Hi Carole,

Chris and Brian posted some excellent suggestions for what can be done here at http://www.seeclickfix.com/issues/1274-speeding-and-running-stop-sign , including photographs and videos.

Let's see who weighs on this issue. I think that neighbors will organize a meeting soon to address the concern and figure out what happens next.

In the meantime, sending this ticket out to more neighbors on Central Avenue and surrounding areas would help, as would talking to your local Alderperson or city staff. Please post here if you find out any information!

Please configure Central Ave to the standards of the City's complete streets policy.

The Complete Streets Order, a piece of legislation passed by the Board of Aldermen by a vote of 30-0 in October of 2008, required the “prioritization of walkability, inter-modal transit, traffic calming and pedestrian-based urban economic development over competing goals,” and stipulated that the city’s “standards will require that the target speed for streets around schools, hospitals and business districts that depend on pedestrian traffic be a maximum of 15 miles-per-hour.”

We also have demanded the urgent study, and enactment, of speed reductions within residential neighborhoods like Central Avenue. Slower streets are a key to healthier enjoyment of our neighborhoods by people of all ages. New York City is now enacting 20 mile per hour speed zones in 75 neighborhoods. After London enacted 20 mile per hour zones, injuries and fatalities there dropped by more than 50%. Within Connecticut, many places including Hartford, Darien, Greenwich and the New Haven suburbs have speed limits posted at between 10 and 20 miles per hour.

Also, the Westville Management Team's survey of about 200 neighborhood residents in 2010 showed that people strongly preferred the slower neighborhood streets (West Rock, McKinley, Alston, Alden, Westwood, etc) but saw changes to higher speed streets such as Central, Fountain, Yale and Whalley as a major opportunity to improve the neighborhood.

Using the above, I think it is easy to argue why the status quo is not acceptable here.

... Do we really have to ask the city to follow Complete Streets policy on every piece of work they do?

I thought the whole point was that they would consider this stuff moving forward?

(Note: this is not a criticism of Mark, but of the system which requires us to ask the city to follow their new policy. Please get this stuff locked down new haven!)

I'm with streever, complete streets should be the default action.

It's good to see Central Ave is finally being addressed. Pot holes have been a constant problem for years now. As for speeding, Central Ave has been out of control for decades. Our family has been on Central Ave for close to 70 years and the past 20 have been the worst. The NHPD does come by once in a while when people complain and will issue some tickets but that is not a solution, the roundabout idea at West Elm and Willard would be a positive thing to do to cut down on the speeding. I can't recall how many animals were killed in this street over the years and close calls with humans.

Anyone living along this stretch of Central, please contact me directly via email or phone. I have been in touch with DPW, TT&P and Engineering to make sure there are improvements consistent with City's Complete Streets policy.

Greg, thank you for working with the city departments on this. I live on the next block and would love it if you could report publicly on how we can look forward to this project making Central Avenue more of a complete street. If this isn't the right forum, perhaps you can post some information on your blog? (With a link here for those who are following the conversation on SeeClickFix.)

While I haven't really followed this issue too much I have to say the last comment was not only inappropriate but just plain ignorant.

Your solution to city issues is to run away rather then work to resolve them? While New Haven has plenty of issues, not easily addressed, your type of attitute is not one that is positive or productive.

I stay away from politics, have to say I haven't seen much happening over the years to really make a difference here but haven't given up.

In respect to speeding on Central Ave, it has been a problem for years, WELL before the city was in the shape it is now and certainly before people ran away to places with their own problems. The fact the street is being repaved is really something, I never expected to see it. Will anything else be done to curb speeding, probably not beyond maybe posting a cop there once in a while but I haven't given up hope, unfortunately it sounds like you did.

Civic activists, neighbors, candidates, and myself are working to hear Central Ave neighbor's thoughts on this. There will soon be a link to a survey and folks will canvass door to door.

Please, as always, contact me directly. via email or phone (not scf; I think scf should be more for reporting and much less a discussion forum for many reasons mostly related to "bandwidth" Thanks.)

I have only heard directly from 2 Central Ave. (Chapel to W. Elm) neighbors and a few others from nearby blocks.

Every resident on Central Avenue I've talked to really wants to slow down the traffic on this busy street. I, myself, have observed many cars driving in excess of 40 mph. My children and I cross this street nearly every day, especially during the school year. We need to slow down the traffic!

The portion of Central between West Elm Street and Edgewood Avenue is currently in the process of being repaired, so we have an opportunity to reconfigure the street to meet the Complete Streets specifications. Now's the time!

An article in this weekend's New Haven Register discusses this issue: http://nhregister.com/articles/2011/08/28/news/new_haven/doc4e5940934abb6722446887.txt

What is the current status here?

Mass SeeClickFix / Email updates are helpful for those who don't have time to call around the neighborhood.

as of 9/9. (Storm delay and City Engineer is out of town have interrupted progress a little)

We need to continue to collect stakeholder input. Contact me directly via email or phone. Or for others that have collected input please assemble and share.
TT&P Dir and City Engineer have toured Central from Willard/Yale to Chapel. Their observations and ideas along with all neighbor, user, stakeholder input will be soon considered by the Complete Streets Committee consisting of TT&P Dir, City Engineer & City Planner. Fiscal and scheduling considerations are the main challenges.

I just received an email from Central Ave resident requesting speed humps.
I recommend reading yesterday's NHI story. NOT to completely rule out speed humps on Central but for some lessons learned. The Complete Streets manual specifically notes that speed humps should be used with other speed reduction and traffic calming measures.

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/speed_humps_calm_traffic_agitate_neighbors/

Greg, thank you for the update. What ARE the "observations and ideas" of TT&P director and City Engineer, based on their tour of the street?

Will the observations and thought process be transparent and open, unlike with Route 34? Route 34 had a lot of public involvement, but according to a senior member of the City, the final plan was influenced primarily by concerns from Yale NH which were never shared in public regarding commuter traffic volumes.

In my experience, the city is really bad at making transparent decisions with public input and involvement--I hope this project can restore some of the faith I once had in our civic leaders.

City Engineer's observation related to me was the width differences and visibility issues at Willard/Yale. Ideas included "bump outs." Narrowing the roadway (road diet) with any of the variety of tools available from the Complete Streets manual seem to be the most effective (in my opinion) which seems to be shared with City experts. Central however is already narrowed between W. Elm & Edgewood and on to Chapel. Volume of traffic and type of "through" traffic needs to be addressed to mitigate speeds further than the existing narrowing which actually achieves some mitigation. Most of our wider streets in the neighborhood see excessive speed occasionally, permitted by the size, however when combined with volume makes speeding issues seem worse on Central for example.
While existing traffic engineering seems to prefer "diffusion" of traffic through neighborhoods such as ours, we need stakeholders to speak up as to how much change is desired and work for a large majority to agree to these changes. I believe this change is central (pun intended) to Complete Streets. Re-designs balancing increased benefits to pedestrians and cyclists with the original car based designs requires traffic engineers to hear this desire loudly from stakeholders.

Greg, thank you for the additional information. It's very helpful.

I agree that Central from Fountain to West Elm, especially at Willard intersection, is too wide and invites high speeds. I also agree that people still drive too fast on the narrower section of Central, from W Elm to Chapel, and that traffic volume is a significant problem. Especially problematic are the big, heavy commercial vehicles -- delivery trucks, contractors' vans, tow trucks, landscapers' trucks with equipment-laden trailers -- that go flying up and down the street all day. I worked at home for three years, at a desk overlooking Central Ave, and I'm not exaggerating. These vehicles should use the state roads -- Whalley, Fountain, Forest, Route 34 -- unless they have business on the local Westville streets.

I don't have the technical expertise of the city officials and Complete Streets activists such as Chris Heitmann and Mark Abraham. I defer to their best judgment about which tools to use. Seems to me we need Complete Streets design decisions to discourage through traffic from using neighborhood streets as speedy cut-throughs, combined with enforcement on the state roads, where people are running red lights at 45-50 mph.

More yellow pedestrian signs in the crosswalks would also be good. And cheap.

I've talked to a few people who agree that the situation seems to be improved now that the yellow line has been removed. I have walked, biked and driven down the street many times over the past few weeks, and agree with this sense that traffic seems to be moving more cautiously without the yellow line.

A couple of bump outs or an inexpensive traffic circle like the ones shown at http://www.usroads.com/journals/rmej/9801/rm980102.htm would probably reduce the speed level and amount of through traffic. As Chris has pointed out several times, chicanes would also help. Recently, chicanes have been used very effectively on streets that are similar to Central Avenue in the Hartford and West Hartford areas.

If bump outs are too expensive, temporary bump outs can be installed until the city finds funding for permanent installations. This is what many other cities do when they adopt a self-enforcing design policy for their streets. A temporary installation can last for years and can be a fraction the price of moving curbs.

Thank you for following up on this, Greg! I agree that more calls to city officials, and more door to door organizing, could be very helpful but am not sure the best way to go about that at this point.

I also will attach a draft map showing results of the 191 Westville residents who were surveyed by the Management Team last year. The results of this were discussed at length at a couple of neighborhood workshops last year, and this map shows data from the question about which streets and intersections are least pleasant overall. The map shows that within Westville, the Central/Whalley/Fountain intersection is by far of greatest concern. Addressing speeding on Central might help change that. Given the open-ended responses, it is clear that most of the streets identified in red (Central and Willard, in particular) are perceived as less attractive primarily because of frequent speeding or automobile crashes, rather than because the streets or buildings themselves are seen as less attractive. More information on the survey is available at http://www.ctdatahaven.org/know/index.php/New_Haven_Survey.

And on the flipside of the comment below, here is a visualization of the survey respondents' favorite intersections.

Speeding has returned after the yellow line was repainted.

I noticed that a couple of sharrows had been added here.

We are trying to delineate issues that are current and need the city's attention to resolve. Any issues prior to 2013 are being closed. If your issue remains and needs to be addressed by the city, please either re-open or open as a new See Click Fix issue. Thanks.