Description
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.
10 Comments
Brian Tang
I agree. It's virtually impossible to even use Library Walk (which I just learned is the name for the walkway between Branford and JE) without jaywalking on York. One could insist that students forsake this architecturally beautiful space and instead cross at Elm Street, but that would be sad.
Instead, the university should embrace the opportunity to create a beautiful urban space where Library Walk meets York Street, a brick crosswalk about the width of an intersection to span York Street, unify the space, and reunite the two sides of the road.
Very few metered spaces would be lost, as it is a loading zone on one side of the street and a fire hydrant on the other.
Does anybody know the Master/Dean of Pierson, Davenport, JE, or Branford? Is anyone affiliated with University Theater/School of Drama, YDN, or School of Architecture? Those would be good places to start.
Brian Tang (Guest)
Any such reconstruction of the city-owned streetscape would of course have to be implemented through the New Haven Department of Transportation, Traffic, and Safety, but the University should be heavily involved in the process as the lack of a safe crossing here has a profound effect on the safety, beauty, and functionality of our campus.
Darlene McCullough (Guest)
Bill Reynolds is the Director of Operations for the School of Drama, so he'd be a good person to loop in for the YSD. I agree this a great idea.
Mark (Guest)
Agree. This would be a good one to fix. Not just an opportunity to do a simple crosswalk, but also one to create a beautiful urban space, like Brian suggests.
Here's what Miami, Florida did to create a plaza and crosswalk in front of its performing arts center:
http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/07/pelli-celebrates-architecture.html
Keep in mind that this was on a major road -- U.S. Route 1 -- not a smaller street like York.
Which theater would you rather stroll around after seeing a play? Encouraging walkability in Downtown New Haven is absolutely key if New Haven wants to compete for shopping money with places like Downtown Guilford or Westport.
n (Guest)
Maybe Yale students should walk down to the end of the block and cross legally at the crosswalk. As someone who drives this route everyday, I can say that Yalies do not pay attention to the laws. They walk out into oncoming traffic expecting cars to stop, and don't understand why they get honked at. Cars do not travel much above 20-25 mph on this stretch of York simply because there is not enough street to get up to a faster speed before you have to stop again. If your going to j-walk its your obligation to make sure you do it safely. If you get hit by a car, in the eyes of the law its your fault. Something to keep in mind.
Mark
N:
Having crosswalks this far apart is completely unheard of in progressive, walkable cities. People cross in front of the theater because nobody in their right mind would walk down to the end of the block in order to cross (unless they are disabled and have no other option -- a great example of discrimination here).
Does New Haven want to be a bunch of highway systems, or does it want to be a real place where families of all ages and abilities enjoy spending time?
A crosswalk and traffic calming system should be installed here immediately. Has there been any progress on this? A group of more than a dozen people, including representatives from Yale and the city, met to walk this area last year but no actions have been taken.
Anonymous
I support a crosswalk. I have wished for one here for years. In all the years I've lived here, I have never seen the sense in running so much traffic through the most beautiful parts of town, squeezing back the pedestrians. We depend on Yale landscaping and architecture for tourism and the entertainment economy, so let's make the streets match.
Brandon Jackson
I think a crosswalk here would be a great idea. During most of the day this would not even disrupt traffic very much. The block is very long so there are usually long lulls in traffic which make crossing easy.
Mark
A neighborhood group, residential college or student association really should fill out and submit a "complete streets" request form at http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Engineering/completestreets.asp.
Getting these types of requests on the official public record will help the city improve the safety of these and other crossings over time. If you need help completing the form itself you may want to contact your local alderperson or newhavensafestreets at gmail.com.
The topic of the forms was recently covered by the NH Independent, at http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/connectivity_is_lacking_in_/.
Mark
No progress on this yet, though the University's Traffic Safety Subcommittee has been talking about it.
I will buy a gift card to Willoughby's for anyone who fills out a community complete streets request for this improvement!