Pioneer, makes sense, but that kind of change is unlikely until we have sweeping national political and policy reforms.

Short-term, cheap ways to address this: make the area more attractive and welcoming for people. It is comparatively cheap to paint crosswalks, add bike lanes, and install lighting and trees.

Resident, now that you mention it, it amazes me that these steps have never been taken. This is right on the route you take if you're walking from the train station to the downtown area. You would think the city would have put up better lighting and some emergency call boxes a long time ago.

emergency call boxes? haha yea sounds like a good idea except for the thousands of prank calls they would generate taking away from police having to look for the real criminals.. like your muggers

Really? They don't seem to cause an insurmountable problem on the Yale campus, where they have them on just about every block. Or in other cities where they are common.

Wow, this could easily have been me. Oftentimes, when returning to New Haven, I will fly into Boston and ride the train down, usually arriving at Union Station well after dark. I've never hesitated to walk, as the Yale shuttle schedule confuses me, CT Transit's free downtown-Union Station shuttle doesn't run at night or on weekends, and I can't afford a cab. I usually try to take the J-Whitney Ave, but it's really not clear that it saves any time when you factor in the time spent waiting at Union Station. If I could get a key to the glass storage room, I would probably just bring my bike. Still, I enjoy walking. Knowing that I could get mugged at any time is disturbing. The blue phone idea actually sounds plausible. You'd think response times could be pretty good, seeing as how the central police station is literally right there on Union Ave.

Brian is correct. If we have more bike parking at union station, we will have even more pedestrian/bikes which would help too. No person stops to prevent a mugging when they are driving. The safest neighborhoods are those with many pedestrians, it is simple laws of matematics.

hi Griffin, i'm dismayed to hear this! the corner has always been safe except for cars turning and the occasional panhandler. i wrote to seeclickfix about the lights in that parking lot. they point outward into the eyes of the loft-dwellers. instead of just two in the middle, there should be lower lights around the perimeter.
you will make an awesome new playlist! jo

Are there any leads or changes in police activity?

If not, perhaps it's time to close this issue, and open a new clicket suggesting a specific physical fix. It seems unlikely that police would increase patrols in this area since it is already within a fairly well patrolled area.

Anyone want to open a new issue and suggest call boxes, lighting, etc., around this location?