It seems that a four-way stop at least should be considered here, given the volumes of traffic. Whether or not a stop sign is a standard procedure for an intersection like this on a road of this volume, I definitely think that other measures are needed to improve safety as well.

The main issue is high speeds on Willow Street, combined with somewhat poor visibility. I know that a very large number of residents have spoken out at length about how this section of Willow is extremely detrimental to the neighborhood as a whole, has a major noise and speeding problem, and is not very bike-able or walkable -- it seems that comprehensive improvements to the street are needed before more drivers and pedestrians are injured.

Curb extensions would probably work well here to calm traffic, and could be done using temporary systems (as widely used in other cities) if permanent curb extensions couldn't be fit into the budget this year. Better road markings could also help somewhat.

These types of considerations are also important for roads like Cold Spring, Canner, Lawrence and Edwards, which also feed into the 91 entrance areas and State Street.

@e: There was an accident on Monday (the day before yesterday) as well as one today. If there was also one Friday, we've got a real problem on our hands!

@Mark: Well said, and thanks for putting this in a bigger context. Would curb extensions be possible here? Willow is pretty narrow here, with parking only on the WB side of the street -- there isn't any room on the EB side of the street to extend the curb into. (This is also one of the reasons Willow is not at all bikeable.)

Eyequeue, I may be misremembering; I was going on dim memory; I know it happened during my child's naptime but couldn't remember if it was last Friday or Monday. It could well have been Monday.
But I've lived here for 10+ yrs. and the number of accidents that I can remember here -- let alone the many that must have happened while I was not home, or while I was sleeping (and slept through) -- indicates to me a very serious problem.

Here is a photo of a curb extension with parking. This could be done on one side and would help reduce speeds.

There is actually a nice one right now on Nash Street in New Haven, on one side of the street. It helps vehicles slow down before they turn onto Lawrence, in the process making the neighborhood a more livable and walkable place.

Temporary curb extensions are often installed until funding becomes available for permanent ones. In many cases, temporary extensions can be left in place for 5 or even 10 years before the curb is rebuilt.

Right, but the problem is on the EB side where there's no parking. It's hard for me to imagine how the curb could be extended without a parking lane to extend it into. The EB traffic on Willow has a narrow lane, and traffic is already whizzing past within a foot or two of the existing curb.

Anyway, I think the accidents are not caused by high speeds on Willow, but by drivers on Nicoll confused by the 2-way stop sign. It may be that Willow doesn't present itself as the major thoroughfare that it is... a problem that curb extensions aren't going to fix, especially if they don't slow the through traffic on Willow. A stop sign on Willow, or a traffic light at the intersection, would fix it.

Better drivers would also solve the problem, of course, but that's not something we can actually do anything about!

The best solution would be to close the I91/I95 entrance and exit ramps on Willow St. and direct the remaining traffic onto State St. through the existing exits and entrances.

Exit 6 Northbound is a left hand exit; the state is spending tens of millions of dollars to eliminate left lane exits (see the "flyover" to Route 34 from I95 northbound - part of the Q Bridge project). Left lane exits are considered safety hazards and do not meet contemporary highway engineering standards.

Willow Street was never intended to handle the amount of traffic that currently burdens it. The DOT's original plan was to ram a highway through East Rock Park. The Willow St. exit ramp is the scene of frequent accidents. The ramp does not enhance the neighborhood - it is destroying it.

I agree with the above. However, as a first step, a planning and health impact assessment would need to be done around this to mitigate and address any possible negative consequences of the closing of Exit 6, as well as document any positive impacts. It seems that a petition may be the only way to demonstrate enough support for this type of assessment.

Eyequeue, you are correct that signal control is potentially important here and I'd love to see an assessment. However, traffic engineering (such as diverters or raised intersections) and lower speeds (made possible through measures like curb extensions and striping) can also greatly reduce or eliminate crashes. One of the reasons there are no signal controls here may be the engineer's opinion that they would be likely to be ignored, given the high volumes on Willow relative to Nicoll and the fact that signal controls are already located a block or two away at Mitchell and at Foster. I'm not saying that this would be a valid conclusion, but looking at the current state of the field, there are many efforts to reduce rather than increase the number of attempted signal controls on neighborhood streets.

I wonder, Mark, if perhaps the volume of traffic on Nicoll Street is somewhat underestimated. People use it constantly to cut onto Canner Street (taking that left turn at ridiculous speeds, by the way). I always thought of Nicoll as being a comparatively sleepy street but it is actually quite busy, at least on the northern end of it (can't speak for elsewhere)...

While the curb extension on Nash is nice, and I've personally seen how it works well, I can't figure out how such a thing could be installed usefully here. I suspect it will take a death or two before anything changes here (if that). (Cynic, I.)

Nothing is going to change.

I think there's a larger issue here related to the fact that the NHPD does not patrol traffic in our fair city. Drivers speed, run stop signs, make left turns on red lights, etc. with impunity in New Haven because everyone knows that the cops don't monitor traffic or ticket or anything (which is surprising because it's a possible revenue stream).

As someone who uses the entrance and exit to 91 on a daily basis, the alternatives routes to 91 just don't make sense. There is no exit 5 going southbound on 91, exit 4 has a ton of traffic going into downtown and exit 7 is an awful set of lights.

Possibly a blinking yellow light or signs on Canner to discourage using it as an alternate to Willow to get to 91. With less cars entering Willow, it may cut down on the accidents.

Just now a near-miss accident of the same kind at the same intersection. Fortunately a police car was on the scene.

How can we ask the city to at least study this intersection? With all the discussion about how this intersection represents various bigger problems (the I-91 entrance, the need for traffic calming, etc.) I'm afraid I haven't really gained much perspective on how to make this intersection less dangerous.

The alderman, for ward 10, said that the city will not do anything to calm or slow traffic on Willow St. Basically, the city views Willow St. as an expressway from I91 to Whitney Ave.

Just to be clear, Speed Racer, you're talking about something Justin Elicker said? Can you provide some more information about where and when he said this?

I wouldn't focus on what the alderman said, but, rather, on what the city says. One way to alleviate traffic, on Wilow St., would be to get the State St. bridge re-opened [the schedule is now something like two years behind...]. The city won't even maintain the sidewalk, on Willow, between Mitchell and I91 (a private citizen has been [voluntarily] clearing the brush, cutting the grass and picking up trash) and this is supposedly a "safe route to school".
To be fair, the alderman has offered good, inexpensive, effective suggestions to alleviate speeding on Willow, such as alternating the parking on stretches of Willow, to create chicanes, but the city is resistant. Also, northbound exit 6, from I91, does not conform to either national or state DOT standards for design safety - left hand exits create dangerous conditions for drivers attempting to exit (never mind the hairpin turn at the bottom of the exit ramp, which is also the scene of many accidents). Red light cameras (controversial), as proposed in the last legislative session (and used successfully in Manhattan) would be very helpful too. The city is too concerned about the desires of suburban auto commuters (sound familiar?) rather than residents.

Another solution besides speed humps or more costly changes like chicanes: This Image showing example of "temporary" curb extensions used widely in Europe and highly effective when the city budget can't support immediate changes. These last 5-10 years and are a fraction of the cost of permanent infrastructure, and if effective, can eventually be replaced by something nicer (like the bump out the city put in at the corner of Nash and Lawrence for example).

This issue was recategorized from Uncategorized to Signs / Bus Shelters / Pavement Markings.

Nothing's happened and I moved long ago. Good luck, guys.