Sep 21, 2023, 12:56 PM

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Redding Road in Fairfield will undergo several changes in response to two fatal pedestrian crashes in recent years.

First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said the safety measures will include installing center-line rumble strips, along with reflective white-painted lines on each side of the road for the 4-mile length of Redding Road.

"It's light and bright, and it narrows the road," Kupchick explained. "It gives the illusion to the driver that the road is more narrow than it is, and people tend to drive slower when the road is more narrow."

Kupchick said the installation of the center-line rumble strips and edge-line painting are part of the first phase of the safety initiative.

"After these are implemented, what we're going to do is put in natural sidewalks, so they're going to be depressed with maybe a little gravel and rock so people actually have somewhere to walk," Kupchick said.

Kupchick said the town's police and engineering departments, along with the UConn Training and Technical Assistance Center, conducted surveys to determine the best plan.

The police commission approved the measures earlier this month. Phase 1 is expected to begin in the coming weeks. The changes come amid a push from the community to make the road safer. A petition, which now has more than 2,800 signatures, started circulating in June following the crash that killed Meghan Raveis of the William Raveis Charitable Fund.

Denise Fernandez created the petition. Her sister-in-law, Marileady Morel Araujo, was also killed while walking on Redding Road three years ago.

"It really showed the necessity and the wishes of the people in the area," Fernandez said. "I think the changes that are going to be done are going to help a lot, especially with handling the speed."

"We do care about this, and we are acting on it as quick as possible because we don't want our roads to be unsafe," Kupchick added.