There’s a four-way stop at the intersection of Nott Street and Ridge Road in Wethersfield, but residents say you wouldn’t know it by watching vehicles blow right through without slowing down.
Several viewers reached out to NBC Connecticut during our ConnectAThon to voice concerns about the troubled intersection. After hearing the complaints, NBC Connecticut crews investigated on two recent weekday mornings. Even with a marked news vehicle parked in plain sight and cameras in full view, our crews witnessed car after car rolling through stop signs and disregarding the rules of a four-way stop.
NBC Connecticut took the video to Wethersfield Chief of Police James Cetran, who took immediate action.
“After what you had told me about that intersection at Nott and Ridge, we put officers out there on selective enforcement,” Cetran said. “There were a number of tickets given out.”
But officers can’t be stationed there all the time, Cetran said.
Several viewers asked about installing traffic cameras. But Cetrain explained due to state law, they can’t be used for traffic enforcement.
Viewers also asked about installing traffic lights. But statistics NBC Connecticut obtained for the last three years along the following Ridge Road intersections suggest that may not solve the problem, either:
- Prospect Street and Ridge Road: Five crashes, with traffic lights
- Wells Road and Ridge Road: 18 crashes, with blinking red light and four-way stop signs
- Nott Street and Ridge Road: Eight crashes, with four-way stop signs
- Jordan Lane and Ridge Road: 11 crashes, one fatal, with traffic lights
Cetran stressed the importance of defensive driving, and said police will continue to pay special attention.
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“If somebody gets a $200 fine maybe they’ll think twice about going through that stop sign again,” he said.
