New Haven Community Management Teams (CMTs):
+ Downtown-Wooster Square CMT (listserv link here)
+ Fair Haven CMT
+ Westville-West Hills CMT
+ Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills (WEB) CMT
+ Hill South CMT
+ Hill North CMT
+ Newhallville CMT
+ Quinnipiac East CMT (QEMT)
+ East Shore CMT
+ East Rock CMT
These endorsements per official member voting. Additional CMTs will be voting over the next two months.
Advocacy Organizations and Nonprofits:
+ Yale Medical Campus Traffic Safety Group (listserv link here)
+ Elm City Cycling / (listserv link here)
+ New Haven Urban Design League
+ DesignNewHaven
+ Tri-State Transportation Campaign
+ Transportation Alternatives
+ America Walks
+ Yale Public Health Coalition
+ Connecticut Bicycle Coalition
+ Safe Kids Connecticut - Greater New Haven Chapter
Neighborhood Associations, Business Improvement Districts and Religious Organizations:
+ Church on the Rock - New Haven
+ Coalition for a Livable Whalley
+ Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel
+ Edgewood Neighborhood Association
+ Edgewood Park Defense Patrol
+ Friends of East Rock Park
+ New Haven Bioregional Group
+ New Haven 828
+ Ronan-Edgehill Neighborhood Association
+ Town Green Special Services District, per unanimous vote of Board of Commissioners
+ Upper State Street Association
+ Westville Village Renaissance Alliance
Individual Residents:
+ Approximately 1,700 area residents have signed the petition.
Local and State Elected Officials:
+ New Haven Ward 1 Alderwoman Rachel Plattus (Downtown/Yale)
+ New Haven Ward 2 Alderwoman Gina Calder (Dwight)
+ New Haven Ward 3 Alderwoman Jacqueline James (Medical District/West River)
+ New Haven Ward 5 Alderman Jorge Perez (Hill)
+ New Haven Ward 6 Alderwoman Dolores Colon (Hill)
+ New Haven Ward 7 Alderwoman Bitsie Clark (Downtown)
+ New Haven Ward 8 Alderman Michael Smart (Wooster Square)
+ New Haven Ward 9 Alderman Roland Lemar (East Rock)
+ New Haven Ward 10 Alderman Allan Brison (East Rock)
+ New Haven Ward 14 Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale (Fair Haven)
+ New Haven Ward 15 Alderman Joseph Rodriguez (Fair Haven)
+ New Haven Ward 16 Alderwoman Migdalia Castro (Fair Haven)
+ New Haven Ward 17 Alderman Alphonse Paolillo Jr. (Annex)
+ New Haven Ward 18 Alderwoman Arlene DePino (East Shore)
+ New Haven Ward 19 Alderwoman Alfreda Edwards (Newhallville/Prospect Hill)
+ New Haven Ward 20 Alderman Charles A. Blango (Newhallville)
+ New Haven Ward 21 Alderwoman Katrina Jones (Dixwell/Newhallville)
+ New Haven Ward 22 Alderman Greg Morehead (Dixwell)
+ New Haven Ward 23 Alderman Yusuf I. Shah (West River)
+ New Haven Ward 24 Alderwoman Elizabeth McCormack (Edgewood)
+ New Haven Ward 25 Alderwoman Ina Silverman (Westville)
+ New Haven Ward 26 Alderman Sergio Rodriguez (Westville)
+ New Haven Ward 27 Alderman Tom Lehtonen (Westville)
+ New Haven Ward 29 Alderman Carl Goldfield (Westville)
+ New Haven Ward 30 Alderwoman Michelle Sepulveda (West Hills)
+ New Haven Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Susan Voigt
+ State Senator Toni N. Harp, Deputy President Pro Tempore, 10th Senatorial District (New Haven/West Haven)
+ State Senator Martin M. Looney, Senate Majority Leader of the General Assembly, 11th Senatorial District (New Haven/Hamden)
+ Representative Juan Candelaria, 95th Assembly District (New Haven)
+ Representative Patricia Dillon, Assistant Majority Leader, 92nd Assembly District (New Haven)
+ Representative Robert W. Megna, Assistant Majority Leader, 97th Assembly District (New Haven)
+ Representative Toni E. Walker, Deputy Majority Leader, 93rd Assembly District (New Haven)
Additional sponsors will be posted as they are officially confirmed.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Drag Racers Hit Pedestrians, Kill 1
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Sunday, August 17, 2008 (NBC30): New Haven police said one person died and another was injured in what they called a "drag race turned hit-and-run." All roads have been reopened since the accident, which happened at about 1:20 a.m. Sunday on New Haven's Long Wharf Drive.
Police said drag racing has been an ongoing problem in the city. Last week, drag racers totaled eight cars on Lexington Avenue. No arrests have been made.
Update: New Haven Independent coverage, and an interview with the Chief of Police, can be found here: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/08/deadly_crash_el.php
A reader post from the Independent's updated coverage at http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/08/dragracing_deat.php:
Posted by: Westville Mom August 19, 2008 1:10 PM
I can confirm that drag racing is a problem ALL over the city of New Haven. In Jan. of 2007 racers were gathering in front of my home AT SCHOOL DISMISSAL TIME and racing right TOWARD Edgewood School. Outraged, I called 911, but was told the racers would move before the police could catch them. However, they (red car plus different "pals") returned at least 2 more times within a 2-3 week period. I managed to get 2 eyewitnesses, snapped photos, and contacted both the police and my alderwoman, emailing photos to both. (Unable to get "action" photos, I only had identification shots of post-race engine checks.) I did everything in my power to get a reaction from someone...anyone. The official reaction, however, was merely rhetoric with no true action, whatsoever. I never even saw a police car. This should be a cautionary tale to the city that the children and parents of Edgewood School were in grave danger and other children may very well be in the future. My sense of dire urgency was not acknowledged at that time, however I do hope that attitudes are changing with the new police chief in place. (BTW, they have not returned since then---they saw that there were eyewitnesses.) To see photos of Jan. 9, 2007 go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/new_haven
Police said drag racing has been an ongoing problem in the city. Last week, drag racers totaled eight cars on Lexington Avenue. No arrests have been made.
Update: New Haven Independent coverage, and an interview with the Chief of Police, can be found here: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/08/deadly_crash_el.php
A reader post from the Independent's updated coverage at http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/08/dragracing_deat.php:
Posted by: Westville Mom August 19, 2008 1:10 PM
I can confirm that drag racing is a problem ALL over the city of New Haven. In Jan. of 2007 racers were gathering in front of my home AT SCHOOL DISMISSAL TIME and racing right TOWARD Edgewood School. Outraged, I called 911, but was told the racers would move before the police could catch them. However, they (red car plus different "pals") returned at least 2 more times within a 2-3 week period. I managed to get 2 eyewitnesses, snapped photos, and contacted both the police and my alderwoman, emailing photos to both. (Unable to get "action" photos, I only had identification shots of post-race engine checks.) I did everything in my power to get a reaction from someone...anyone. The official reaction, however, was merely rhetoric with no true action, whatsoever. I never even saw a police car. This should be a cautionary tale to the city that the children and parents of Edgewood School were in grave danger and other children may very well be in the future. My sense of dire urgency was not acknowledged at that time, however I do hope that attitudes are changing with the new police chief in place. (BTW, they have not returned since then---they saw that there were eyewitnesses.) To see photos of Jan. 9, 2007 go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/new_haven
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Street Racing Damages Cars, Drivers Injured
New Haven (WTNH) August 14, 2008 -- Cars parked along a city street in New Haven were heavily damaged Thursday morning, and some blame illegal street racers. It was around 12:30 a.m. Folks in this residential neighborhood were at home, sleeping or watching TV when they heard crash after crash and came out to find the damage.
Witnesses say two cars were speeding up Lexington Avenue. They ended up crashing, but those two cars also crashed into parked cars along the street doing serious damage. At least six parked cars are damaged.
Residents say cars speed up Lexington Avenue all the time, but this was actually unusual. They think the cars might have been racing when they crashed. One flipped over. The drivers were injured and taken for medical help. There was no word from the police about charges just yet, but one resident said at least three of the parked cars are now totaled.
"I'm disabled, I have no vehicle now, and the other people, this lady here just put a lot of work into her car, a neighbor put a lot of work into her car and so did I, and now we're without vehicles because of people driving like this," Rob Lowry said.
Lowry says he and other residents have complained about speeding on the street before, and asked the city to put in a stop sign or something to calm traffic.
The city is in the middle of a campaign to try to make the streets safer for everyone who uses them, with a new traffic calming ordinance in the works, and the city just set up a hotline to report traffic problems. The hope is to do something about dangerous streets before things get quite this bad. The number to call to report a traffic problem is 203-946-6956.
Witnesses say two cars were speeding up Lexington Avenue. They ended up crashing, but those two cars also crashed into parked cars along the street doing serious damage. At least six parked cars are damaged.
Residents say cars speed up Lexington Avenue all the time, but this was actually unusual. They think the cars might have been racing when they crashed. One flipped over. The drivers were injured and taken for medical help. There was no word from the police about charges just yet, but one resident said at least three of the parked cars are now totaled.
"I'm disabled, I have no vehicle now, and the other people, this lady here just put a lot of work into her car, a neighbor put a lot of work into her car and so did I, and now we're without vehicles because of people driving like this," Rob Lowry said.
Lowry says he and other residents have complained about speeding on the street before, and asked the city to put in a stop sign or something to calm traffic.
The city is in the middle of a campaign to try to make the streets safer for everyone who uses them, with a new traffic calming ordinance in the works, and the city just set up a hotline to report traffic problems. The hope is to do something about dangerous streets before things get quite this bad. The number to call to report a traffic problem is 203-946-6956.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Intersection Repair in Fair Haven
“Road witching” came to New Haven for the first time as traffic-calming champion Erin Sturgis-Pascale led a dozen of her fellow Fair Haveners in “chalking in” medians and curb bump-outs — which, if actually built, would slow traffic and help reclaim the streets for non-vehicular uses. As they approached, curious drivers slowed down on a brilliant morning that highlighted the calm beauty of Chatham Square Park and the neighborhood....
“The city has a classification for streets that they really don’t focus on: neighborhood streets, collectors, and arterials. This is the lowest volume, a quiet neighborhood street. Kids in suburbs play on their quiet streets; why shouldn’t city kids too?”
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Appel interviews City's traffic enforcement czar
See here: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/08/top_traffic_cop.php
Following the regular August monthly meeting of the Fair Haven Community Management Team (one of the first "Safe Streets" supporters in the city), which featured the city's new police chief, New Haven Independent correspondent Allan Appel asked Lieutenant Witkowski several important questions about cell phone use while driving (shown to be worse than drunk driving), traffic statistics, police equipment, educational programs, speeding and drag racing.
Following the regular August monthly meeting of the Fair Haven Community Management Team (one of the first "Safe Streets" supporters in the city), which featured the city's new police chief, New Haven Independent correspondent Allan Appel asked Lieutenant Witkowski several important questions about cell phone use while driving (shown to be worse than drunk driving), traffic statistics, police equipment, educational programs, speeding and drag racing.
Friday, August 8, 2008
New Haven Police Department 2008 Recruitment Drive
SPREAD THE WORD! Applications are now available at the front desk at 1 Union Avenue.
Return dates for completed applications are Sep. 8, 2008; deadline Sep. 26, 2008.
Only accepted at 1 Union Ave. “Who do you know that would look good in BLUE?”
Return dates for completed applications are Sep. 8, 2008; deadline Sep. 26, 2008.
Only accepted at 1 Union Ave. “Who do you know that would look good in BLUE?”
Thursday, August 7, 2008
NH Register: Traffic-safety efforts gear up across city
Photo at Left: An in-street crosswalk sign used in a highly successful retail district in Downtown Norwalk, Connecticut, July 2008. It's combined with a textured crosswalk and curb bumpouts, creating a welcoming pedestrian environment and slowing traffic to a reasonable 15-20 mph pace. A group of New Haven residents observed a high rate of compliance with crosswalk regulations here, similar to the experience in dozens of other towns in the New Haven region where these signs are present. Public health authorities and traffic engineers have extensive data showing that in-street signs are highly effective at increasing pedestrian safety.
Traffic-safety efforts gear up across city
By Mary E. O'Leary, Register Topics Editor, 08/07/2008
NEW HAVEN — A push is on to slow down traffic in the city with in-street signs that would remind drivers they must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Separately, Yale alumni have petitioned the university to incorporate traffic-calming measures as plans solidify for two additional colleges off Prospect Street, while across town, Fair Haveners will gather Saturday to continue discussions on dangerous streets in that neighborhood.
These are just a few of the many pieces of a movement to make city streets safer for pedestrians in light of several fatal accidents, as well as the increasing number of cyclists sharing the streets with motor vehicles.
The Yale Medical Campus Traffic Safety Group, Elm City Cycling and members of the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition are asking that the city consider, on a trial basis, placing yield-to-pedestrian signs in crosswalks.
Generally, the signs stand several feet high on a platform and incorporate a walking figure, a reference to "state law" and a yield sign. The devices, which are approved by the Federal Highway Administration, do not include traffic signals.
Placing the signs directly in the road is intended to get drivers to reduce their speed and alert them to the crosswalk, according to advocates, who said they have been used successfully around the country, including larger cities such as Milwaukee and Baltimore, while there are 4,500 throughout Pennsylvania. The signs also are in use in area communities, such as Milford and Branford.
Advocates said the city has been reluctant to use the signs because of potential liability if a driver hits one and concern they would simply be ignored.
Tom Harned of Elm City Cycling and Rachel Wattier of the Yale Medical Campus Traffic Safety Group believe these reasons don't hold up, in light of safety studies conducted by Pennsylvania and, particularly, if city police enforce the traffic laws at the pilot sites.
"We believe this will maximize the efficacy of the device and increase driver awareness of its use," they wrote. They would like to see a minimum of 20 such signs throughout the city by November.
On Saturday, Fair Haveners will chalk improvements, such as islands, curb cuts and roundabouts, on the streets, as discussed in an earlier workshop with Dan Burden, the director of Walkable Communities. They will meet at 10 a.m. at Chatham Square on Clinton Avenue.
The neighborhood has already prioritized which streets it would like to see improved first; this will be their third meeting on the issue.
More than 1,600 residents and 10 community management teams have signed on to a safe streets petition being circulated in New Haven which endorses measures to cut citywide traffic-related injuries in half by 2009 and by 90 percent as of 2015.
The letter to Yale requested that streets be posted at 15 to 20 miles per hour where pedestrian traffic is heavy around the campus, as well as incorporating other physical changes.
"Curb extensions that improve pedestrian visibility, medians, narrowed, raised or marked crosswalks, in-street signage and other traffic-calming measures are desperately needed," the 16 alumni wrote.
Among them are Alderwomen Rachel Plattus, D-1, Gina Calder, D-2, and Dolores Colon, D-6.
Mary E. O'Leary can be reached at moleary@nhregister.com or 789-5731.
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19897504&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=635057&rfi=6
NEW HAVEN — A push is on to slow down traffic in the city with in-street signs that would remind drivers they must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Separately, Yale alumni have petitioned the university to incorporate traffic-calming measures as plans solidify for two additional colleges off Prospect Street, while across town, Fair Haveners will gather Saturday to continue discussions on dangerous streets in that neighborhood.
These are just a few of the many pieces of a movement to make city streets safer for pedestrians in light of several fatal accidents, as well as the increasing number of cyclists sharing the streets with motor vehicles.
The Yale Medical Campus Traffic Safety Group, Elm City Cycling and members of the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition are asking that the city consider, on a trial basis, placing yield-to-pedestrian signs in crosswalks.
Generally, the signs stand several feet high on a platform and incorporate a walking figure, a reference to "state law" and a yield sign. The devices, which are approved by the Federal Highway Administration, do not include traffic signals.
Placing the signs directly in the road is intended to get drivers to reduce their speed and alert them to the crosswalk, according to advocates, who said they have been used successfully around the country, including larger cities such as Milwaukee and Baltimore, while there are 4,500 throughout Pennsylvania. The signs also are in use in area communities, such as Milford and Branford.
Advocates said the city has been reluctant to use the signs because of potential liability if a driver hits one and concern they would simply be ignored.
Tom Harned of Elm City Cycling and Rachel Wattier of the Yale Medical Campus Traffic Safety Group believe these reasons don't hold up, in light of safety studies conducted by Pennsylvania and, particularly, if city police enforce the traffic laws at the pilot sites.
"We believe this will maximize the efficacy of the device and increase driver awareness of its use," they wrote. They would like to see a minimum of 20 such signs throughout the city by November.
On Saturday, Fair Haveners will chalk improvements, such as islands, curb cuts and roundabouts, on the streets, as discussed in an earlier workshop with Dan Burden, the director of Walkable Communities. They will meet at 10 a.m. at Chatham Square on Clinton Avenue.
The neighborhood has already prioritized which streets it would like to see improved first; this will be their third meeting on the issue.
More than 1,600 residents and 10 community management teams have signed on to a safe streets petition being circulated in New Haven which endorses measures to cut citywide traffic-related injuries in half by 2009 and by 90 percent as of 2015.
The letter to Yale requested that streets be posted at 15 to 20 miles per hour where pedestrian traffic is heavy around the campus, as well as incorporating other physical changes.
"Curb extensions that improve pedestrian visibility, medians, narrowed, raised or marked crosswalks, in-street signage and other traffic-calming measures are desperately needed," the 16 alumni wrote.
Among them are Alderwomen Rachel Plattus, D-1, Gina Calder, D-2, and Dolores Colon, D-6.
Mary E. O'Leary can be reached at moleary@nhregister.com or 789-5731.
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19897504&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=635057&rfi=6
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Upcoming Events: Chalking, Bicycling, Public Safety
BOARD OF ALDERMEN PUBLIC SAFETY SUBCOMMITTEE: WED., AUG. 6TH, 6PM
This event, at 6pm at City Hall, is a meet & greet with the city's new Chief of Police. Please come and express your concerns to your Aldermen and to the new Chief. This may be a good opportunity to show community concern for traffic safety. One suggested question: How can we improve the specific collection and sharing of citywide traffic-safety related data, so that neighborhoods and block watches can better understand the issues and advocate for their own interests?
BIKE TO WORK BREAKFAST, FRI., AUG. 8TH, 7:30-9:30AM
August 8th, 7:30-9:30am in front of City Hall. Free breakfast; learn the best commuting routes. Sponsored by ElmCityCycling.
FAIR HAVEN STREET CHALKING EVENT, SAT., AUG. 9TH, 10AM
A street chalking event at Chatham Square in Fair Haven will follow upon the workshop with Dan Burden. Participants will be drawing, on the street in chalk, the improvements suggested by the community. All are welcome to participate. See here for background: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/06/traffic_calming_1.php
This event, at 6pm at City Hall, is a meet & greet with the city's new Chief of Police. Please come and express your concerns to your Aldermen and to the new Chief. This may be a good opportunity to show community concern for traffic safety. One suggested question: How can we improve the specific collection and sharing of citywide traffic-safety related data, so that neighborhoods and block watches can better understand the issues and advocate for their own interests?
BIKE TO WORK BREAKFAST, FRI., AUG. 8TH, 7:30-9:30AM
August 8th, 7:30-9:30am in front of City Hall. Free breakfast; learn the best commuting routes. Sponsored by ElmCityCycling.
FAIR HAVEN STREET CHALKING EVENT, SAT., AUG. 9TH, 10AM
A street chalking event at Chatham Square in Fair Haven will follow upon the workshop with Dan Burden. Participants will be drawing, on the street in chalk, the improvements suggested by the community. All are welcome to participate. See here for background: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/06/traffic_calming_1.php
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Bicyclist struck in New Haven
Posted Aug. 5, 2008 (WTNH): Police in New Haven say a bicyclist was struck by a car, but it looks like the bicyclist was at fault. The man on the bicycle had a red light at Grand Avenue and the car traveling on Blatchley had a green light. The bicyclist got some cuts and bruises and was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Police say the woman driving the car was shaken up and she did stop. But she more than likely will not be charged.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
"Safe Streets" City Ordinance Proposed
Reckless drivers, residents' fears prompt safe streets ordinance
By Randall Beach, New Haven Register Staff, August 3, 2008
NEW HAVEN - Responding to growing neighborhood interest in "traffic calming," two aldermen are preparing a safe streets ordinance that could lead to traffic designs to improve pedestrian safety.
Alderman Roland Lemar, D-9, said he and Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale, D-14, began drafting the ordinance after receiving considerable feedback from their respective neighborhoods of East Rock and Fair Haven. Lemar said they hope to have the proposal ready for the full board to consider in about a month.
The issue also has taken hold in the Whalley Avenue area following the hit-and-run death of Garbrielle Lee, 11, in June, as she was trying to cross that street.
The recently formed New Haven Safe Streets Coalition has been circulating an online petition advocating measures to cut citywide traffic-related injuries in half by 2009 and by 90 percent as of 2015. More than 1,600 residents have signed the petition, and 10 Community Management Teams have endorsed it.
Perhaps its strongest and potentially most controversial provision is to "re-establish and enforce a strict 25 mph speed limit throughout all streets and arterial roads in New Haven." Local speed limits also must be approved by the State Traffic Commission.
"It's exceptional that so many people in the city have signed on," Lemar said. "A broad spectrum of New Haven supports this. The city government should recognize this groundswell of interest in improving neighborhoods."
Lemar did not want to discuss the proposed ordinance in detail, but he said it would establish a traffic calming safe streets committee, as well as set aside money to make traffic safety improvements and require that new construction "passes this test."
"We've seen this work with bike lanes," he noted. "This would take it further."
Lemar said he and Sturgis-Pascale are working with Michael Piscitelli, head of the city's Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking.
Illustrating the momentum of the safety movement, city officials have created a Traffic Safety Hotline. Citizens can call 946-6956 or e-mail TrafficSafety@newhavenct.net to report a dangerous intersection or place where vehicles are speeding or not obeying red lights or stop signs.
The East Rock Management Team recently surveyed its members to identify trouble spots in that neighborhood. Members of the Ronan-Edgehill Neighborhood Association also were invited to pinpoint dangerous sites. There were about 30 responses.
The most dangerous intersection, cited by eight residents, was at St. Ronan and Canner streets, where respondents reported seeing cars speed up and down Canner Street, ignoring stop signs. A close runner-up, with seven complaints, was the intersection of St. Ronan and Highland streets.
Other trouble spots included portions of Trumbull Street, Orange Street, Whitney Avenue and State Street. An e-mail discussion group set up by RENA has been filled with complaints about unsafe motorists.
"We have a serious problem with groups of motorcyclists, four or five at a time, going up the hill at a terrifying speed while simultaneously riding only on the rear wheel," wrote an East Rock Road resident.
She added, "It happens in the afternoons and evenings when the kids and I are out walking the dog, and I am very concerned about the drivers losing control and taking us out in the process."
Bill Kaplan, who lives on Autumn Street between Canner and Highland streets, said in a RENA e-mail message that "a genuine traffic calming design" would be preferable to keeping police officers posted at the intersections.
Kaplan said he saw small traffic circles with permanent plantings slow down vehicles in his former home of Portland, Ore. Kaplan said the round fixtures are placed in the center of intersections.
"You have to slow down and steer around it. You can't blast through the intersection," he said. "They're attractive and they work day and night."
Kaplan said unless such measures were taken, the East Rock intersections would remain "a tragedy waiting to happen."
Lemar said he has also seen "Yield to pedestrian in the crosswalk" signs bolted into streets in East Haven, Hamden, Long Island towns and elsewhere. He said these could prove effective in New Haven, too.
By Randall Beach, New Haven Register Staff, August 3, 2008
NEW HAVEN - Responding to growing neighborhood interest in "traffic calming," two aldermen are preparing a safe streets ordinance that could lead to traffic designs to improve pedestrian safety.
Alderman Roland Lemar, D-9, said he and Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale, D-14, began drafting the ordinance after receiving considerable feedback from their respective neighborhoods of East Rock and Fair Haven. Lemar said they hope to have the proposal ready for the full board to consider in about a month.
The issue also has taken hold in the Whalley Avenue area following the hit-and-run death of Garbrielle Lee, 11, in June, as she was trying to cross that street.
The recently formed New Haven Safe Streets Coalition has been circulating an online petition advocating measures to cut citywide traffic-related injuries in half by 2009 and by 90 percent as of 2015. More than 1,600 residents have signed the petition, and 10 Community Management Teams have endorsed it.
Perhaps its strongest and potentially most controversial provision is to "re-establish and enforce a strict 25 mph speed limit throughout all streets and arterial roads in New Haven." Local speed limits also must be approved by the State Traffic Commission.
"It's exceptional that so many people in the city have signed on," Lemar said. "A broad spectrum of New Haven supports this. The city government should recognize this groundswell of interest in improving neighborhoods."
Lemar did not want to discuss the proposed ordinance in detail, but he said it would establish a traffic calming safe streets committee, as well as set aside money to make traffic safety improvements and require that new construction "passes this test."
"We've seen this work with bike lanes," he noted. "This would take it further."
Lemar said he and Sturgis-Pascale are working with Michael Piscitelli, head of the city's Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking.
Illustrating the momentum of the safety movement, city officials have created a Traffic Safety Hotline. Citizens can call 946-6956 or e-mail TrafficSafety@newhavenct.net to report a dangerous intersection or place where vehicles are speeding or not obeying red lights or stop signs.
The East Rock Management Team recently surveyed its members to identify trouble spots in that neighborhood. Members of the Ronan-Edgehill Neighborhood Association also were invited to pinpoint dangerous sites. There were about 30 responses.
The most dangerous intersection, cited by eight residents, was at St. Ronan and Canner streets, where respondents reported seeing cars speed up and down Canner Street, ignoring stop signs. A close runner-up, with seven complaints, was the intersection of St. Ronan and Highland streets.
Other trouble spots included portions of Trumbull Street, Orange Street, Whitney Avenue and State Street. An e-mail discussion group set up by RENA has been filled with complaints about unsafe motorists.
"We have a serious problem with groups of motorcyclists, four or five at a time, going up the hill at a terrifying speed while simultaneously riding only on the rear wheel," wrote an East Rock Road resident.
She added, "It happens in the afternoons and evenings when the kids and I are out walking the dog, and I am very concerned about the drivers losing control and taking us out in the process."
Bill Kaplan, who lives on Autumn Street between Canner and Highland streets, said in a RENA e-mail message that "a genuine traffic calming design" would be preferable to keeping police officers posted at the intersections.
Kaplan said he saw small traffic circles with permanent plantings slow down vehicles in his former home of Portland, Ore. Kaplan said the round fixtures are placed in the center of intersections.
"You have to slow down and steer around it. You can't blast through the intersection," he said. "They're attractive and they work day and night."
Kaplan said unless such measures were taken, the East Rock intersections would remain "a tragedy waiting to happen."
Lemar said he has also seen "Yield to pedestrian in the crosswalk" signs bolted into streets in East Haven, Hamden, Long Island towns and elsewhere. He said these could prove effective in New Haven, too.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Message from New Haven Chief of Police: Dirt Bikes will be Confiscated
HELP US KEEP NEW HAVEN STREETS SAFE! DIRT BIKES, ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES AND UNREGISTERED VEHICLES ARE ILLEGAL IN NEW HAVEN. BY KEEPING THESE VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD WE CAN ENJOY SAFER STREETS FOR EVERYONE.
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. The best way for us to confiscate these illegal vehicles is when they are parked or garaged. When you see a dirt bike or an ATV, call the anonymous Traffic Safety Hotline! A hot-line has been set up for residents to call and provide anonymous information about any type of traffic violation witnessed. If you see a dirt bike or an ATV out on the street, or if you witness any type of unsafe traffic behavior please call 946-6956 and give us information 24 hours a day. If you wish to speak to someone, you can leave your phone number and request a callback. You can also email us at TrafficSafety@newhavenct.net. Your name and contact information will remain confidential.
2. Make sure your children and other children know not to ride dirt bikes or ATVs on the street.
3. Wear a helmet when you’re out on a bicycle or motorcycle. Encourage your family and friends to do the same!
4. Follow traffic signs, adhere to the speed limit and always stop at a Stop Sign.
By following these easy steps you’ll contribute toward a safer, more welcoming New Haven!
Related story here: http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=8775161
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. The best way for us to confiscate these illegal vehicles is when they are parked or garaged. When you see a dirt bike or an ATV, call the anonymous Traffic Safety Hotline! A hot-line has been set up for residents to call and provide anonymous information about any type of traffic violation witnessed. If you see a dirt bike or an ATV out on the street, or if you witness any type of unsafe traffic behavior please call 946-6956 and give us information 24 hours a day. If you wish to speak to someone, you can leave your phone number and request a callback. You can also email us at TrafficSafety@newhavenct.net. Your name and contact information will remain confidential.
2. Make sure your children and other children know not to ride dirt bikes or ATVs on the street.
3. Wear a helmet when you’re out on a bicycle or motorcycle. Encourage your family and friends to do the same!
4. Follow traffic signs, adhere to the speed limit and always stop at a Stop Sign.
By following these easy steps you’ll contribute toward a safer, more welcoming New Haven!
Related story here: http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=8775161
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tougher teen driver rules take effect
(AP) Teen drivers in Connecticut are now facing stricter rules, including an earlier curfew and more on-the-road training.
A state law that took effect Friday imposes an 11 p.m. curfew on 16- and 17-year-old drivers, with some exceptions. That's an hour earlier than the old law required. The number of hours of required on-the-road instruction has doubled to 40 hours, and parents and guardians must attend two hours of classroom training with their teens.
Young drivers also face a potential reckless driving charge if they're caught going 20 mph or more over the speed limit. And their licenses can now be suspended immediately for 48 hours if they're caught drag racing, driving recklessly or violating passenger restrictions. The new rules are in response to a series of fatal accidents involving teens in Connecticut.
Flashback: Fatal and Serious Traffic Incidents on Ella Grasso Boulevard
Another driver death was reported today along this stretch. Here's just one three-month section of the recent collision history along a small stretch of this 4-lane road in New Haven. Only the most serious incidents are shown here.
Fatal and Serious Accidents, February - April 2006: Ella Grasso Boulevard - Truman Street to Derby Avenue
April 22, 2006-0059 Hours, 1211 Ella Grasso Boulevard: Two vehicles northbound at a high rate of speed proceed through the intersection of Derby Avenue; one passes the other, skids out of control, colliding with an oncoming vehicle in the southbound lane at a high rate of speed. Result- two dead, two seriously injured, one injured. Contributing factors-Speed, racing
April 16, 2006-0254 Hours, Derby Avenue and the Boulevard: Vehicle traveling West Bound on Derby Avenue with the right of way proceeds into the intersection of the Boulevard and is struck broadside by a vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard passing through the red control signal. Result-one dead, operator with right of way, serious injury to other operator and passenger. Contributing factors-speed: failure to obey signal
April 10, 2006 – 2010 Hours, Boulevard and Legion Avenue: Vehicle turning left onto Legion Avenue from the Boulevard is struck by a vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard in the intersection. Three-vehicle collision. Result-death of passenger and her unborn child, other injuries. Contributing factors-Speed and intersection control.
March 16, 2006 – 0724 Hours, Boulevard and Orange Avenue: Pedestrian crossing the Boulevard at Orange Avenue is struck by a vehicle in the crosswalk. Result-Loss of both legs of the pedestrian. Contributing factors-Yet to be determined.
March 11, 2006- 2318 Hours, Boulevard and Legion Avenue: Vehicle turning left onto Legion Avenue from the Boulevard is struck in the intersection by an oncoming vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard. Result-one operator in critical condition. Contributing factors-Speed and traffic control.
February 16, 2006 – 2037 Hours, Boulevard and Truman: A pedestrian crossing the Boulevard is struck by a vehicle traveling southbound on the Boulevard. Result-Death of pedestrian. Contributing Factors-Evading Responsibility of vehicle. Other factors unknown.
February 3, 2006 – 2045 Hours, Boulevard and Legion Avenue: A vehicle turning left onto Legion Avenue from the Boulevard is struck by a second vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard. Result-Death to the unborn child of the operator of turning vehicle. Contributing Factors – Speed and traffic control signal.
Fatal and Serious Accidents, February - April 2006: Ella Grasso Boulevard - Truman Street to Derby Avenue
April 22, 2006-0059 Hours, 1211 Ella Grasso Boulevard: Two vehicles northbound at a high rate of speed proceed through the intersection of Derby Avenue; one passes the other, skids out of control, colliding with an oncoming vehicle in the southbound lane at a high rate of speed. Result- two dead, two seriously injured, one injured. Contributing factors-Speed, racing
April 16, 2006-0254 Hours, Derby Avenue and the Boulevard: Vehicle traveling West Bound on Derby Avenue with the right of way proceeds into the intersection of the Boulevard and is struck broadside by a vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard passing through the red control signal. Result-one dead, operator with right of way, serious injury to other operator and passenger. Contributing factors-speed: failure to obey signal
April 10, 2006 – 2010 Hours, Boulevard and Legion Avenue: Vehicle turning left onto Legion Avenue from the Boulevard is struck by a vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard in the intersection. Three-vehicle collision. Result-death of passenger and her unborn child, other injuries. Contributing factors-Speed and intersection control.
March 16, 2006 – 0724 Hours, Boulevard and Orange Avenue: Pedestrian crossing the Boulevard at Orange Avenue is struck by a vehicle in the crosswalk. Result-Loss of both legs of the pedestrian. Contributing factors-Yet to be determined.
March 11, 2006- 2318 Hours, Boulevard and Legion Avenue: Vehicle turning left onto Legion Avenue from the Boulevard is struck in the intersection by an oncoming vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard. Result-one operator in critical condition. Contributing factors-Speed and traffic control.
February 16, 2006 – 2037 Hours, Boulevard and Truman: A pedestrian crossing the Boulevard is struck by a vehicle traveling southbound on the Boulevard. Result-Death of pedestrian. Contributing Factors-Evading Responsibility of vehicle. Other factors unknown.
February 3, 2006 – 2045 Hours, Boulevard and Legion Avenue: A vehicle turning left onto Legion Avenue from the Boulevard is struck by a second vehicle traveling northbound on the Boulevard. Result-Death to the unborn child of the operator of turning vehicle. Contributing Factors – Speed and traffic control signal.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
New ConnDOT Commissioner's First Task: Community Planning Training
See post from TSTC here, related to coverage of today's Whalley Avenue public hearing and recent workshop: http://blog.tstc.org/2008/07/31/conndot-commissioners-first-task-community-planning-training/
Update: Detailed post-event coverage of the Whalley Avenue public hearing appears in today's New Haven Independent: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/08/conflicting_vis.php. An NBC local news article is posted below:
DOT Unveils Whalley Ave. Renovation Plan: Safety Coalitions Question Plan (August 1, 2008, NBC30)
A new renovation plan to make Whalley Ave. safer was met with many questions from residents and safety coalitions Thursday.
The Department of Transportation presented their Whalley Ave. renovation plan to the community after reworking the plan for years. The DOT plans to invest up to $13 million to repaint crosswalks, spruce up landscaping, fix retaining walls and create two designated lanes, which will widen the road from Emerson Street to Route 69.
“The pavement is a mess, the sidewalk is a mess and the curbing is a mess,” Jim Norman of the DOT said.
But residents and safety coalitions are unsure about whether the plan fully addresses safety issues the avenues has faced over years, specifically the 110 yearly accidents along that strip. The push for the avenue’s renovation became stronger after the hit -and -run incident that killed 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee on the avenue in June.
The Coalition for a Livable Whalley Avenue and the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition voiced their own opinions on the plan.
“The biggest concern, really, of our group-- and I think a lot of people in the room--is the speed of the traffic on the roadway,” Chris Heitmann of the Coalition for a Livable Whalley Avenue said.
Even though the DOT plans to keep the 25 mph speed limit, some don't think wider lanes is the answer.
“If speeds are increasing because you have two lanes and you have all this more distance for pedestrians to cross it seems to me that you're going to have more pedestrians getting hit,” Aric Issacs of the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition said.
DOT said plan to get started on the project by the spring of 2009. That's also around the same time when the two safety coalitions said they want to see a 50 percent decrease in traffic related injuries.
Update: Detailed post-event coverage of the Whalley Avenue public hearing appears in today's New Haven Independent: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/08/conflicting_vis.php. An NBC local news article is posted below:
DOT Unveils Whalley Ave. Renovation Plan: Safety Coalitions Question Plan (August 1, 2008, NBC30)
A new renovation plan to make Whalley Ave. safer was met with many questions from residents and safety coalitions Thursday.
The Department of Transportation presented their Whalley Ave. renovation plan to the community after reworking the plan for years. The DOT plans to invest up to $13 million to repaint crosswalks, spruce up landscaping, fix retaining walls and create two designated lanes, which will widen the road from Emerson Street to Route 69.
“The pavement is a mess, the sidewalk is a mess and the curbing is a mess,” Jim Norman of the DOT said.
But residents and safety coalitions are unsure about whether the plan fully addresses safety issues the avenues has faced over years, specifically the 110 yearly accidents along that strip. The push for the avenue’s renovation became stronger after the hit -and -run incident that killed 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee on the avenue in June.
The Coalition for a Livable Whalley Avenue and the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition voiced their own opinions on the plan.
“The biggest concern, really, of our group-- and I think a lot of people in the room--is the speed of the traffic on the roadway,” Chris Heitmann of the Coalition for a Livable Whalley Avenue said.
Even though the DOT plans to keep the 25 mph speed limit, some don't think wider lanes is the answer.
“If speeds are increasing because you have two lanes and you have all this more distance for pedestrians to cross it seems to me that you're going to have more pedestrians getting hit,” Aric Issacs of the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition said.
DOT said plan to get started on the project by the spring of 2009. That's also around the same time when the two safety coalitions said they want to see a 50 percent decrease in traffic related injuries.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
East Rock CMT Supports Petition; Discussion Focuses on Traffic
Reporting from the New Haven Independent on the East Rock Community Management Team and the group's lengthy discussion with the city's new Chief of Police: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/07/east_rock.php
"East Rockers became the 10th of 12 neighborhood management teams to join a traffic-calming movement sweeping the city, while the new police chief offered manpower to help."
"East Rockers became the 10th of 12 neighborhood management teams to join a traffic-calming movement sweeping the city, while the new police chief offered manpower to help."
Monday, July 28, 2008
Petición para Calles Seguras de New Haven
Spanish translation of petition. Para firmar, visite http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/new-haven-petition-for-safe-streets.html "sign the petition."
Descripción/Historia
Petición para que la Ciudad de New Haven tome acciones inmediatas para mejorar la seguridad vial dentro de nuestras comunidades-con el objetivo inmediato de reducir las heridas causadas por accidentes de tráfico en un 50% para el año 2009, 75% para el 2012, y 90% para el 2015.
Una amplia coalición de oficiales electos a nivel estatal y local, grupos comunitarios, equipos de administración distrital, asociaciones vecinales, e individuos, ha firmado la petición y está apoyando esta campaña. Por favor chequee http://www.newhavensafestreets.org para obtener la más reciente lista de patrocinadores y proponentes.
Por favor distribuya. Envíe un correo electrónico a newhavensafestreetsARROBAgmail.com si su negocio u organización está interesada en apoyar la petición.
Petición
CONSIDERANDO QUE, violaciones de tráfico por exceso de velocidad y varias otras violaciones son un problema constante en la Ciudad de New Haven, resultando en decenas de heridas graves y heridas fatales en lo que lleva del 2008, así como cantidades medibles de ruido, contaminación, impactos negativos en el desarrollo infantil y la erosión de comunidades vecinales;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, como partidarios de esta petición, nos comprometemos a respetar todas las leyes de tráfico y advocar para la mejora de seguridad en las calles a través de toda la ciudad, con el objetivo inmediato de reducir el número de heridas y muertes causadas por los accidentes de tráfico dentro de nuestras comunidades en un 50% para el año 2009;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, calles seguras contribuyen a la percepción de la calidad de vida y de la seguridad física de residentes urbanos, empleados y visitantes; y por lo tanto son urgentemente necesarias para promover la salud pública y el crecimiento económico a largo plazo dentro de nuestras comunidades;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, el incremento de la seguridad vial es particularmente necesario en los densos distritos del centro de la ciudad, principales corredores comerciales, áreas alrededor de escuelas, y distritos en los que se ubican centros médicos con gran concentración de peatones, ciclistas, niños pequeños e individuos deshabilitados;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, límites de velocidad ligeramente más bajos y la atención a las layes de tránsito no resultan en el aumento de la duración del viaje hacia centros de trabajo, si no que por el contrario, pueden aumentar la eficiencia del tránsito vehicular, al mismo tiempo resultando en incrementos exponenciales a la seguridad pública (por ejemplo el Departamento de Transportación de Estados unidos señala que una tasa de mortandad de 5% existe cuando peatones son impactados por vehículos yendo a 20 millas por hora, versus una tasa del 40% cuando son impactados a 30 millas por hora);
CONSIDERANDO QUE, el Director de Transportaciones Michael Piscitelli ha sido un gran aliado en la promoción de mejoras al transporte que benefician a la ciudad entera y a la región, pero que pueden requerir de adicionales infraestructuras institucionales para la implementación de su visión a largo plazo;
Los que abajo firman apoyando esta petición, piden a través de la presente que la Ciudad de New Haven:
-Empezando inmediatamente, restablezca y haga cumplir un estricto límite de velocidad de 25 millas por hora a través de todas las calles y carreteras arteriales y vías primarias en New Haven, a través del despliegue constante y vigoroso de oficiales de tránsito y otros agentes;
-Empezando inmediatamente, haga cumplir estrictamente todas las reglas de tráfico relacionadas a semáforos, señales de paro (stop), carriles para bicicletas, cruces peatonales, y el uso de celulares al manejar;
-Empezando en el tercer cuarto del año 2008 y continuando cada cuarto de año, haga público un reporte a nivel de la ciudad acerca de las dos medidas mencionadas arriba, incluyendo métricas sobre las acciones que ha llevado a cabo para hacer cumplir las reglas a nivel de vecindario y la cantidad y tipo de castigos dados;
-Empezando inmediatamente, desarrolle medidas de largo plazo para significativamente incrementar la seguridad vial a través de la generación de actualizados protocolos de diseño urbano como aquellos utilizados en otras ciudades principales, y el nombramiento de coordinadores encargados de peatones y ciclistas, quienes puedan planear para tales mejoras más proactivamente;
-Para el final del 2008, establezca un estricto límite de velocidad de 15 a 20 millas por hora en todas las áreas de densa concentración de peatones y ciclistas, incluyendo las áreas que rodean inmediatamente al Hospital Yale-New Haven, el Hospital de San Rafael, y el corredor comercial de la Calle Chapel, y despliegue mejores formas de señalización peatonal, sistemas de luces y señalización dentro de esos distritos;
-Desarrolle un grupo de trabajo de alto nivel que explore la creación de un límite de velocidad de 15 a 20 millas por hora en todos los distritos residenciales de la ciudad, particularmente en zonas escolares donde niños juegan frecuentemente sobre o cerca de la calle, con un reporte a ser publicado antes del final del año 2008 y un programa de reducción de límites de velocidad en zonas designadas a ser implementado antes del tercer cuarto del año 2009;
-Desarrolle un grupo de trabajo de alto nivel que explore nuevas iniciativas de seguridad escolar y aquellas lideradas por los mismos ciudadanos, incentivos para cumplir las leyes de tránsito, y la implementación de multas más altas por violaciones de movimiento, el manejar agresivamente, y por asalto en vehículo motor, con un reporte a ser publicado antes del final del año 2008;
-Anualmente mida y reevalúe las iniciativas de seguridad vial con el objetivo de reducir el número de heridas relacionadas al tráfico vehicular y fatalidades en las calles de la ciudad, carreteras arteriales y vías principales en un 50% para el año 2009, 75% para el 2012 y 90% para el 2015.
Descripción/Historia
Petición para que la Ciudad de New Haven tome acciones inmediatas para mejorar la seguridad vial dentro de nuestras comunidades-con el objetivo inmediato de reducir las heridas causadas por accidentes de tráfico en un 50% para el año 2009, 75% para el 2012, y 90% para el 2015.
Una amplia coalición de oficiales electos a nivel estatal y local, grupos comunitarios, equipos de administración distrital, asociaciones vecinales, e individuos, ha firmado la petición y está apoyando esta campaña. Por favor chequee http://www.newhavensafestreets.org para obtener la más reciente lista de patrocinadores y proponentes.
Por favor distribuya. Envíe un correo electrónico a newhavensafestreetsARROBAgmail.com si su negocio u organización está interesada en apoyar la petición.
Petición
CONSIDERANDO QUE, violaciones de tráfico por exceso de velocidad y varias otras violaciones son un problema constante en la Ciudad de New Haven, resultando en decenas de heridas graves y heridas fatales en lo que lleva del 2008, así como cantidades medibles de ruido, contaminación, impactos negativos en el desarrollo infantil y la erosión de comunidades vecinales;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, como partidarios de esta petición, nos comprometemos a respetar todas las leyes de tráfico y advocar para la mejora de seguridad en las calles a través de toda la ciudad, con el objetivo inmediato de reducir el número de heridas y muertes causadas por los accidentes de tráfico dentro de nuestras comunidades en un 50% para el año 2009;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, calles seguras contribuyen a la percepción de la calidad de vida y de la seguridad física de residentes urbanos, empleados y visitantes; y por lo tanto son urgentemente necesarias para promover la salud pública y el crecimiento económico a largo plazo dentro de nuestras comunidades;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, el incremento de la seguridad vial es particularmente necesario en los densos distritos del centro de la ciudad, principales corredores comerciales, áreas alrededor de escuelas, y distritos en los que se ubican centros médicos con gran concentración de peatones, ciclistas, niños pequeños e individuos deshabilitados;
CONSIDERANDO QUE, límites de velocidad ligeramente más bajos y la atención a las layes de tránsito no resultan en el aumento de la duración del viaje hacia centros de trabajo, si no que por el contrario, pueden aumentar la eficiencia del tránsito vehicular, al mismo tiempo resultando en incrementos exponenciales a la seguridad pública (por ejemplo el Departamento de Transportación de Estados unidos señala que una tasa de mortandad de 5% existe cuando peatones son impactados por vehículos yendo a 20 millas por hora, versus una tasa del 40% cuando son impactados a 30 millas por hora);
CONSIDERANDO QUE, el Director de Transportaciones Michael Piscitelli ha sido un gran aliado en la promoción de mejoras al transporte que benefician a la ciudad entera y a la región, pero que pueden requerir de adicionales infraestructuras institucionales para la implementación de su visión a largo plazo;
Los que abajo firman apoyando esta petición, piden a través de la presente que la Ciudad de New Haven:
-Empezando inmediatamente, restablezca y haga cumplir un estricto límite de velocidad de 25 millas por hora a través de todas las calles y carreteras arteriales y vías primarias en New Haven, a través del despliegue constante y vigoroso de oficiales de tránsito y otros agentes;
-Empezando inmediatamente, haga cumplir estrictamente todas las reglas de tráfico relacionadas a semáforos, señales de paro (stop), carriles para bicicletas, cruces peatonales, y el uso de celulares al manejar;
-Empezando en el tercer cuarto del año 2008 y continuando cada cuarto de año, haga público un reporte a nivel de la ciudad acerca de las dos medidas mencionadas arriba, incluyendo métricas sobre las acciones que ha llevado a cabo para hacer cumplir las reglas a nivel de vecindario y la cantidad y tipo de castigos dados;
-Empezando inmediatamente, desarrolle medidas de largo plazo para significativamente incrementar la seguridad vial a través de la generación de actualizados protocolos de diseño urbano como aquellos utilizados en otras ciudades principales, y el nombramiento de coordinadores encargados de peatones y ciclistas, quienes puedan planear para tales mejoras más proactivamente;
-Para el final del 2008, establezca un estricto límite de velocidad de 15 a 20 millas por hora en todas las áreas de densa concentración de peatones y ciclistas, incluyendo las áreas que rodean inmediatamente al Hospital Yale-New Haven, el Hospital de San Rafael, y el corredor comercial de la Calle Chapel, y despliegue mejores formas de señalización peatonal, sistemas de luces y señalización dentro de esos distritos;
-Desarrolle un grupo de trabajo de alto nivel que explore la creación de un límite de velocidad de 15 a 20 millas por hora en todos los distritos residenciales de la ciudad, particularmente en zonas escolares donde niños juegan frecuentemente sobre o cerca de la calle, con un reporte a ser publicado antes del final del año 2008 y un programa de reducción de límites de velocidad en zonas designadas a ser implementado antes del tercer cuarto del año 2009;
-Desarrolle un grupo de trabajo de alto nivel que explore nuevas iniciativas de seguridad escolar y aquellas lideradas por los mismos ciudadanos, incentivos para cumplir las leyes de tránsito, y la implementación de multas más altas por violaciones de movimiento, el manejar agresivamente, y por asalto en vehículo motor, con un reporte a ser publicado antes del final del año 2008;
-Anualmente mida y reevalúe las iniciativas de seguridad vial con el objetivo de reducir el número de heridas relacionadas al tráfico vehicular y fatalidades en las calles de la ciudad, carreteras arteriales y vías principales en un 50% para el año 2009, 75% para el 2012 y 90% para el 2015.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Residents Meet to Re-think Whalley Avenue
New Haven Independent article (excerpt below, photo adjacent):
"One Whalley resident, who asked not to be identified, said she had been impressed with the DOT when they came to her house several years ago and listened to her concerns about traffic.
"Parking is available right in front of her house on Whalley, but several years ago she started parking around the corner and walking to her house. Her parked car had been hit too many times by cars speeding past her house, where two lanes merge into one.
“I want to get it safe, get it slowed down,” she said. “I want to be able to walk across the street and get an ice cream cone.”
"One Whalley resident, who asked not to be identified, said she had been impressed with the DOT when they came to her house several years ago and listened to her concerns about traffic.
"Parking is available right in front of her house on Whalley, but several years ago she started parking around the corner and walking to her house. Her parked car had been hit too many times by cars speeding past her house, where two lanes merge into one.
“I want to get it safe, get it slowed down,” she said. “I want to be able to walk across the street and get an ice cream cone.”
Full article: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/07/livable_whalley.php
New Haven Register article (printed below): http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19871003&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=635049&rfi=6
Residents meet to discuss Whalley, Mark Zaretsky, Register Staff, 07/25/2008
NEW HAVEN — Westville residents and “safe streets” allies from across town got together to review traffic calming options and talk strategy Thursday night in advance of a meeting next week with the state Department of Transportation.
At next week’s meeting, at 5 p.m. Thursday at Edgewood School, members of the Coalition for a Livable Whalley plan to urge the DOT to make some changes in the long-approved plan to rebuild a 0.7-mile stretch of Whalley Avenue, one of the city’s main arteries, from Emerson Street to the Route 69/Route 67 intersection. The goal: added safety.
At Thursday night’s workshop and meeting at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel, just off Whalley Avenue, residents talked about options and how traffic calming strategies could help. They then broke into smaller groups, each with its own Google satellite maps, to come up with specific suggestions.
Construction of the DOT project is scheduled to begin in April 2009. Members of the coalition hope to get the DOT to send the project out to bid with additional safety measures that have come into greater use during the six years since the design was completed.
“What really excites me about this workshop is that we have a chance with this project to be proactive” and come up with some refinements under which “everybody benefits,” said Mary Faulkner, chairwoman of the Westville/West Hills Community Management Team.
Chris Heitmann, a Westville resident and coalition member who works for an urban planning and design organization in New York, described the Whalley Avenue project as now proposed. He also talked about some unanswered questions he had — including why mass transit and bicycle facilities were not included. He also discussed options that might help slow traffic and make the reconstructed Whalley safer.
Heitmann said he recently learned that the DOT plan is not as “set in stone,” as residents previously had thought, and that it would “be good to go to the hearing next week with some alternatives.”
The speakers included Jay Sokolow, president of Beth El-Keser Israel; Erin Sturgis-Pascale, D-14, a Fair Haven alderwoman involved with the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition; and Safe Streets Coalition coordinators Doug Hausladen and Mark Abraham.
Sturgis-Pascale said what’s going on with Whalley Avenue is one of “a series of requests to ... take aggressive measures to lower traffic injuries and fatalities by 90 percent by 2015.”
State Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, Westville Aldermen Ina Silverman, D-25, and Sergio Rodriguez, D-26, and representatives of the Police and Fire departments also attended.
“I’m just so glad that you’re doing this,” said Dillon.
New Haven Register article (printed below): http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19871003&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=635049&rfi=6
Residents meet to discuss Whalley, Mark Zaretsky, Register Staff, 07/25/2008
NEW HAVEN — Westville residents and “safe streets” allies from across town got together to review traffic calming options and talk strategy Thursday night in advance of a meeting next week with the state Department of Transportation.
At next week’s meeting, at 5 p.m. Thursday at Edgewood School, members of the Coalition for a Livable Whalley plan to urge the DOT to make some changes in the long-approved plan to rebuild a 0.7-mile stretch of Whalley Avenue, one of the city’s main arteries, from Emerson Street to the Route 69/Route 67 intersection. The goal: added safety.
At Thursday night’s workshop and meeting at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel, just off Whalley Avenue, residents talked about options and how traffic calming strategies could help. They then broke into smaller groups, each with its own Google satellite maps, to come up with specific suggestions.
Construction of the DOT project is scheduled to begin in April 2009. Members of the coalition hope to get the DOT to send the project out to bid with additional safety measures that have come into greater use during the six years since the design was completed.
“What really excites me about this workshop is that we have a chance with this project to be proactive” and come up with some refinements under which “everybody benefits,” said Mary Faulkner, chairwoman of the Westville/West Hills Community Management Team.
Chris Heitmann, a Westville resident and coalition member who works for an urban planning and design organization in New York, described the Whalley Avenue project as now proposed. He also talked about some unanswered questions he had — including why mass transit and bicycle facilities were not included. He also discussed options that might help slow traffic and make the reconstructed Whalley safer.
Heitmann said he recently learned that the DOT plan is not as “set in stone,” as residents previously had thought, and that it would “be good to go to the hearing next week with some alternatives.”
The speakers included Jay Sokolow, president of Beth El-Keser Israel; Erin Sturgis-Pascale, D-14, a Fair Haven alderwoman involved with the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition; and Safe Streets Coalition coordinators Doug Hausladen and Mark Abraham.
Sturgis-Pascale said what’s going on with Whalley Avenue is one of “a series of requests to ... take aggressive measures to lower traffic injuries and fatalities by 90 percent by 2015.”
State Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, Westville Aldermen Ina Silverman, D-25, and Sergio Rodriguez, D-26, and representatives of the Police and Fire departments also attended.
“I’m just so glad that you’re doing this,” said Dillon.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
NH Register: Group Eyes Walkable Whalley Avenue
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19866146&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=624602&rfi=8
"The ever-growing “safe streets” movement in the city has come to Whalley Avenue, and residents see the state’s proposed reconstruction of that road as the best place to start.
"The Coalition for a Livable Whalley will hold a workshop at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel at 6 p.m. Thursday with the goal of redesigning the state Department of Transportation’s plan to emphasize traffic calming and pedestrian safety as quickly as possible.
"The state plan, which has been in the works for decades, proposes a widening of Whalley between Emerson Street, just outside the Westville Village center, and Route 69 in the Amity neighborhood. While community leader Chris Heitmann found some merit in the plan, “the DOT sees the new road accommodating over 40,000 cars a day, which nobody wants.”
"The ever-growing “safe streets” movement in the city has come to Whalley Avenue, and residents see the state’s proposed reconstruction of that road as the best place to start.
"The Coalition for a Livable Whalley will hold a workshop at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel at 6 p.m. Thursday with the goal of redesigning the state Department of Transportation’s plan to emphasize traffic calming and pedestrian safety as quickly as possible.
"The state plan, which has been in the works for decades, proposes a widening of Whalley between Emerson Street, just outside the Westville Village center, and Route 69 in the Amity neighborhood. While community leader Chris Heitmann found some merit in the plan, “the DOT sees the new road accommodating over 40,000 cars a day, which nobody wants.”
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Coalition for a Livable Whalley Press Release on Community Workshop and DOT Hearing
COALITION FOR A LIVABLE WHALLEY
PRESS RELEASE / MEDIA ADVISORY
For release July 22, 2008 - Camera Opportunity!
WHAT: Community workshop on Whalley Avenue traffic safety.
WHERE: Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel (BEKI), 85 Harrison St. at Whalley Avenue, New Haven.
WHEN: Thursday, July 24, 6 p.m.
CONTACTS: Coalition for a Livable Whalley, Carole Bass, bass.carole /at/ gmail.com or Chris Heitmann, kibbitz77 /at/ gmail.com, 203-745-3173
Coalition for a Livable Whalley to hold community workshop on Whalley Avenue reconstruction project
- Event part of growing support for citywide traffic safety movement -
As part of the growing "safe streets" movement in New Haven, the Coalition for a Livable Whalley, a group of concerned citizens, will hold a community workshop this week to help gather ideas and support for making Whalley Avenue safer, calmer and more vibrant. The workshop will take place at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel (BEKI) on Thursday, July 24, at 6 p.m., in the Westville section of New Haven.
The event precedes a public open house with the state Department of Transportation about DOT's plans to reconstruct and widen a 3/4-mile stretch of upper Whalley. That meeting, convened by state Rep. Pat Dillon and state Sen. Toni Harp, is scheduled for July 31 from 5 to 8 pm at Edgewood School, 737 Edgewood Ave., in New Haven.
The Coalition for a Livable Whalley came together after last month's hit-and-run killing of 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee on the stretch of Whalley Avenue that the DOT intends to reconstruct. DOT's plan, in the works for decades, includes widening Whalley between Emerson Street in Westville and Rte. 69 in Amity. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2009. The group’s immediate goal is to re-envision and re-design the plan to calm traffic and prioritize access and safety for pedestrians, bus riders, and bicyclists, especially children, senior citizens, and disabled people. In the long term, the group hopes to create safe, active, and vibrant places along Whalley Avenue for both residents and visitors, in the process encouraging greater livability and local economic development.
Traffic safety, walkability and their impact on economic development have always been a major concern in New Haven and Connecticut cities. But New Haven's patchwork of individual residents and groups were not always sure what to do about it.
This spring, in the wake of a number of high-profile traffic-related injuries and fatalities -- including that of Gabrielle Lee -- the community has been galvanized into taking urgent citywide action. A number of community organizations, advocacy groups and elected officials formed the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, which published an online "Petition for Safe Streets" seeking specific measures needed to create a 50% reduction in citywide traffic-related injuries by 2009, and a 90% reduction by 2015.
According to Chris Heitmann, one of the Livable Whalley group’s coordinators, the approval of state funding for the DOT’s plan is “a tremendous opportunity to rebuild this stretch of Whalley Avenue in the long-term interests of the community, rather than trying to move more traffic through as quickly as possible. While the current plan has some merits, the DOT sees the new road accommodating over 40,000 cars a day, which nobody wants. We see a more desirable future for Whalley, one that’s safer for people walking, taking the bus, and riding their bikes, and which is actually pleasant to be on."
The effort to re-envision Whalley Avenue as a more vibrant, pedestrian-friendly place is being echoed in similar efforts all across New Haven. In June, a series of neighborhood planning meetings in Fair Haven, organized by Ward 14 Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale (D-New Haven), was funded through neighborhood contributions and attended by over 100 local residents. Since that time, the list of Safe Streets Coalition supporters has grown dramatically, and now boasts over 1,400 signatures on its online petition, plus the support of 28 elected officials and nearly two dozen community and advocacy groups, including, most recently, the Upper State Street Association, Westville Village Renaissance Alliance and the Town Green Special Services District's Board of Commissioners, three influential business improvement districts.
"The Safe Streets Petition was an easy signing for all who were present the evening that the Upper State Street Association voted to support," said Ben Berkowitz, president of Upper State Street Association. "Upper State Street wants to continue to see its reputation as a safe place to walk and bike grow and we feel that efforts like the Safe Streets Petition will help to foster that growth."
Perhaps most impressively, the Safe Streets Coalition's petition has now been approved by 9 of the city's 12 Community Management Teams (known as CMTs), neighborhood policing organizations which each can boast dozens of active members and serve as forums to discuss all issues related to public safety and neighborhood economic development. At its June meeting, the Westville-West Hills CMT, which represents the neighborhoods surrounding the Whalley Avenue project area, joined with groups from Newhallville to the East Shore in voting unanimously to support the petition. Safe Streets Coalition organizers expect the remaining 3 Management Teams to endorse the petition when they reconvene for voting later this summer, at which point they plan to launch additional grassroots campaigns to change policy at the local, state and national levels.
According to Alycia Santilli, an active member of New Haven's Quinnipiac East Management Team and the research coordinator for the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, the safe streets effort is important for its public health benefits as well.
"With obesity on the rise nationally and locally—obesity is more than 20% higher in New Haven compared to the rest of Connecticut and greater still among our children—it is imperative to increase physical activity options throughout the city. An integral component is ensuring that our streets are safe for walking and biking," she said.
Although New Haven has its work cut out in overcoming decades of automobile-centric policy and planning at the state level, the city is an ideal place for more progressive traffic planning to take hold. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, New Haven has a higher percentage of residents who walk or bicycle as their primary mode of commute to work than Boston, New York City, Hartford, Providence, Worcester, Bridgeport, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Stamford. Its dense urban center, founded in 1638, has a strong base of institutional and commercial employers. The potential for balancing regional traffic concerns with the principles of safety, walkability, bikeability and improved neighborhood development in this city have been widely recognized. A recent article by the American Podiatric Medical Association and Prevention Magazine ranked New Haven as the 19th most walkable of 501 U.S. cities.
But of the top five pedestrian commuter cities in the country, New Haven's city center has the closest direct proximity to major interstate highways. As a consequence, pedestrians routinely encounter high-speed traffic spilling from I-91 and I-95 onto major urban streets. Significant citywide focus has recently been given to the Route 34 Connector, a six-lane highway which runs directly from I-95 to the Air Rights Garage adjacent to Yale-New Haven Hospital. It bisects New Haven, creates an extremely dangerous situation for pedestrians, and according to the city, significantly inhibits downtown growth.
The city has an ambitious vision to remove the highway, re-create the street grid, and develop housing, parks, and offices in the highway's place. A group of community leaders came together in a letter dated May 27, 2008, to the governor of Connecticut to support this vision and demonstrate the overwhelming public support for the proposal. The letter was preceded by a March 2008 public event attended by over 125 community members and elected officials. In addition, the Yale Medical Campus Traffic Safety Group, one of the original founders of the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, boasts an email list of nearly 200 citizens and has been conducting extensive organizing efforts to improve pedestrian safety around the hospital and on the Yale campus.
All of these concerns seem particularly urgent on Whalley Avenue, not just in the wake of the fatal traffic injury, but because the avenue is a key commercial corridor whose success or failure will have a major long-term impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Coalition for a Livable Whalley organizers are expecting a strong turnout at the two upcoming events.
Above all, residents see an improved Whalley Avenue as an opportunity to build community. According to Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen, a supporter of the Coalition for a Livable Whalley, "two-thirds of the members of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel (BEKI) live in the City of New Haven and spend a lot of time walking, biking and driving around town. Many of our families choose to live in New Haven specifically so they can walk or bike to synagogue, which is part of a devout lifestyle. Our existence as a community depends on the safety of the streets and sidewalks."
“Spiraling gas prices have many Americans – some right here in Connecticut – reconsidering urban life as an attractive alternative to the auto-dependent sprawl of the past hundred years, but for this to become a realistic alternative in the future we must ensure a suitable urban environment for all who use city streets, including bicyclists and pedestrians,” explains Senator Toni N. Harp (D-New Haven), a coalition supporter. “I hope many New Haven-area residents participate in the imminent traffic safety public hearings so we gather a complete range of ideas and opinions about how to modify our city going forward to provide vibrant neighborhoods and safe streets throughout.”
PRESS RELEASE / MEDIA ADVISORY
For release July 22, 2008 - Camera Opportunity!
WHAT: Community workshop on Whalley Avenue traffic safety.
WHERE: Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel (BEKI), 85 Harrison St. at Whalley Avenue, New Haven.
WHEN: Thursday, July 24, 6 p.m.
CONTACTS: Coalition for a Livable Whalley, Carole Bass, bass.carole /at/ gmail.com or Chris Heitmann, kibbitz77 /at/ gmail.com, 203-745-3173
Coalition for a Livable Whalley to hold community workshop on Whalley Avenue reconstruction project
- Event part of growing support for citywide traffic safety movement -
As part of the growing "safe streets" movement in New Haven, the Coalition for a Livable Whalley, a group of concerned citizens, will hold a community workshop this week to help gather ideas and support for making Whalley Avenue safer, calmer and more vibrant. The workshop will take place at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel (BEKI) on Thursday, July 24, at 6 p.m., in the Westville section of New Haven.
The event precedes a public open house with the state Department of Transportation about DOT's plans to reconstruct and widen a 3/4-mile stretch of upper Whalley. That meeting, convened by state Rep. Pat Dillon and state Sen. Toni Harp, is scheduled for July 31 from 5 to 8 pm at Edgewood School, 737 Edgewood Ave., in New Haven.
The Coalition for a Livable Whalley came together after last month's hit-and-run killing of 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee on the stretch of Whalley Avenue that the DOT intends to reconstruct. DOT's plan, in the works for decades, includes widening Whalley between Emerson Street in Westville and Rte. 69 in Amity. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2009. The group’s immediate goal is to re-envision and re-design the plan to calm traffic and prioritize access and safety for pedestrians, bus riders, and bicyclists, especially children, senior citizens, and disabled people. In the long term, the group hopes to create safe, active, and vibrant places along Whalley Avenue for both residents and visitors, in the process encouraging greater livability and local economic development.
Traffic safety, walkability and their impact on economic development have always been a major concern in New Haven and Connecticut cities. But New Haven's patchwork of individual residents and groups were not always sure what to do about it.
This spring, in the wake of a number of high-profile traffic-related injuries and fatalities -- including that of Gabrielle Lee -- the community has been galvanized into taking urgent citywide action. A number of community organizations, advocacy groups and elected officials formed the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, which published an online "Petition for Safe Streets" seeking specific measures needed to create a 50% reduction in citywide traffic-related injuries by 2009, and a 90% reduction by 2015.
According to Chris Heitmann, one of the Livable Whalley group’s coordinators, the approval of state funding for the DOT’s plan is “a tremendous opportunity to rebuild this stretch of Whalley Avenue in the long-term interests of the community, rather than trying to move more traffic through as quickly as possible. While the current plan has some merits, the DOT sees the new road accommodating over 40,000 cars a day, which nobody wants. We see a more desirable future for Whalley, one that’s safer for people walking, taking the bus, and riding their bikes, and which is actually pleasant to be on."
The effort to re-envision Whalley Avenue as a more vibrant, pedestrian-friendly place is being echoed in similar efforts all across New Haven. In June, a series of neighborhood planning meetings in Fair Haven, organized by Ward 14 Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale (D-New Haven), was funded through neighborhood contributions and attended by over 100 local residents. Since that time, the list of Safe Streets Coalition supporters has grown dramatically, and now boasts over 1,400 signatures on its online petition, plus the support of 28 elected officials and nearly two dozen community and advocacy groups, including, most recently, the Upper State Street Association, Westville Village Renaissance Alliance and the Town Green Special Services District's Board of Commissioners, three influential business improvement districts.
"The Safe Streets Petition was an easy signing for all who were present the evening that the Upper State Street Association voted to support," said Ben Berkowitz, president of Upper State Street Association. "Upper State Street wants to continue to see its reputation as a safe place to walk and bike grow and we feel that efforts like the Safe Streets Petition will help to foster that growth."
Perhaps most impressively, the Safe Streets Coalition's petition has now been approved by 9 of the city's 12 Community Management Teams (known as CMTs), neighborhood policing organizations which each can boast dozens of active members and serve as forums to discuss all issues related to public safety and neighborhood economic development. At its June meeting, the Westville-West Hills CMT, which represents the neighborhoods surrounding the Whalley Avenue project area, joined with groups from Newhallville to the East Shore in voting unanimously to support the petition. Safe Streets Coalition organizers expect the remaining 3 Management Teams to endorse the petition when they reconvene for voting later this summer, at which point they plan to launch additional grassroots campaigns to change policy at the local, state and national levels.
According to Alycia Santilli, an active member of New Haven's Quinnipiac East Management Team and the research coordinator for the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, the safe streets effort is important for its public health benefits as well.
"With obesity on the rise nationally and locally—obesity is more than 20% higher in New Haven compared to the rest of Connecticut and greater still among our children—it is imperative to increase physical activity options throughout the city. An integral component is ensuring that our streets are safe for walking and biking," she said.
Although New Haven has its work cut out in overcoming decades of automobile-centric policy and planning at the state level, the city is an ideal place for more progressive traffic planning to take hold. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, New Haven has a higher percentage of residents who walk or bicycle as their primary mode of commute to work than Boston, New York City, Hartford, Providence, Worcester, Bridgeport, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Stamford. Its dense urban center, founded in 1638, has a strong base of institutional and commercial employers. The potential for balancing regional traffic concerns with the principles of safety, walkability, bikeability and improved neighborhood development in this city have been widely recognized. A recent article by the American Podiatric Medical Association and Prevention Magazine ranked New Haven as the 19th most walkable of 501 U.S. cities.
But of the top five pedestrian commuter cities in the country, New Haven's city center has the closest direct proximity to major interstate highways. As a consequence, pedestrians routinely encounter high-speed traffic spilling from I-91 and I-95 onto major urban streets. Significant citywide focus has recently been given to the Route 34 Connector, a six-lane highway which runs directly from I-95 to the Air Rights Garage adjacent to Yale-New Haven Hospital. It bisects New Haven, creates an extremely dangerous situation for pedestrians, and according to the city, significantly inhibits downtown growth.
The city has an ambitious vision to remove the highway, re-create the street grid, and develop housing, parks, and offices in the highway's place. A group of community leaders came together in a letter dated May 27, 2008, to the governor of Connecticut to support this vision and demonstrate the overwhelming public support for the proposal. The letter was preceded by a March 2008 public event attended by over 125 community members and elected officials. In addition, the Yale Medical Campus Traffic Safety Group, one of the original founders of the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, boasts an email list of nearly 200 citizens and has been conducting extensive organizing efforts to improve pedestrian safety around the hospital and on the Yale campus.
All of these concerns seem particularly urgent on Whalley Avenue, not just in the wake of the fatal traffic injury, but because the avenue is a key commercial corridor whose success or failure will have a major long-term impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Coalition for a Livable Whalley organizers are expecting a strong turnout at the two upcoming events.
Above all, residents see an improved Whalley Avenue as an opportunity to build community. According to Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen, a supporter of the Coalition for a Livable Whalley, "two-thirds of the members of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel (BEKI) live in the City of New Haven and spend a lot of time walking, biking and driving around town. Many of our families choose to live in New Haven specifically so they can walk or bike to synagogue, which is part of a devout lifestyle. Our existence as a community depends on the safety of the streets and sidewalks."
“Spiraling gas prices have many Americans – some right here in Connecticut – reconsidering urban life as an attractive alternative to the auto-dependent sprawl of the past hundred years, but for this to become a realistic alternative in the future we must ensure a suitable urban environment for all who use city streets, including bicyclists and pedestrians,” explains Senator Toni N. Harp (D-New Haven), a coalition supporter. “I hope many New Haven-area residents participate in the imminent traffic safety public hearings so we gather a complete range of ideas and opinions about how to modify our city going forward to provide vibrant neighborhoods and safe streets throughout.”
Monday, July 21, 2008
Citizens Hammer NYPD Commissioner on Traffic Safety
Interesting report from one of New York's community meetings.
http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/25/citizens-hammer-nypd-commissioner-kelly-on-street-safety/
http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/25/citizens-hammer-nypd-commissioner-kelly-on-street-safety/
Sunday, July 20, 2008
New Intersection, Old Safety Problems at Yale
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/07/new_intersectio.php
Article and article comments detailing pedestrian safety concerns at Prospect & Trumbull Street in New Haven.
"Deaths of pedestrians hit by drivers — including Mila Rainof on South Frontage Road and 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee on Whalley — as well as the steady stream of bicyclists injured by vehicles have combined to spark a citywide “safe streets” movement. Lemar expressed concern that rushing, preoccupied students would be streaming from their new digs down to classes in greater volume for this intersection than ever before.
In effect Lemar and other commissioners were asking: Can you guarantee us that these kids will end up in class and not in the nearby Grove Street Cemetery?"
"Slower, calmer and safer streets -- streets that are designed as such -- will do much more towards encouraging bicycling and walking than any number of bike lanes, turn lanes, new sidewalks or pedestrian signals can ever hope to accomplish."
East Rockette: "I'd like to see Yale put their foot down, on behalf of the safety of the large walking/biking population that they're in loco parentis for. I'd like to see the streets and intersections around the campus treated like pedestrian precincts - raised brick crosswalks, planters, bump-outs whatever it takes to indicate to drivers that they are passing through a zone that prioritises pedestrians. "
Article and article comments detailing pedestrian safety concerns at Prospect & Trumbull Street in New Haven.
"Deaths of pedestrians hit by drivers — including Mila Rainof on South Frontage Road and 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee on Whalley — as well as the steady stream of bicyclists injured by vehicles have combined to spark a citywide “safe streets” movement. Lemar expressed concern that rushing, preoccupied students would be streaming from their new digs down to classes in greater volume for this intersection than ever before.
In effect Lemar and other commissioners were asking: Can you guarantee us that these kids will end up in class and not in the nearby Grove Street Cemetery?"
"Slower, calmer and safer streets -- streets that are designed as such -- will do much more towards encouraging bicycling and walking than any number of bike lanes, turn lanes, new sidewalks or pedestrian signals can ever hope to accomplish."
East Rockette: "I'd like to see Yale put their foot down, on behalf of the safety of the large walking/biking population that they're in loco parentis for. I'd like to see the streets and intersections around the campus treated like pedestrian precincts - raised brick crosswalks, planters, bump-outs whatever it takes to indicate to drivers that they are passing through a zone that prioritises pedestrians. "
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Transit Bill to be Reauthorized in 2009: Advocacy Site
This is a once-per-decade opportunity to change the way our country looks at transportation infrastructure. Pleasee see http://t4america.org/
" The Federal Transportation bill will be reauthorized in 2009, and now is the time to start fighting for something different — something that can get us where we need to go quickly and efficiently, end our dependence on oil, clean up the air, and provide us with a better, stronger America."
" The Federal Transportation bill will be reauthorized in 2009, and now is the time to start fighting for something different — something that can get us where we need to go quickly and efficiently, end our dependence on oil, clean up the air, and provide us with a better, stronger America."
Friday, July 11, 2008
NYC's Broadway to turn into a Pedestrian and Bike Esplanade
From http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elmcitycycling/message/7429. Click there to read an original article about the conversion plan, and an open letter of response written by a Safe Streets Coalition supporter.
"Thanks largely to the team of Mayor Bloomberg, the Department of City Planning, and renowned Copenhagen urbanist Jan Gehl, New York City is turning its largest and most significant public street into a landscaped boulevard for bicyclists and pedestrians.
"I lived and worked right in the middle of this section of Broadway for several years, and can't wait to use this new esplanade. It will be great for commuting and getting from Herald Square to Times Square. Among hundreds of other pedestrians who have been hit and seriously injured or killed in recent years along this stretch, the proposed new boulevard begins right where 7 pedestrians were killed and 8 seriously injured in a widely publicized traffic incident on December 27, 2001...
"Let's make it clear to ConnDOT and our elected officials that it is about time that Connecticut had pedestrian and bicycle friendly cities and towns, instead of cities designed exclusively for moving automobiles through the middle of our neighborhoods at the deadliest, highest speeds possible. Even as we speak, ConnDOT is planning to widen several streets in the heart of our city in order to create "smoother" traffic flows, over the objections of many residents...."
See http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/07/pedestrians-now-playing-on-broadway.html for an article about how this relates to Broadway in New Haven.
"Thanks largely to the team of Mayor Bloomberg, the Department of City Planning, and renowned Copenhagen urbanist Jan Gehl, New York City is turning its largest and most significant public street into a landscaped boulevard for bicyclists and pedestrians.
"I lived and worked right in the middle of this section of Broadway for several years, and can't wait to use this new esplanade. It will be great for commuting and getting from Herald Square to Times Square. Among hundreds of other pedestrians who have been hit and seriously injured or killed in recent years along this stretch, the proposed new boulevard begins right where 7 pedestrians were killed and 8 seriously injured in a widely publicized traffic incident on December 27, 2001...
"Let's make it clear to ConnDOT and our elected officials that it is about time that Connecticut had pedestrian and bicycle friendly cities and towns, instead of cities designed exclusively for moving automobiles through the middle of our neighborhoods at the deadliest, highest speeds possible. Even as we speak, ConnDOT is planning to widen several streets in the heart of our city in order to create "smoother" traffic flows, over the objections of many residents...."
See http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/07/pedestrians-now-playing-on-broadway.html for an article about how this relates to Broadway in New Haven.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Construction Site Guidelines
An excellent list of guidelines -- many of which are not appropriately considered in and around New Haven's construction sites, even those surrounded by bustling pedestrian crowds and bordering streets where automobiles frequently travel 15-20 miles per hour in excess of posted speed limits.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sidewalk2/sidewalks210.htm
Additional measures, such as speed bumps that inflate when speed limits are exceeded, are available, and not listed here. When it comes to planning for construction sites, how much is it worth to prevent the risk of a pedestrian fatality?
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sidewalk2/sidewalks210.htm
Additional measures, such as speed bumps that inflate when speed limits are exceeded, are available, and not listed here. When it comes to planning for construction sites, how much is it worth to prevent the risk of a pedestrian fatality?
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Letter to Rob Smuts regarding traffic violations, July 2, 2008
This letter is from a coalition supporter, sent July 2nd to CAO Rob Smuts and Deputy Patrol Resource Coordinator Witkowski. Rob Smuts replied on July 3rd; that letter is also posted below.
Dear Rob and Lt. Witkowski,
At 5:51pm today I was standing near the intersection of Dwight and Edgewood. An NHPD squad car was coming down Edgewood Ave approaching the intersection. While the NHPD squad car was still a way's off, the light turned yellow. The NHPD car was not rushing anywhere as it was travelling at a normal speed and did not have its sirens or lights on. Yet when the light turned yellow, the squad car
Dear Rob and Lt. Witkowski,
At 5:51pm today I was standing near the intersection of Dwight and Edgewood. An NHPD squad car was coming down Edgewood Ave approaching the intersection. While the NHPD squad car was still a way's off, the light turned yellow. The NHPD car was not rushing anywhere as it was travelling at a normal speed and did not have its sirens or lights on. Yet when the light turned yellow, the squad car