West Hill Road will see signs in line with wishes of local residents

Rutland Herald

By Lola Duffort
STAFF WRITER | September 04,2015

 

KILLINGTON — A proposal to change the signage at the intersection of Killington and West Hill Road was not received well by town residents.

In fact, nearly a tenth of the town — 72 voters — signed a petition demanding the town “cease and desist any and all actions, considerations, studies, temporary closures, and legal proceedings pertaining to the changing of the traffic pattern at the junction of West Hill and Killington Road.”

The petition specifically objected to “the removal of the ‘West Hill Road’ street sign at the top of West Hill Road Slip Lane, the installation of a Stop or Yield sign at the bottom of the West Hill Road Slip Lane and the removal of the Yield sign for traffic merging into West Hill Road from the Killington Road traffic light.”

And just in case the Killington Select Board was unclear about its wishes, residents packed the town offices at a board meeting Tuesday night.

They needn’t have come out swinging so hard.

The board had asked for an opinion from a traffic engineer from the consulting firm DuBois and King about how to proceed with West Hill Road. And her advice was exactly in line with what they wanted, Town Manager Seth Webb told the assembled crowd.

Like residents in their petition, the traffic engineer recommended keeping West Hill Road’s yield sign exactly where it is, and recommended against installing a stop sign where the slip lane meets West Hill.

But with so many residents present, Selectwoman Patty McGrath took the opportunity to poll them about what they wanted for the road to mitigate speeding problems.

Many ultimately suggested things already under consideration by the board: more speed limit signs, better enforcement, signs prohibiting trucks and assigning a weight limit to vehicles, and the trimming down of the vegetation in the island. And per several residents’ requests, Select Board members also directed staff to explore installing a sign warning drivers about West Hill’s sudden, steep curves.

“On the issue of West Hill signage, the Select Board, traffic engineer and citizens were all in consensus about what needed to be done. And we’re proceeding with that plan,” Webb said Wednesday.