Pedestrian beware!
Complicated crosswalk
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — A recent car vs. pedestrian accident brought to the forefront the unusual setup for the intersection of Bridge Street, Kennedy Drive and the Riverfront Commons shopping plaza.
Sept. 25 Putnam Police investigated a pedestrian-involved motor vehicle accident. A 2023 Chevrolet Silverado operated by 25-year-old Nicholas Sabitoni of Lincoln, R.I., was making a left turn out of the Riverfront Commons Plaza onto Kennedy Drive southbound and struck 66-year-old Robert Johnson of Putnam who was crossing Kennedy Drive in the marked crosswalk. Johnson was transported by Putnam EMS to Day Kimball Hospital for apparent minor injuries.
Police Chief Christopher D. Ferace said that the crosswalk signal in question, at the corner of Kennedy and Bridge (at the edge of Rotary Park), operates sporadically.
The traffic lights and the crosswalk signals are the responsibility of the owner of Riverfront Commons. When the plaza was revamped years ago, the town told the plaza owners that they would be responsible for putting in and maintaining the traffic lights and crosswalk signals.
Last year the traffic lights at that intersection glitched. The town tried asking the plaza management company, Jcorp Realty Inc. of Shelton, to get their traffic lights fixed. When there was no response, Highway Superintendent Travis Sirrine said he gave it a shot. “It wasn’t what we thought it was. It was something more technical and so Prime Electric did the work,” he said.
For the sporadic crosswalk signal, Chief Ferace said he has tried numerous times to reach Jcorp, without success.
Contacted Sept. 30 by the Putnam Town Crier, Daniel Johnson of Jcorp Realty said he was unaware of the crosswalk signal problem. He said he will ask the plaza’s electrician, Deary Electric, to go and check it.
He said he does remember a problem with the traffic light last year and “had Deary Electric take care of it.”
However Ferace said the police department had contacted Deary Electric before and the company said that they have not worked for Jcorp “in many years.”
The traffic signal was fixed by Prime Electric at the behest of the town.
Asked if the town billed Jcorp for the traffic signal work, Johnson said if they did, it’s unlikely the town will get paid because the town did not pay Jcorp’s bills to the town for taking care of the property around the old Putnam Public Library.
However, the old public library was owned by the town and the town’s Highway and Park and Recreation departments did all the maintenance — mowing, weed whacking and snow shoveling at the town’s library. The town has since sold the building.
Town Administrator Elaine Sistare said the town has the option of putting a lien on property for unpaid bills. For example when a property owner cannot pay for ordered demolition of blighted property, the town pays for the work and then puts a lien on the property.
While this is all getting worked out, Ferace recommended that pedestrians “Use caution and don’t assume that drivers are going to stop.”
This accident remains under investigation.  Anyone who may have witnessed this incident is asked to contact the Putnam Police Department at 860-928-6565 our through our website at www.putnampolice.com

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Crosswalk
This crosswalk signal at the corner of Kennedy Drive and Bridge Street is the responsibility of the shopping plaza owners. Linda Lemmon photo.

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