Coalition Receives Response from Mayor DeStefano on "Progress Report" Letter

Dear New Haven Safe Streets Petition Supporters:

Yesterday, Mayor John DeStefano mailed a written response to a group of elected officials and civic leaders who represent New Haven's 12 Community Management Teams and other associations within the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition.

Following up to our larger-scale Petition drive in 2008, this core group of neighborhood leaders had recently authored a detailed "progress report" on the city's Safe Streets programs, law enforcement activities, and Route 34 designs. Please click here to read the original "progress report" letter, and list of authors: Letter to Mayor DeStefano - August 24 2011

Please click here to read the Mayor's response: Response from Mayor DeStefano - September 22 2011

Regarding these requests, the City has proposed three follow up actions:

1) The Coalition will schedule a meeting with the City's Transportation Director, Jim Travers, in order to review each of requests in our letter. Please contact newhavensafestreets at gmail.com, or call (203) 500-7059, if you would like to attend this meeting. We will share the results of this meeting with this group and on the New Haven Safe Streets website.

2) The City has invited all of us to attend and participate in upcoming public workshops and hearings on major city development projects. In particular, several meetings and public hearings will be held regarding the Route 34 reconstruction project in the fall of this year. We strongly encourage you to attend these hearings, and demand street designs that comply with city regulations by prioritizing the accessibility of walkers, cyclists and public transit users of all ages and abilities.

3) In early 2012, City Hall will make a full report to the Board of Aldermen regarding the Complete Streets program (which has been recognized as one of the nation's best, according to the National Complete Streets Coalition), including a review of all requests submitted to date using the "request form" system. Please contact us if you have any questions about how this works, or if you would like help filling out "request forms" in your neighborhood. The forms are available at http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Engineering/completestreets.asp. Although we will demand that all streets be considered for improvements (and have requested next year's project schedules to help ensure this), we encourage every neighborhood and elected official to complete the official "request form," because this will help provide a greater degree of transparency.

To view a Sunday, August 28th feature story in the New Haven Register about our original letter, please visit the following article: New Haven Register: Advocates pleased with New Haven safe streets efforts, but say much work remains

Thank you again for your assistance as an author of this letter, and/or as a general supporter of the Safe Streets Coalition. We will continue to monitor New Haven's progress on the Safe Streets Petition, and look forward to additional successes in the coming years. Please feel free to forward this email to your neighbors and friends, or unsubscribe if you no longer wish to hear from us.

Best regards, New Haven Safe Streets Coalition Coordinators & CT Livable Streets Campaign Steering Committee

"Self Enforcement" Street Improvements Planned for Clinton Avenue in Fair Haven

Among New Haven neighborhoods, Fair Haven has long been an epicenter of grassroots citizen demand for slower, more livable streets and traffic calming (self-enforcing) street designs. Fair Haven is one of the oldest sections of New Haven, having been developed as a separate fishing village in the 1600s, and therefore was build around walking. Until very recently, slower neighborhood streets existed throughout the neighborhood and helped foster a very strong sense of community there. You can view the history of these efforts by clicking here and scrolling down.

Today comes news that the neighborhood will be seeing some additional improvements. According to Alderwoman Stephanie Bauer's post on the the Chatham Square Neighborhood website:

Jim Travers was able to get Richard Miller out to Clinton Avenue to discuss traffic calming measures. Street humps on Clinton between Pine Street and Grand Avenue will be placed, however an exact date has not been set as of yet. As soon as one has been set I will post that information. As a long term project, Jim is looking into aquiring the funds necessary to place a center pedestrian island on the wider part of Clinton Avenue, other options are currently being discussed to follow the current traffic calming manual.

Local resident, Lee Cruz, replies (excerpt below):

Great move toward more complete streets in Fair Haven, thank you to all who made it possible. To help calm traffic we should consider participating in the Urban Resources Initiative Greenspace program. Dan Burden, the traffic planning expert who we hired with our own money and with help from The Community Foundation and City says trees help slow down traffic, link here. Trees also have other benefits. Our neighborhood traffic report is to big to post here but if anyone is interested in seeing it I will look for a way to get it up online and post a link here on this site.

Speed Table and Curb Extensions Coming to Edwards Street in New Haven; Will Foster Community

Original Post 12/9/2010: East Rock neighbors are excited about a new traffic calming system that will be built at the corner of Livingston and Edwards Street in New Haven. Speed tables and curb extensions, like the one proposed here by the City of New Haven under its Complete Streets program, have been shown worldwide to be highly effective at reducing speeds, improving driver safety, and increasing pedestrian comfort levels. They are also used in many cities with much snowier climates than New Haven. The Livingston Street system will be located just one block from Whitney Avenue, which one of the neighborhood's elected representatives recently called a "local access highway" that contributes to speeding in the area. The neighborhood's Community Management Team has enthusiastically supported calls for more progressive traffic planning as well.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, for example, prior a similar traffic calming improvement, the 85th percentile speed on Berkshire Street was 30 mi/h, and only 41 percent of vehicles surveyed were traveling at or below the 25 mi/h speed limit. After the improvements, the 85th percentile speed was reduced to 21 mi/h at the vertical traffic calming devices and 24 mi/h in between, and 95 percent of vehicles were going at or below the speed limit. Similar results have been found after the installation of speed tables in other cities. The photo shown here is an example of a tabled intersection with curb extensions (or bump outs), taken from an online Bucknell Traffic Calming library.

Interestingly, the New Haven Independent reports that neighbors asked the City of New Haven not to repave the street recently, because they believed that the lumpy pavement served as a traffic calming device. This is not an unusual solution: in many cities and towns throughout the world, local governments trying to curb the extremely deleterious impacts of speeding traffic on neighborhood health have allowed or encouraged dirt pathways (or lumpy asphalt) in the automobile travel lanes, while paving smooth sidewalks and bike lanes for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Indy article mentions that the new device will not only curb speeds, it will help build a sense of community. Furthermore, it sounds like some of the neighbors have ideas for what to build next. Frank Chapman, who has lived a couple doors away from the intersection for more than 30 years, is profiled in the story:

An architect and former deputy head of the City Plan Department, Chapman said he’s wholeheartedly behind the speed table. Edwards Street is about a mile long, with only two non-T intersections between State and Prospect Streets, Chapman said. “The blocks are long,” and drivers take advantage of that to step on the gas, Chapman said. “It’s an invitation for cars to go fast.” From his living room on Edwards Street, where he and his wife have lived since 1978, Chapman called the speed table a “brilliant plan.”

He said he and his neighbors are committed to maintaining flowers or evergreen shrubs planted in the new medians. “We think it will have a very positive effect on slowing traffic,” he said. Next, Chapman has his eye on the intersection of Edwards and Orange Streets, where he said a roundabout should be installed. “I laid it out and I know it would work.”

We hope that Chapman's vision, which sounds similar to neighborhood traffic calming master plans that have been under development in Dwight, Westville and Fair Haven, can be realized as soon as possible!

Update 7/28/2011: The large traffic calming project, which includes medians and a raised intersection, is now under construction. The related SeeClickFix issue has been closed.

Update 8/22/2011: The New Haven Independent has a story on the completion of the traffic calming system (see photo above). According to the Mayor of New Haven, "It’s the 360 State of Edwards Street. It’s a game changer." A neighbor living next to the intersection, who plans to help garden it, told the paper that she’s "delighted and thrilled" about the new intersection (but half-jokingly suggested that the circle in the middle could be a public park and fountain). For information on how successful miniature traffic circles have been in Seattle, both in terms of reducing injuries (virtually by 100%) and promoting community, see this excellent article in the Road Management and Engineering Journal.

Are Speed Limit Signs a Cost-Effective Strategy to Manage Urban Speeds and Implement 20MPH "Living Streets"?

According to the 20's Plenty campaign, 20mph speed limits for all residential areas throughout Europe have emerged as the key recommendation of the EU Transport and Tourism Committee on improving road safety in Europe. This announcement was made by European Parliament on June 21, 2011.

Studies have proven that 20 MPH speed zones have a dramatic impact on reducing the level of pedestrian injury. Slower street speeds are also associated with benefits such as more social connections, a stronger sense of community, reduced noise and stress levels, higher property values, more accessible walking and better conditions for bicycling. Unfortunately, citywide traffic calming projects, such as those created in many European cities over the past 30 years, can take many years or even decades to roll out across an entire city. So how can cities move forward on creating these zones in a more cost-effective way?

A British review suggests that, when combined with community involvement, even just posting lower speed limits can be an effective method to shave a few miles per hour off the speed of local vehicular traffic:

"Where signs-only schemes are used, small speed reductions and accident savings can be achieved if associated publicity and enforcement campaigns are also used."
Source: UK Transport Research Laboratory Report 363 Urban speed management methods

The British study looked at impacts of signs-only schemes on traffic speeds, concluding that there are small reductions of speeds just from signs particularly when they are combined with community awareness, enforcement and/or publicity. Although the decreased speeds resulting from signage efforts pale in comparison to the decreased speeds that communities see on so-called "living streets" with traffic calming (also known as "self-enforcing" speed limits), it is interesting that they did find reductions from signage alone.

Some cities and towns already seem to be aware of this strategy. The 20's Plenty campaign points out that cities in England with a population of 5 million people have adopted 20 MPH zones as their official policy. Locally, many cities and towns in Connecticut post 15 MPH or 20 MPH speed limit signs within residential areas, and even New York City is now cutting speed limits to 20 MPH within 75 different neighborhoods across the city. In Hartford, Connecticut, a 10 MPH speed limit is posted in front of the Legislative Office Building, and helps protect the lives of our state legislators.

Yet, in New Haven, our traffic engineers continue to post speed limit signage of 25 or 30 MPH across the entire city. The high speeds that result contribute to hundreds of severe injuries per year on our city streets.  Slower posted speed limits in residential areas, hospital, university, and school zones are something that the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition has specifically called for on many occasions.

Cities must be realistic when creating a strategy for more livable streets. On one hand, small decreases in speeds may not meet overall community goals for speed management, and probably won't significantly reduce the number of crashes.

But on the other hand, looking at the graph at the European Cyclists Federation website and the Federal Highway Administration data here, it seems that even a small reduction in speed within a given area could have some impact on the severity of injuries and fatalities over time.

Speed limits and local governance

One of the key limitations of the Transport Research Laboratory report, in our opinion, is that it did not address the question of whether lower speed limits in and of themselves can, over time, create additional political will for additional "self-enforcing" (traffic calmed) streets.

Signage for reduced speed limits are an "advertisement" of sorts for more livable streets within a city. Furthermore, it may be easier for neighborhood advocates to argue for concrete changes if they are able to point to even bigger disparities between desired outcomes (livable streets) and the day-to-day realities of vehicles traveling at dangerous speeds through their neighborhood.  Slower speed limits also provide ammunition for local residents to use more informally, when they talk to their neighbors who clearly violate the laws.  The converse principle is also true: treating all roads equally - by posting all of them at 25 or 30MPH - sends the implicit message that little can be accomplished, and discourages residents from taking any action.

Either way, the evidence seems clear that posted signs can translate into slightly lower speeds in the short term.  By catalyzing more effective citizen advocacy, can they also lead to the implementation of more effective, and more widespread, traffic calming strategies in the long term?

Update, 8/31/12: Portland, Oregon will be reducing speed limits to 20 miles per hour on 70 miles of residential streets.  Even a small adjustment in speed limits on this many streets is likely to save lives.  The results of this conversion will hopefully become a "case study" for complete streets advocates in other U.S. cities.

WTNH: Pedestrians Not Safe in New Haven, Especially at "Notorious" Whitney and Audubon Street Crosswalk

A new report by WTNH, New Haven's local television station, responds to the recent T4America "Dangerous by Design" report that chronicles the nation's severe pedestrian safety issues.

To illustrate, WTNH focuses on pedestrian safety at the notorious intersection of Whitney and Audubon, across from Yale University. The New Haven Independent has recently focused significant coverage on this intersection: Check it out here and here. Residents in the area have recently taken it upon themselves to fill out a Complete Streets Request form, in order to request improvements to the area.

Click here to see the video and article.

An excerpt from WTNH:

NEW HAVEN, CONN. (WTNH) - A new study says Connecticut is not a safe state for pedestrians. The Hartford metropolitan area is the most dangerous in the state, the second most dangerous in all of New England. Hartford is the worst, New Haven is a close second.

Whitney Avenue at Audubon Street is notorious for being unsafe for pedestrians. The problem is that you have to walk a full two blocks before you get to a crosswalk.

Earlier this month anonymous advocates painted a makeshift crosswalk of their own. The city quickly washed it away saying, it's not safe. There's a slight hill making it difficult for drivers to see people in the road. But it's hard to find anyone who doesn't cross in the middle of the street.

"It seems quiet but once you step out, here goes the cars, and there's no crosswalk here and it's dangerous," says Melissa Doumbia of New Haven. Doumbia's daughter attends classes on Audubon, she makes her walk the other way. "Oh, yeah, absolutely, I actually have her meet me down at the other end most of the time," says Doumbia.

With delivery trucks often parked in the area, visibility isn't the best for drivers and pedestrians. "People drive crazy here, everyone's rushing, there's a lot of students, there's bikes, a lot of bikes," says Francesca Colasanto of Branford.

A new study by Transportation for America is trying to highlight the problem. Over the last ten years, 373 pedestrians were killed in Connecticut. Pedestrians have only a 15 percent chance of survival when hit by a car going 40 miles an hour... According to the study, a full 12.5 percent of traffic deaths involved pedestrians.

City Point Neighborhood Association Requests Traffic Improvements

The City Point Neighborhood Association, after meeting with the City of New Haven and volunteers from the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, has decided to request temporary and permanent traffic calming measures through the City's Complete Streets program.

City Point is a beautiful area at the southern end of the "Hill" neighborhood, bordering Long Island Sound. Designated as an official historic district by the City of New Haven, the area is known for its small oysterman's houses, marina, parks, and well-preserved 19th- and early 20th-century homes along Howard Avenue (such as the one shown here). Despite the area's beauty, community cohesiveness and high quality of life, traffic has been identified as a major concern. In the 2010 Neighborhood Quality of Life Survey, the several dozen City Point residents who responded clearly indicated that the control of traffic speeding and enforcement in the area was not acceptable.

The measures the group who was present has decided to request are as follows (these are excerpted directly from emails to the neighborhood association):

Temporary Measures

Seasonal crosswalk signs--these are temporary structures that are placed in the middle street that alert drivers to watch for pedestrians. These are seasonal in that they can't be placed in the streets in the winter (because of snow, plowing, etc) but they have been used and proven to be effective on State Street. We are going to request these for various spots on Howard Avenue.

Removable Speed Bumps--these are temporary because they are placed on the street and removable, not cemented into the road. These will be placed on Sea Street because and possibly other small streets that experience heavy traffic at times (Sea Street does because of the Sound School). These are not as effective on wide roads and are not a good option for Howard Avenue.

If you would like to sign onto the application we will submit requesting these temporary measures from the city, please contact the Safe Streets Coalition via email at newhavensafestreets [a/t] gmail.com to sign on (replace the "[a/t]" with an "@" sign).

Options for Permanent Traffic Calming

These were discussed in detail at last week's meeting. I will only provide a brief overview of each here as these options will be discussed again in detail in April when we reconvene. (However, please feel free to send any questions you may have in the meantime). Whatever options we do choose, city and Safe Streets staff did stress that these are not truly effective unless they are used in multiple locations (for example, one traffic circle or one bump out alone will not serve to slow traffic, but a series of them will).

Traffic circles--These are "roundabout" structures, that traffic has to go around. These have proven to be extremely effective is dramatically reducing speed and accidents on streets that are long, straight and wide (like Howard Avenue). These have been installed on Woodward Avenue in the East Shore area.

Medians- these can consist of "temporary" ones that are huge potted plants down the length of the road or permanent, cement ones. To be effective, a cement/asphalt median needs to have plantings.

Bump outs- this is where the sidewalk extends out into the street more than usual at intersections. It serves to slow cars down since it narrows the road, but also gives pedestrians a little extra safety as it increases both their view of traffic and traffic's view of them.

Textured pavement-used in conjunction with bump outs, textured pavement can be concrete that is "stamped" to look like stone (or a plastic based covering that looks like brick) and is bumpy which slows traffic.

Bike lanes- bike lanes also help slow traffic as they visually narrow the road to drivers. However, these have already been planned for Howard Avenue and used alone, will not likely slow traffic significantly on an avenue as wide as Howard.

Other Resources

The City of New Haven's Complete Streets manual includes more detailed information and photos of various traffic calming measures. It can be found here: http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/TrafficParking/pdfs/CS-Manual-04-05-10.pdf Beginning on page 47, there are descriptions and photos of both temporary and permanent traffic calming measures. At the end of the manual is the application. Anyone can fill one out and submit it at any time, but especially for larger, permanent traffic calming plans, the city is not very likely to approve an application unless it has support from a large amount of residents in the given area.

More information on the Safe Streets group: http://www.newhavensafestreets.org/

Permanent Mid-Block Crosswalk Needed at End of Library Walk, on High Street at Yale Campus

Brian Tang's post on SeeClickFix details the issue, and his photo (copied here) shows a temporary measure that has worked very well to serve pedestrians in the area.

A similar issue concerning the need for mid-block crossings on the wide blocks surrounding Yale's undergraduate dormitories, in front of the Yale University Theater, may be found here: http://seeclickfix.com/issues/3369:

A crosswalk is needed from the University Theater to the Library Walk. There is a mid block crosswalk on Temple Street, in front of the Omni Hotel (which has far fewer pedestrians than this area!), which could serve as a model. Doing this would require bumping out the curbs and removing some parking spaces, in order to increase the visibility of pedestrians.

A crosswalk would also help reduce speeding on the street. Cars currently travel through this area at very high speeds, putting pedestrians' lives at risk. It is surprising nothing has been done about the situation, considering the number of students who have been injured and the enormous numbers of pedestrians who cross York Street to get from one dormitory to the other.

A request for mid-block crossings like these should be submitted using one of the City's new "Complete Streets" forms. Please visit http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Engineering/completestreets.asp if you are interested in filling out a form, and contact us if you need assistance.

State Office of Legislative Research (OLR) Report on Traffic Calming Initiatives in Connecticut

TRAFFIC CALMING INITIATIVES IN CONNECTICUT
By: Kevin E. McCarthy, Principal Analyst, January 2010

You asked for an update of OLR report 2005-R-0692 to discuss traffic calming initiatives in Connecticut that have been implemented more recently.

SUMMARY

This memo defines traffic calming and identifies commonly used measures. It describes recent traffic calming initiatives in New Canaan, New Haven, Newtown, Stamford, Wallingford, and Windsor. These initiatives include (1) procedures for receiving and acting on requests from residents and other interested parties to adopt and install traffic calming measures (New Canaan and Newtown); (2) measures to develop “complete streets” that ensure that all transportation users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users, can travel safely and conveniently on city streets and sidewalks (New Haven); (3) the process for developing a city-wide traffic calming plan (Stamford); and (4) the process used by two municipalities (Wallingford and Windsor) to address traffic concerns along specific roads in residential neighborhoods. The report also discusses other initiatives in the state to promote traffic calming.

TRAFFIC CALMING

As noted in our earlier report, traffic calming refers to a wide range of measures designed to reduce traffic speed, discourage motorists from cutting through residential areas, and reduce the number of accidents. These measures can include physical changes to streets, such as erecting speed humps (segments where the street is raised by several inches for a length of several feet), bump-outs (extensions of the sidewalk to narrow the traffic lanes, particularly at crosswalks), and chicanes (changes in the alignment of lanes). Other measures affect how drivers perceive the roadway, e. g. , painting lines on the road to make lanes appear narrower and planting trees or shrubs along roads. Traffic calming can also involve education and speed limit enforcement, programs.

The Institute of Transportation Engineers has a traffic calming library, available on line at http://www.ite.org/traffic/. The library contains a searchable database of reports, articles and other documents related to traffic calming.

MUNICIPAL INITIATIVES

New Canaan

The town's Police Commission, which serves as the local traffic authority, has adopted a process to receive requests from residents and other interested parties for the adoption and installation of traffic calming measures. Requests may be submitted by letter or e-mail.

In response to such requests, the commission will seek the opinions of other town departments and traffic engineers through a Traffic Calming Working Group. The commission will use a report prepared by the Southwestern Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA) on the application of various traffic calming measures and recommended standards. Traffic calming measures must comply with the standards and practices of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Traffic calming devices must conform to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as well as the ITE “Guideline for the Design and Application of Speed Humps. ”
Traffic calming measures may not inappropriately delay emergency responses to fires, medical, or other emergencies. The commission has identified certain streets and roads as emergency response routes where traffic calming devices that increase response times will not be considered.

Under the procedures, traffic calming must be neighborhood driven. Residents of an area proposed for installation of traffic calming measures must be given the opportunity to participate in the discussions leading to the implementation of such proposals. Informational meetings will be held with residents to present and discuss individual projects as the commission deems necessary.

New Haven

In October 2008, the city's Board of Aldermen adopted an order to establish a steering committee to develop a “complete streets” policy for the city, implement a complete streets program, and propose a complete streets ordinance. Specifically, the order seeks to establish a complete streets policy to ensure that all users of the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users can travel safely and conveniently on city streets and sidewalks. Under the policy, the needs of vulnerable users (children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities) would be given priority so that they can travel safely within the public right of way.

Under the order, the city will develop a manual to provide specific design guidelines for the construction of complete streets. The manual will include design standards to (1) establish a street classification system; (2) increase the safety and walk ability of city streets through tools that slow vehicle speeds; (3) create high visibility pedestrian crosswalks; (4) create safe, connected bike facilities for cyclists; (5) narrow travel lanes; and (6) address on-street parking policies.

Under the order, the city will:

1. establish a process for including community members in the planning and design process for streets in their neighborhoods;

2. give affected communities an opportunity to advocate for changes that will best serve their interests, including the opportunity to obtain input from landscape architects and economic development professionals;

3. coordinate educational campaigns targeting all users of the public right-of-way on their rights and responsibilities, with the goal of increasing the safety and civility of the streets; and

4. support the Police Department's traffic enforcement efforts and work with it to develop benchmarks for evaluating and measuring progress.

The city has also installed traffic calming measures in several neighborhoods. For example, it has installed four speed humps on River Street in Fair Haven to address drag racing that commonly took place there. It is installing a roundabout to slow north- and southbound traffic at West Park Avenue and Elm Street in Westville.

Newtown

In the spring of 2009, Newtown established procedures for the town's Police Commission to implement a traffic calming program. Under these procedures, the commission may use measures to reduce speed, enhance pedestrian safety, and reduce traffic diversion in residential neighborhoods. The procedures are intended to make efficient, cost- effective use of town resources by screening and prioritizing requests for traffic calming.

If a neighborhood requests traffic calming measures, the commission will request that the police chief or his designee research the request and determine a prudent course of action based on the Police Department's available resources and report these findings to the commission within 60 days.

After the chief reports his findings, he will be asked if the issue can be resolved using the resources that are available to the department. If the chief feels that the issue can be resolved within the department's resources, the chief will be asked to implement his plan for 120 days and report his findings to the commission.

After completing this process, the commission will decide if the department has satisfactorily addressed the issue. If the commission decides that the issue has been addressed properly, the chief will be asked to monitor the area, when resources are available, to ensure traffic compliance in the area of impact.

If neighbors in the area still feel that the town needs to put additional traffic calming measures into an area, they must submit a detailed written description of their traffic concerns with the signatures of at least 20 voters living in the area. This petition to request additional traffic calming measures must be presented to the commission at a regularly scheduled meeting.

After verifying the signatures and addresses, the commission must hold a hearing. Before it recommends installing neighborhood traffic control devices or traffic calming measures, it must request funds for a traffic study by a professional engineer to identify how best to address the concern for reduced speed, enhanced pedestrian safety, and reduced traffic diversion in the neighborhoods. The study may consider traffic and intersection volumes, traffic speed, and the extent of bicycle and pedestrian activity, among other things.

When completed, the study must be submitted to the commission for review. The commission will decide on a course of action, establish the plan's priority, and advise the Department of Public Works to request the appropriate amount of funding for materials and labor based on the most recent available cost estimates in its next budget. It may request funding sooner if such improvements are deemed desirable and consistent with the commission's plan. The commission may authorize a temporary course of action before moving forward with a permanent traffic calming solution.

The commission may request a demonstration of interest and support from neighborhood residents in the form of a petition signed by more than 60% of the residents on the affected streets. The petition must specify the area under consideration, the nature of the problem (speed, traffic volume, through traffic) and the traffic calming solutions being recommended to the commission.

The Police Department will monitor the effectiveness of any traffic calming measures that are installed. After one year, the commission will review the installation and decide if the measures were effective. The commission reserves the right to remove any traffic calming installations at any time that have not produced a desired or intended result, or are deemed dangerous.

Stamford

The city is developing a traffic calming master plan for all of its residential neighborhoods. Once developed, the plan will show street improvements that can help slow speeds through neighborhoods, reduce cut-through traffic, and better manage traffic. The plan will create an environment where pedestrians, vehicles, and bicycles can coexist.

The master plan is being developed through a process in which residents engage in a series of workshops (charrettes) where they discuss the values they wish their neighborhood to exemplify, the traffic-related problems that they wish to resolve, and the possible solutions for these problems. The input obtained from the residents provides the framework for the project team, led by Urban Engineers, Inc. , to complete the master plan.

The city's comprehensive approach towards traffic calming seeks to avoid moving problems such as speeding and cut-through traffic from one neighborhood to another in order to ensure safer, friendlier, and quieter roads throughout the city.

The Master Plan is being developed based on the comments received during the charrettes, phone calls, and e-mails. Further information about the city's planning process, including the final draft plan, is available at http://www.stamfordtrafficcalming.com.

Wallingford

In 2008, the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) conducted a pilot traffic calming study in Wallingford. The purpose of this pilot was to highlight the traffic calming study process developed as part of SCRCOG's Traffic Calming Tools Resource Guide (described below). Wallingford requested assistance with a traffic calming study on North Elm Street between Curtis Avenue and Christian Street. Adjacent land use in the study area includes housing and Choate Rosemary Hall School. Choate was building a new dorm on North Elm Street across from Curtis Avenue. As a result of this project Choate requested the town to install stop signs on North Elm Street at Curtis Avenue. The town responded that they would like to consider other options to slow down traffic and improve pedestrian crossings in the vicinity. The resulting traffic calming study sought to provide a “complete” street that accommodates traffic flow and provides pedestrian crossings in a safe environment.

The consultant team began the study by meeting with the town to gather input and information. The town supplied accident history and traffic count information. Initial field observations and meetings were conducted with the town Engineering and Police departments as well as Choate. To better understand traffic and pedestrian operations in the study area, information was collected on traffic volumes (daily, peak hour, and intersection turning movement counts), pedestrian volumes (at key cross walks), traffic speeds, and accident data. Existing roadway signing, pavement markings, and pedestrian activity were also observed. Information was also collected on the adjacent land uses.

An initial community meeting was held at Wallingford Town Hall. The consulting team gave a brief presentation that described the study team, study purpose, existing conditions, and traffic calming toolbox. It was also explained that the purpose of this meeting was to solicit input on issues and concerns in the study area and to identify opportunities to address the problems. The attendees were divided into small groups to discuss the issues and ideas for addressing them. After the discussion each group summarized its findings. The project team, including members from the town, met with members of the Choate Student Council. A brief presentation and work group session similar to the first community meeting was conducted as part of one of the regular student council meetings.

Additional meetings were held with the town staff (Engineering, Police, Public Works, Electrical Division and the mayor) and Choate to solicit feedback on preliminary options. A second community meeting was conducted at Town Hall to discuss the progress on the study and to present the study options. The consultant team gave a brief presentation outlining the issues and options. Following the presentation, a discussion was held on the options the community liked and other items to consider.

The consultant team prepared a final report for the town to consider as it moves forward with funding, approvals, and design. The options were presented for short-term and long-term considerations. Options for Choate to consider, such as pedestrian education programs, were also included.

Windsor

Windsor has considered a variety of traffic calming options for Rainbow Road, a collector (medium traffic) street that connects a residential area with a commercial area. Over an 18-month period in 2007 and 2008, the Health and Safety Committee of the Town Council considered such options as installing stop signs, installing medians to discourage truck traffic, and restriping the road. Town staff recommended against installing stop signs or speed humps on the road, arguing that they would be ineffective. In addition, they argued that speed humps would significantly delay emergency vehicles when they respond to calls from the several hundred households and businesses along the road.

The committee's July 27, 2009 meeting included an extensive discussion of its deliberations on traffic calming. The discussion is summarized at http://www.townofwindsorct.com/pages/government/towncouncil/documents/meetings/2009-07-27_1830_HS_agenda.pdf.

The town ultimately installed three small medians and several other traffic calming measures. As a pilot, it installed barriers to make the road one-way for part of its length. The latter measures prompted approximately 400 comments from motorists, overwhelmingly negative. The town took down the barriers to permit snow plows to pass, and town staff have recommended that the barriers not be re-installed in the spring. The council is continuing to address traffic issues in the affected area.

OTHER INITIATIVES

In 2008, SCRCOG developed a regional traffic calming resource guide. The guide (1) develops a systematic approach to traffic calming, (2) identifies key locations throughout the region, (3) describes how to engage the community in designing traffic calming measures, and (4) identifies and develops cost effective solutions and preliminary design concepts which could be permitted and constructed. The guide is available at http://www.scrcog.org/toc_files/TrafficCalming_ResourceGuide_Final.pdf.

In July 2009, the Connecticut chapter of the American Planning Association offered a course to help municipalities establish traffic calming programs for their roads. The course described various traffic calming devices, outlined potential positive and negative impacts on a neighborhood, and reviewed a sample traffic calming program. It also investigated related issues, such as impacts of traffic calming devices on liability, roadway maintenance, and emergency services. Participants performed case studies applying traffic calming measures to address traffic concerns. The course was offered to public works directors, highway superintendents, road foremen, town engineers, and town planners.

November 16: Downtown Crossing/Route 34 East Project Public Workshop to Focus on Walkability

The city recently received a major TIGER grant for boulevardization of a portion of the Route 34 highway. Refer to Design New Haven for detailed background; Tri State Transportation Campaign also has a summary here that indicates New Haven will most likely receive the "gold medal" for removing an urban highway (among many cities that would like to do so). A presentation takes place Tuesday, November 16 at 5:30, at the New Haven Free Public Library on the Green.

The image shown here is from an earlier application, and clearly does not account for pedestrian safety (showing, for example, enormous turning radii and wide crossing distances), but that's why the public meetings are being held. It will be essential that the streets surrounding the project go above and beyond the standards of the city's new Complete Streets policy, and that speeds in the area are reduced to 15-20 miles per hour. The 15 mile per hour average speed is the only level that is appropriate for a district with such high pedestrian traffic, is the only speed likely to support street-level economic activity and job creation (like that found on Chapel Street, for example), and is a speed limit that has been specifically requested for this area within at least four major citizen petitions that have attracted over 3,000 signatures from area residents and workers (following several pedestrian deaths or severe injuries).

Details on the workshop can be found below:

The City of New Haven invites you to attend a public presentation and workshop on the Downtown Crossing/Route 34 East Project. The presentation will be held on Tuesday, November 16th at 5:30 in the New Haven Public Library located on the Corner of Elm and Temple Streets.

The session will focus on the following areas of interest:
- Connectivity, Complete Streets
- Place-making: Streetscapes, Open Space, Land Use
- Economy: Growing Jobs and Taxes
- Environment: Walkability, Transit, Bike Routes and Lanes, and Sustainable Development

Please join us for a lively presentation and discussion lead by project consultants PB Americas, and the project's urban designers, Chan Krieger/NBBJ. Feel free to forward this notice to others who are interested in building a greater New Haven!

Why were the sharrows installed recently throughout Downtown New Haven not added on the route to New Haven Union Station?

While bicycle racks are now apparently in the works for one of New Haven's most critical economic assets, Union Station (see SeeClickFix issue here, and Design New Haven article here), actual biking access to the station remains a serious challenge.

Union Avenue, the road to the station is currently a 4-lane road with no bicycle facilities, high speeds, and parked vehicles on either side.

Vote on the SeeClickFix issue to begin to resolve this here. (Short answer to the question above: The area is a state controlled stretch of road and did not authorize sharrows).

Sharrows or bicycle lanes, like those recently placed throughout Downtown, would be a good first step towards bringing the street into line with the city's and state's new laws that require complete streets accommodations. However, ultimately providing access to the train station for road users of all ages and abilities will require a protected/buffered bike route or extension of the greenway (perhaps to be built in the space between the rail yard and the station property itself). Design New Haven previously reported on this issue in an article last year.

Finally a Conclusive Literature Review on Cycling Infrastructure and Safety

Finally a decent, conclusive literature review on cycling infrastructure! The researchers at UBC did a great job with their report, which reviewed several dozen English-language studies and was released just a few weeks ago. Check it out: Winters, Meghan et al. The impact of transportation infrastructure on bicycling injuries and crashes: a review of the literature. Environmental Health 2009, 8:47. There's a PDF link at the bottom of the page. A hat tip to Elly at Bike Portland for the heads-up.

Of course, many studies have been done on infrastructure, but they have been mostly limited to specific situations. Although in the end, a large proportion of the data that these authors reviewed still turned out to be limited and inconclusive (proving that much more rigorous study is needed), they did conclude the following:

"The principal trend that emerges from the papers reviewed here is that clearly-marked, bike-specific facilities (i.e. cycle tracks at roundabouts, bike routes, bike lanes, and bike paths) were consistently shown to provide improved safety for cyclists compared to on-road cycling with traffic or off-road with pedestrians and other users. Marked bike lanes and bike routes were found to reduce injury or crash rates by about half compared to unmodified roadways."

When it comes to understanding the impact of infrastructure on transportation safety, access and promotion, this is the equivalent of a breakthrough. In light of the research, it is no surprise that so many communities are passing Complete Streets bills and that the CDC is specifically recommending bike lanes and crosswalks as a cure for the nation's still-expanding obesity epidemic.

Whitney Avenue Paving: "Everything you’d want out of a local access highway"

Original Post, 6/24/09: Local elected officials and city officials recently announced that the section of Whitney Avenue into Downtown New Haven will not be rebuilt as a "complete street."

The street runs adjacent to the main Yale University campus, and is one of the busiest pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular corridors in the entire city. Reporting from the New Haven Independent can be found here, along with a previous story from January about the initial announcement (which also attracted numerous comments) here. An excerpt from today's piece:

At a meeting of East Rock neighbors, some said the project falls short of the city’s new policy of creating “complete streets” that encourage transit by bike, foot or bus. “It’s everything you’d want out of a local access highway,” quipped East Rock Alderman Roland Lemar at the neighborhood management team’s monthly meeting Monday evening. He said while cars and bikes alike will welcome relief from the treacherous bumps and cracks, the improvements will result in allowing vehicles to zip by at 45 miles per hour. “Only 45?” replied a skeptic in the crowd. “That’s a conservative estimate.”

Plans for repaving Whitney Avenue had been in the works for several years, but had been delayed until this year. In the intervening period, the amount of pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the Avenue has dramatically increased.

On the earlier NH Independent piece, a writer from the CT Energy Blog commented:

In addition to agreeing with Tom Harned's points, I would add that one of the goals of improving bicycle infrastructure would be to protect the lives of the cycling population that already exists. New Haven has the second highest percentage of bicycle commuters in the Northeast. These include not only Yuppies and Yalies (no offense), but children and countless people who can not afford the staggering expense of owning a car in the city. With the exception of highways and freeways, our roads were never intended to be used only by motor-vehicle traffic. Many existed well before the automobile was invented. We've had too many preventable traffic-related deaths and injuries here involving people who were just trying to get from one place to another. It's high time we got our priorities straight and started taking deadly traffic conditions seriously. Again, thank you New Haven for taking this seriously, but we still have a long way to go.

Today, "Truthtopower" writes:

When will the DOT realize that the age of the auto is over? Spending valuable tax dollars to replicate outmoded roads shows that no lessons have been learned from $4.00 gas, air pollution levels, the increase in obesity and the consumption of land by parking lots. People want to be able to walk, bike and take public transit, but money continues to be funneled into projects that continue the old car culture rather than a new 21st century vision. Clearly the people are again ahead of the government on this.

The Independent contains a bit of good news about a new traffic calming project right around the corner, at Livingston and Edwards:

Lemar reported that the city has money in hand to repave Edwards Street between Whitney and Orange Streets. As part of the road reconstruction, the city will incorporate traffic-calming measures at Edwards and Livingston Street, a hairy intersection where a combination of high speed and poor visibility around turns has led to recent accidents.

A member of the CT Livable Streets committee sent an open letter to the City of New Haven's engineer, Dick Miller, on February 23, 2009. Local elected officials also have met tirelessly with key city and state officials, but little progress was made.

Hopefully, further improvements to the bustling street can be installed after paving is completed.

The open letter to Mr. Miller is reprinted here:

Dear Mr. Miller,

Thank you for presenting to the East Rock Management Team tonight about Whitney Avenue and the various bridge reconstruction projects in East Rock. It is excellent that you would take the time to update the East Rock neighborhood with your department's progress, and I applaud you for the significant amount of work that your office has been able to push through state reviews in the past year. Thank you again for your tireless efforts to keep our transportation system in good working order.

As you suggested at the meeting, I would welcome an opportunity to stop by and review the repaving and restriping plans for Whitney Avenue, which are scheduled to begin construction in a month or two. I've copied a few individuals who have been following the design plans for Whitney Avenue for a few years. I am not speaking for them, but I think some of them may be interested in reviewing the plans as well. What times might work best for you?

Please do not take my concerns as criticism of your work to date. Whitney Avenue is an urban corridor through an extremely densely populated area, and I am encouraged to know that you are doing as much as possible to ensure the safety of the community through which it passes. My concern about speeding on the avenue stems specifically from the extremely high volumes of families, young children, elderly and disabled residents, mass transit users, and K-8 public school students who cross the avenue on a daily basis. The avenue has more pedestrians than almost any other street in the city. My concern has been highlighted by the fact that, on two occasions just within the past few months, I have witnessed pedestrians crossing the avenue at dusk (in areas where I think there should be a crosswalk), and have watched helplessly as they were nearly killed, just very narrowly avoiding speeding vehicles in both cases. In one case, a speeding car swerved illegally to try to pass a car (on the right side, not the left side) that had slowed in order to yield to the pedestrian.

Also, the avenue is also one of the busiest cycling routes in the city, connecting Hamden commuters to Downtown New Haven. Anecdotally, I work in an office of just 10 people, and at least three of them use this route to bike to work from Hamden. All three of them believe that the road is inadequate as a cycling route in its current configuration. In an era where people can afford to drive less and less, perceived obstacles like these threaten New Haven's ability to be the economic and social hub for the region.

If the latest design for Whitney Avenue allows the current average traffic speeds of 30-35MPH to persist (or increase following repaving), it is almost certain that there will be additional injuries along the avenue. A few years ago, a prominent Yale University faculty member in the Neuroscience Department was killed by a driver along the Hamden section of Whitney Avenue, and numerous other pedestrian injuries have been reported along the road as well. As has been pointed out in many public meetings in New Haven over the past year, designing a street for 40MPH travel, while expecting drivers to obey the 25MPH limit, creates a massive demand for traffic enforcement which will be an unnecessary future burden on the city's taxpayers.

In the case of Whitney Avenue, I believe that there is overwhelming public support for designing a street that contributes to property values, walkability and safety for road users of all ages and abilities. Based on standards used in other cities, such a street would be designed for strict maximum travel speeds of 20-25MPH, with very narrow travel lanes, and contain a highly progressive system of pedestrian refuges, crosswalks and cycle facilities, particularly in the most urban sections of the street between Edwards Street and Downtown. Given that the new paving standards you have ordered are meant to last 20 years, there may be limited opportunities to reconfigure the avenue once the pavement is poured.

I appreciate all of the time and energy you have put into this project over the past few years, and realize that there are a number of restrictions at play as well. I realize that the project starts soon, but am wondering if there is anything that can be done to create modest safety improvements now, or to ensure that they can be easily added as soon as possible following the completion of paving. Even measures designed to be temporary solutions would be an improvement over having a street perceived as dangerous by walkers, cyclists and transit users of all ages. If nothing can be done at this point, please keep these concerns in mind for future projects.

Best regards,
Mark Abraham
New Haven, CT

Update 7/10/09: Dozens of East Rock residents attend a community meeting to propose changes for the avenue.

Complete Streets Experts, and Fourth Graders, Call for Livable Streets in Hill Neighborhood

[Photo at left courtesy New Haven Independent.]

Experts aim for streets safe for all users, New Haven Register, 3/31/09:

The “complete streets” specialists visited the Hill Monday, scoping out ways to strike a balance among walkers, bikers and autos so they can all safely share the neighborhood’s main roads. Engineers from CHA, a consulting group, Ian Lockwood, an early guru of the “complete streets” movement and James Travers, deputy director of transportation for the city, led the short field trip for a handful of citizens and officials.

The aim is to make streets safer and more walkable through roundabouts, curb bump outs, tree plantings, on-street parking, bicycle lanes and even a raised intersection where needed, to slow down drivers. All of these things have the effect of calming traffic, Lockwood said. Basically, they act as visual clues to drivers to slow down, that they are in an urban environment. “It helps drivers behave themselves,” rather than necessitating more traffic police, he said.

Lockwood said the whole intersection at Congress and Howard avenues could be raised to slow traffic, something other states do around elementary schools as safety measures.

“Complete Streets” Begins in the Hill, New Haven Independent, 3/31/09:

Last year for their science project these three fourth-graders clocked an oil truck at 52 miles per hour and even a school bus racing at nearly 40 by their school, John C. Daniels Elementary. On Monday afternoon, they joined city officials and others on a “walking audit” of their Hill neighborhood to help planners calm traffic and make the streets safer for kids, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

Near Congress and Howard, the crew paused to hear Lockwood suggest safety could be enhanced by the addition of bump-outs at bus stops, and lifting the crosswalk to the level of the sidewalk. “This ramping up puts motorists on the level of pedestrians. It also raises the heights of kids four to six inches when they cross, making them more visible, and therefore safer,” he said.

All along Congress, leading toward John C. Daniels School, Sousa suggested that long curb cuts, such as inappropriate driveways, most holdovers from a previous era when big trucks were making deliveries, should be eliminated. “You want to reward walking and incentivize it with sidewalks that attract pedestrians, not cars.”

The John Daniels students said their this year’s science project would be to expand their own traffic study from the immediate area of their school to all of the Hill.

New Haven Complete Streets Legislation Passes Board

On Thursday, October 23rd, the New Haven Board of Aldermen unanimously passed legislation establishing a "complete streets" steering committee. See here for press coverage of the public hearings that led up to this vote, and here for a copy of the legislation.

Committee to examine equal use of streets, New Haven Register, 10/24/08

The Board of Aldermen gave the green light Thursday night to establishing a steering committee which will develop a "complete streets" policy granting equal rights for pedestrians and bicyclists in their daily battle with motorists. The committee ultimately will propose "complete streets" legislation based on these egalitarian principles.

The aldermen approved the measure unanimously after hearing appeals for support from Alderman Roland Lemar, D-9, and Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale, D-14. Lemar, of East Rock, and Sturgis-Pasacale, of Fair Haven, said street safety is a big issue in their neighborhoods. The vote also came in the wake of a Sept. 22 public hearing in which 40 members of the public submitted testimony endorsing the idea. The steering committee will adopt designs to reduce motor vehicles' speed, guarantee input from all residents and educate everybody about the rules of the road. Lemar said bicyclists, children, the elderly and the disabled are particularly vulnerable to being struck by motor vehicles and deserve to be safeguarded.

Sturgis-Pascale said about 30 percent of New Haven residents don't own a car. "We need to think more carefully about how they're going to get around; how they'll get to work or to school." She said the new policy will not be "anti-motorist" and drivers won't be expected to drive 5 mph. After the meeting, Sturgis-Pascale said Board President Carl Goldfield will appoint the three aldermanic members of the steering committee (she and Lemar are expected to be included) and Mayor John DeStefano Jr. will appoint three city staffers and three members of the general public. "The policy will say all users have the right to equal access," she said. "That's a moral statement. Now it's very lopsided in favor of cars."

New Haven Launches "Street Smarts" Educational Campaign

As part of a community event in Edgewood Park this past Sunday, October 19 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., the city launched its "Street Smarts" educational campaign to improve safety for all road users. Excerpts from the extensive news coverage are posted below; click on the flyer to enlarge.

City to promote road-sharing efforts, New Haven Register, 10/14/08.

More than 2,000 people signed a grass-roots petition advocating for more pedestrian- and bicyclist-friendly streets, and two like-minded aldermen hope to legislate the goals into law.

On Sunday, the effort will gain another partner when City Hall unveils "Street Smarts," a public education campaign aimed at enhancing road safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Its goal is to promote road sharing among pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists in a city where about 14 percent of residents walk to work, more than any other New England city, according to aldermen Erin Sturgis-Pascale and Roland Lemar.

In September, the two proposed a Complete Streets law for the city that would, in support of the coalition’s goals, create a design and engineering manual and require any developer or contractor who builds or rebuilds a city street to comply with specific pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly guidelines.

The safe streets coalition was formed in May, a month after medical student Mila Rainoff was hit and killed on South Frontage Road and a month before Gabrielle Lee, 11, was killed on Whalley Avenue by a hit-and-run driver. Since then, more than 100 organizations, virtually every alderman and more than 2,000 other people have endorsed its goal of "promoting livable, walkable and economically vibrant streets" in New Haven.

The Police Department, under new Chief James Lewis, has made traffic enforcement a renewed priority, with traffic tickets up about 35 percent since Lewis took over in mid-July, compared to last year. Saying losing a loved one to a traffic fatality is no less painful than losing one to gun violence, Lewis said he plans to double the size of the traffic unit next year. The coalition has requested neighborhood-by-neighborhood reports of enforcement data.

Pedestrian deaths spur 'safe streets' movement, WTNH TV-8 (AP story also picked up by Boston Globe, WCBS-New York News Radio and others), 10/14/08

A series of pedestrian deaths in recent years, including those of a Yale student and a fifth-grade girl, has spawned a movement to improve road safety in New Haven.

The "Street Smarts" public education campaign launches Sunday in the Elm City. It comes after more than 2,000 people signed petitions seeking street improvements. They want New Haven's roads improved to make them safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

The campaign gained momentum after a Yale medical student was killed in April. Two months later, an 11-year-old girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver as she entered a laundromat. New Haven aldermen say pedestrian safety is critical because about 14 percent of the city's residents walk to work, among the highest percentage of any New England city.

New Haven "Street Smarts" Campaign, WTNH TV-8, 10/19/08

A new campaign is officially underway in the Elm City and aimed at making streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. The Elm City's "Street Smarts" campaign was sparked by a series of pedestrian deaths in recent years.

Bill Mrowka, of New Haven: "Everyday, four-to-five times, I cross this street here." Taskey: "How is it getting around?" Mrowka: "Suicide." It's a battle for 83-year old Bill Mrowka to cross the street near his New Haven home. "Even with this thing in the road (pointing to sign) I get stuck in the middle of the road and can't get to the other side," he said.

The city put up portable cross walk signs at State and Elm hoping to remind drivers to yield to pedestrians. "There's something in the middle of the road, people tend to slow down for something in the road," Ben Berkowitz, of New Haven, said. "So I do see more break lights during rush hour which is nice.

Road rules take priority in Elm City, Yale Daily News, 10/20/08

In interviews, several Yalies said they agree that in New Haven, traffic rules are little more than a formality, and that most students jaywalk to and from class without thinking much of it. Lukas Colberg ’12 said that Yale’s campus is built such that it is convenient to break traffic rules, such as on the stretch of Elm Street filled with students weaving between cars to get to class.

"Street Smarts” Drive Launched, New Haven Independent, 10/20/08

Shawn Perkins (left) took the “Smart Driver” pledge and Alexander McDonough was fitted for his first bike helmet, as officials inaugurated a traffic-calming campaign that grew out of a citywide grassroots movement.

Mayor John DeStefano called the evolution of the Street Smarts campaign a sign of vibrant citizen activism in New Haven. It grew from the grassroots. First there were the two main activist groups focused on single issues. Those groups in turn united with other grassroots neighborhood organizations with broader agendas, such as the downtown management team and Westville Renaissance. Finally, these activists found a city official, transportation czar Mike Piscitelli, who already sympathized with their cause and was eager to try out new traffic-calming ideas.

DeStefano also spoke of how New Haven’s streets were originally dominated by pedestrians and cyclists (and horses) before America became car “obsessed” in the 1940s. “We started forgetting what streets were,” he said, “wonderful places that connected us.” He urged New Haveners of all transit persuasions to “give a little” and “make space for everybody.”

City kicks off Street Smarts program, New Haven Register, 10/20/08

One reason for the awareness campaign, which employees a professional marketing firm, is because physical changes to make city streets safer cost money and take time. But getting people to be more aware of each other can start making things safer more immediately, Travers said.

“Drivers’ habits have changed over the years. What we want to do is change that behavior” to make it safer and “alert motorists that they need to be aware of the bicyclists” and pedestrians on the road, he said.

Street Smarts effort aims to make city safer for pedestrians (Op-Ed by Mayor John DeStefano, Jr), New Haven Register, 10/19/08 (excerpt)

Indeed, thousands of people walk through the downtown area, the medical district and our neighborhoods every day. For many residents and students, a bicycle has firmly replaced the car and cyclists are on city streets at every hour of the day. The combination of higher fuel prices, shifting demographic patterns and the tremendous growth in downtown all suggest that even more people will be walking and cycling on city streets in the coming years. In no uncertain terms, we must be attentive and respectful to everyone using the roadway.

The Street Smarts campaign also responds to a nationwide concern over the number and severity of traffic accidents. In the United States, a pedestrian is killed every seven minutes and another 85,000 are injured every year. These are our neighbors and friends, not just statistics.

Here, New Haven still mourns the loss of Mila Rainof, an amazingly talented student at Yale University, and Gabrielle Lee, an engaging 11-year-old school child. Both Rainof and Gabrielle died in tragic crashes this summer. Many others lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes as well.

In just a few months, the community has been galvanized through the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition of residents, civic leaders, city officials and organizations. Their advocacy has accelerated the pace of change with tangible programs sponsored by Elm City Cycling, Yale University, the Yale School of Medicine's Traffic Safety Committee, the City of New Haven and the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Yale College Council Passes Safe Streets Resolution

YCC sees clear road ahead for safer streets, Yale Herald, October 10, 2008:

Most Yalies have resigned themselves to the fact that Yale is located in a bustling city and that crossing busy streets is an inevitable part of campus life. Almost everyday, cars barrel down Elm St. at nearly 40 miles per hour in a 25-mph speed limit zone. Drivers often give mixed signals as to whether or not they’re going to slow down at the yellow light. It is not always the driver’s fault, of course—rushing Yalies are often ill-behaved pedestrians. Yet Yale students remain in danger of traffic-related accidents. ....

Even within the University itself, students are mobilizing in the crusade for safer streets. The YCC recently passed a resolution entitled “Road Safety and New Haven Safe Streets Coalition,” committing the student organization to “work with the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, the City of New Haven and Yale University on issues pertaining to road safety.” ....

The recent convergence of interests between the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, the YCC, and City Hall looks promising in terms of making New Haven Streets safer. In the past, City Hall and Yale have been slow to take action because they failed to hear the call for safer streets. Now that there’s a unified voice, facilitated by the partnership of the NHSS, YCC, Yale, and City Hall, the voice for change is loud and clear. “Full steam ahead,” said [Ward 1 Alderwoman] Plattus.

Successful Public Hearing on Complete Streets Legislation

The New Haven Board of Aldermen's public hearing on Complete Streets Legislation was very well attended, with testimony received from several dozen residents and community leaders. Written testimony was also received from a wide spectrum of community groups and organizations. The Board is continuing to accept testimony on the subject this week, so feel free to submit written comments.

Please click here (MP3 file) to hear Ward 14 Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale's excellent testimony on the subject.

The event received wide coverage including being the lead story on the New Haven Register and the top story on the 11-o-clock news. Here's a rundown of some of it, and a few excerpts:

In Wake of Two Deaths, Making Streets Safer, New York Times, 10/3/08:

In a meeting two weeks ago, the Board of Aldermen’s legislation committee voted to create Complete Streets, a comprehensive blueprint of how drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and others can coexist safely on the streets of New Haven. According to the 2000 census, more New Haven residents — nearly 14 percent — walk to work than in any other New England city. And an additional 31 percent bike, car-pool or take public transportation.

“These aren’t just thruways,” said Roland Lemar, an alderman who was one of the cosponsors of the Complete Streets program. “These are the streets we live on.”

In April, Mila Rainof, 27, a Yale medical student, was fatally struck by a car on a city street. In June, Gabrielle Alexis Lee, 11, was killed in a hit-and-run accident. A group of residents formed the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition, which has gathered more than 1,800 signatures in a petition calling for “immediate action to improve traffic safety within our communities — with the immediate goal of reducing traffic injuries by 50 percent by 2009, 75 percent by 2012 and 90 percent by 2015.”

The measure calls for the creation of a steering committee to come up with the details of the Complete Streets program, which would require legislative approval. Ms. Sturgis-Pascale and Mr. Lemar believe this is the first step in not only making the streets safer for walkers, cyclists and drivers but also creating streets that are economically and socially vibrant.

Residents crowded into the Board of Aldermen’s meeting two weeks ago. New Haven is made up of a series of neighborhoods, said one resident, Justin Elicker. “Why do we fear to cross Whalley? Why do we avoid the intersection of Trumbull and Orange? Because roads in New Haven are designed for cars,” he told the board.

Aldermen Working To Make Streets Safer, WFSB TV-3, 9/22/08:

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Two aldermen have come up with a plan they said will make New Haven streets safer. Erin Sturgis-Pascale and Roland Lemar said a common complaint in the city is that the streets have to be made safer. They said roughly 14 percent of people walk to work and 31 percent bike, carpool or take public transportation. 'Well, what this law does is it has this look at transportation from an access view,' said Sturgis-Pascale. 'Let’s make sure that everyone has access to goods and services. It’s not just about moving cars through the streets, but it’s about moving people.'

Panel OKs Safe Streets Law, New Haven Independent, 9/23/08:

Pascale said she’d like to see the city’s streets evaluated not by the number of lanes or traffic lights, but by other measures. “Are our streets being used for people to socialize? Are our children playing in the streets safely? Are they able to ride their bicycles? Are we welcoming people with disabilities? Are we protecting our seniors on our streets?"

Elm City Looks to Enforce Road Safety Law, WTNH TV-8, 9/22/08:

"There is a whole tool box of features that ensures that people have save and convenient access to transportation that we should be suing in a more systematic way in the city," Erin Sturgis-Pascale, of Ward 14, said.

In the past, if there were a lot of accidents at a certain intersection -- they would go out and try and fix the problem. What they are doing now is looking at everything. All the streets, the cross walks to access for wheel chairs, to streets signs and wide-enough double parking. Before lawmakers created a new ordinance, they wanted to hear from the people. At the meeting the committee heard from Alycia Santilli. She lives on Quinnipiac Ave has been a victim of unsafe streets repeatedly.

"There is constant speeding that goes on, our car has been hit about three times or more," Santilli said. "I have recently been hit by a car while biking -- so there is a lot that can be done here in New Haven regarding our streets." Santilli told the committee while in favor of new law, she wants the old ones enforced. "People are speeding all the time not only up and down on Quinnipiac Ave but other streets in the neighborhood," Santilli said. "People are blowing red lights and there is so much that can be done, we need to be smarter about the types of streets we are creating."

It's Time to Slow Down, New Haven Register, 9/23/08:

For Alycia Santilli and her husband, Ethan Hutchings, the consequences of potholed streets and inattentive, speeding drivers are not theoretical issues. Each has been hit by a car, in separate instances, while riding their bicycles; their vehicles have been sideswiped multiple times and as a public health researcher, Santilli sees a connection between obese children and the bad streets that set up roadblocks to exercise.

“We have a serious problem,” Santilli told a committee of the Board of Aldermen Monday, which was taking testimony on a proposal for a “complete streets” program that aims to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities in New Haven 50 percent by 2009 and 90 percent by 2015. ...

Enforcement of traffic violations has gone up 35 percent this year over last and the number of accidents has gone down 5 percent. Lemar and Sturgis-Pascale had high praise for city officials, and the 40 members of the public who submitted testimony were equally happy with the plan. Lemar said the city has come up with solutions for Woodward Avenue and River Street, with a proposal forthcoming to halt the drag racing on Long Wharf Drive and speeding on Route 80.

The lack of funds was paramount in the minds of all the city officials who testified, but nonetheless they felt progress can be made with police expecting to double its traffic unit next year.

Aldermen Hear Safe Streets Plan, Yale Daily News, 9/23/08:

The New Haven Safe Streets Coalition’s vision for a redefined pedestrian city moved one step closer to reality Monday evening. The Board of Aldermen held a public hearing last night on the proposed “Complete Streets” plan offered by Safe Streets Coalition’s founding members, Ward 9 Alderman Roland Lemar and Ward 14 Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale. The plan by the Safe Streets Coalition — a New Haven organization that lobbies for safer streets — calls for reducing the number of traffic-related injuries and fatalities by 50 percent by 2009 and 90 percent by 2015 “while promoting streets that are more liveable, walkable and economically vital.”

Monday night’s hearing, held before the Board’s Legislation Committee, drew over 50 New Haven residents, including about 20 of Yale undergraduate and graduate students in support of the Complete Streets plan. Lemar and Sturgis-Pascale introduced the plan to the rest of the committee and were followed by representatives from several city agencies and members of the public in a meeting that ran for nearly three hours.

Piscitelli said the first stage of New Haven’s response will start Oct. 19, when the city, working with over a half-dozen community groups, rolls out a new education strategy. “We want to sensitize drivers that they are driving in an intermodal community,” he said. “At the same time, we want to sensitize cyclists and pedestrians to sharing the road and obeying traffic regulations.”

City Chief Administrative Officer Robert Smuts ’01 said the city’s plan to make streets safer involves a three-pronged approach consisting of education, enforcement and engineering. Smuts announced that the New Haven Police Department will be doubling both the size and hours of its traffic-enforcement division.

Safe Streets proponents argue that the program will promote economic opportunity while raising property values. “[Complete Streets] will upgrade our infrastructure to meet the needs of a new New Haven, and in the long run, will net the city money,” said Mark Abraham ’04 the founder of the Safe Streets Coalition. As for the meeting, Abraham was impressed by the turnout. “It shows that a lot of people are passionate about improving the safety and quality of our city life,” he said.

Initiative Aims To Make Streets Safer For Walkers, Cyclists, NBC30-TV, 9/23/08:

Glen Vasquez said the pedestrian way of life isn't any better. "It's kind of scary sometimes," he said. "I mean, you walk across the street, and people don't care if you're walking or not -- they just keep going."

Update: Please see this page on Design New Haven for more information about the legislation.

YDN Op-Ed: Mobilize tonight for safe streets

http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/25290

"Here is New Haven, the Safe Streets Coalition, a citywide coalition of students, residents and elected officials who are advocating for safer, livable streets — formed last spring after the tragic deaths of Mila Rainof MED ’08 on South Frontage Street and 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee on Whalley — has been a model of what we can do as a community. Today, at 6:30 p.m in City Hall, the Coalition will testify at a public hearing on street safety. For the good of all of us in New Haven, we hope they will succeed. ...

Now the challenge rests with each one of us to carry on the work started by the Coalition and advocate for broader change in New Haven and beyond. Even those who think that they’re invincible rely on the public protections established by community organizers, and community change requires community action."