Most tend to think of Hanover as a quiet, rural town. But for many Hanover residents, their neighborhoods bear more resemblance to a busy city intersection than the secluded country.
After four years of petitioning the town of Hanover to reduce through traffic on residential streets, the town has finally acquiesced to their demands.
The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Feb. 10 to accept a traffic-calming policy which included such measures as erecting Jersey barriers, speed bumps, roundabouts at intersections and flashing warning signs.
The policy went into effect Feb. 12 on Hovey Lane, Buell Street and Currier Place, where Jersey barriers -- large slabs of concrete -- have been used to narrow the road and force drivers to reduce speed when passing through the street. Speed bumps will also be installed in April on all three roads to further discourage through traffic.
Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said efforts to reduce traffic would involve "restricting access through streets that have notoriously been used as shortcuts."
According to Giaccone, a majority of through-traffic on the three roads is caused by commuters bypassing Lebanon Street. He estimated that 80 to 85 percent of the 1,100 vehicles that use the roads on a daily basis do so as a shortcut.
Hovey Lane resident Dick Lewin spearheaded the traffic reduction policy. He began petitioning the town's Board of Selectmen four years ago to cut down on traffic in his neighborhood.
Lewin said the problem is caused by commuters who want to bypass busy roads, particularly to get to work at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center more quickly.
"People are cutting through arterioles like Hovey Lane and Courier Place to avoid the heavy traffic on Lebanon Street." Lewin said.
Despite Lewin's complaints, some residents disagreed on the urgency of limiting traffic.
"I don't find the traffic volume to be unbearably high. But, during the day too many people park their cars along the road," Kevin Horrigan '02 said.
In addition to reducing traffic volume, the new "traffic-calming" policy is aimed at slowing traffic and increasing pedestrian and bicycle safety and reducing accidents.
The driving force behind the traffic reduction policy was neighborhood residents who were concerned both for their children and the tranquility of the neighborhood, Giaccone said Monday.
