Drive, where it’s dangerous to even use the crosswalks.

Todd Hansen, who is legally blind and does not drive, said that more than just cones – which are quick-build temporary measures – are needed on Sedgwick Road to slow traffic. “Instead of 15, we need 180 cameras,” he said.

Director of Community Development Duane Martin said Sedgwick Road is not included in the camera program because of other updates planned to the roadway, including a raised crosswalk.

In response to Hansen’s question about drivers either avoiding the cameras by taking detours or speeding up immediately as they pass, Martin said it’s a concern. “But we are assuming that these locations will definitely be beneficial. This is the initial plan that we’re going to put to the state for the locations… that doesn’t mean we’re done.” The police have been part of the discussion, and they know some drivers may not care about the fine. “The police are aware of that, and they are prepared. They will be out in locations to combat them, so be warned that if you’re going through the areas it’s because we have a problem, and that doesn’t mean the police are going to avoid doing enforcement on that roadway.”

The point is not for the program to generate revenue – although it will – but to improve traffic safety. And the state requires that signage be in place, and traffic apps be updated, to show the location of cameras, Martin said.

Other speakers suggested alternate camera locations, including Trout Brook Drive between I-84 and Park Road, and Tunxis Road near Waterside Lane.

Program parameters

The 18-month trial begins when the first camera is operational. Data will continue to be collected to determine whether or not the program should be extended, and must be submitted within three years.

• According to state law, a violation will be issued if the speed is exceeded by 10 mph or more.
• The fines – $50 for the first offense and $75 for subsequent offenses within the first year – are set by the state and issued to the owner of the vehicle. The fines are incorporated into the town’s adopted ordinance.
• The cameras activate when a violation occurs but are reviewed by a West Hartford Police Department officer or other authorized town employee before a citation is issued.
• Funds collected from fines will be invested back into the West Hartford community and used to support transportation and infrastructure as well as the costs associated with the ATESD program.
• Vehicle owners may appeal the fine within 10 days, and will be granted a 30-day warning period before fines are issued for each camera location.
• The citations are not moving violations nor are they reflected on driving records or tied to the ability to register your car.

While the ATESD program under discussion currently focuses only on speed cameras, the Town Council passed an ordinance this spring permitting automated enforcement of speeding as well as red light violations. That ordinance sets the fines and other processes for managing automated enforcement.

“Our goal is, as I’ve said, as our Council has said, our mayor has said, is to make our town safer and change our culture of driving in West Hartford, and this is one component of that, and we will get there,” Ledwith said at the close of the public meeting on the speed enforcement program.

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