I could not agree more. This road is hazardous to bicycles and pedestrians when drivers who know they are not subject to police supervision drive at excessive speeds. Please keep this road closed!

It would be neat to convert this into a bike/walk way only. DOT doesn't bother with crosswalks on Whitney, making it already a miserable stretch from East Rock to Edgerton Park, a favorite walking route for a lot of people over here. I think they should turn this into a walk/bike path that gets plowed in the winter. A gate that can be opened with bollards on either side so it doesn't impact walkers/bikers.

New Haven has a lot of road surface area. It really won't harm anyone to dedicate some of that to bikes & foot traffic.

The road is open, and the litter and other assorted trash is already accumulating. On the other hand, the road must be one of the smoothest stretches of pavement in New Haven...

I just sent an email to our Work Projects Director David Shimchick about the trash situation. Closing this road is tricky because when it is closed, traffic and speeding increases on Burns St. and East Rock Road. Thanks for pointing out the trash np.

Justin Elicker
www.friendsofeastrockpark.org

A New Haven Cop was caught here dumping by Alderman John Halle and a few good neighbors.. It is also a dumping ground for Parks and Public Works departments and literally "discover" the mess and ask for overtime..Right now i believe there is a NH detective prowling around and following these trucks. Who knows who the big bad culprit they are accusing now.
It is overgrown with brush , CUT THAT DOWN. cut it back,make it thinner and more transparent , or are you closing your eyes and covering your ears ,you in that area know damned well who is parking there and dumping and drugging...
Leave it open, it keeps traffic away from residentials.
I am driving slow and see oncoming joggers and bicyclists , i never came close to what looked like Blumenthals daughter .....(knew i would hear about that /consultant schmultant)
It would amount to biting off ones' nose to spite its face if you close it..

I spoke with Ranger Dan - Man of Action in East Rock Park and we agreed that placing a trash bin closer to the road would be a temporary bandage on the problem. Dan put a trash bin there today. Thanks Dan! I picked up some trash on my run there yesterday and hope that all the folks out there reading this will do the same.

For the longer-term, there will be some structural road changes in the near future in this area such as the renovation of the East Rock Road Bridge. Let's start to consider traffic calming measures along East Rock Park Road to allow for safer pedestrian/bicycle access and be ready to present these when there are public hearings about renovating East Rock Road Bridge.

As much as it would be nice to shut down East Rock Park Road, diverted traffic results in increased speeding on Burns St. making closing East Rock Park Road not the best option.

Justin Elicker
www.friendsofeastrockpark.org

sounds like the speeding is just diverted from this road to burns, residents notice and complain :D no one lives on this road so no one complains.
It's still a problem though I'm sure--Hmm, I wonder who it is who needs this road to access Whitney so badly that they speed?

Placing a garbage pail there is absolutely ridiculous - We are talking about household furniture here , household trash, construction debris - we don't nead any dumping or littering AT ALL , you give them an inch and they'll take their yard over there.
Now if you see them pulled over they will reply they have permission ,completely assinine.
You would be shocked and appalled at the people you would apprehend speeding and speeding away from their mess.

Due to the increased traffic, on the adjacent street (Everit and Burns Sts.), while East Rock Park road was closed I think it would not be fair to the residents of Burns St. to keep East Rock Park road closed. Illegal dumping throughout the park and the city is a problem that needs to be addressed - high fines might be a start.