It's hard to turn right from Livingston St onto Edwards St too!

I live near this intersection and have seen several accidents here. The city is supposed to build a traffic-calming roundabout here (note the spraypainted lines in the road) but someone will be seriously hurt if something is not done sooner. I was told by Roland Lemar that cars average 45 MPH on this section of road even though the sped limit is 25. Can the police write more tickets in the meantime? Can we have a crosswalk with the mid-road reminders about stopping for pedestrians? This might at least slow cars. Also, the last few parking spots on Edwards in front of the church should be a No-Parking Zone--as cars parked there block a turning driver's view of westbound traffic on Edwards.

The city engineer has changed plans, according to what was presented at East Rock CMT - they are thinking about doing a raised intersection instead of a roundabout.

They have said they wouldn't include bollards in the project, which I believe are essential to pedestrian safety, due to liability issues. This is more of an excuse, given that there is no way a lawsuit by someone crashing into one of the bollards would be successful (bollards are a commonly used design feature). There are already several large bollards located at the southeast corner of Temple and Trumbull, for example.

I know I bring this up a lot, but can't we just make Whitney Avenue one lane each direction all the way through town? It'd slow traffic down, make room for bicycle lanes, provide space for on street parking without surprising out of towners who try to overtake in the right lane, and hopefully slow down traffic. It would also make it easier to cross the street on foot and make intersections like this a lot safer. Besides, if they ever actually do install the trolley/streetcar on Whitney, they will have to close one of the lanes anyway.

I have lived next to this intersection for ^ years and I have NEVER SEEN an accident there. In six Years !

With respect to the roundabout...that will just cause more accidents, particularly with the bike and pedestrian traffic.

Edwards street is an evacuation route: it needs to remain unencumbered. It also is 1/2 a block from the fire station and the fire trucks require the street to remain free and clear.It is also used a lot by emergency police vehicles cutting across town. Again, it needs to remain free and clear.

I make a left turn at this intersection at least twice a day, every day. The only thing that might be an improvement is to not allow parking in front of the church, if this is what retards visibility of the cars traveling towards whitney Ave. That way, there is visibility, BUT the city needn't spend the thousands and thousands of dollars of tax payer money to create a roundabout. A raised structre is also a bad idea: Edwards St is an evacuation route and it is also proximate to the fire station so the road must remain unencumbered. The cheapest and most effective method is simply to get rid of what is obstructing the view: parked cars.

"Besides, if they ever actually do install the trolley/streetcar on Whitney, they will have to close one of the lanes anyway."
Which id exactly why it will never happen.
No "roundabout"? No "bollards"?
Oh well.
Here's a solution learned first in Kindergarten: Stop,Look and Listen.

I'm not sure how a raised structure would encumber traffic.

It's not simply the obstructed view for those turning east onto Edwards--it is also the speed of the cars on Edwards. Edwards may be an evacuation route but it is certainly not an Interstate and people drive far too fast here. Eliminating the two or three end parking spots in front of the church would be a GREAT place to start and would certainly make left turns from Livingston onto Edwards safer, but it will not reduce the speed of the cars on Edwards.

Nothing is going to stop people who drive too fast from driving too fast: there will just be accidents ( which there are not, now!)

Peopel drive too fast everywhere in New Haven.

However, the rationale for the rotary or a raised structure was presumably because of a dangerous intersection. The intersection is dangerous, presumably, because of visibility: hence, banning parking of cars, which obstruct view, close to the intersection.

Finally, what I have noticed is that much of the speeding is done by police cars, lights flashing, on the way to a crime scene.

I terms of NOISE, trucks going to the Science Park area and Prospect street area, where a lot of construction is being done,
are the main contributors: the reality is that installing a rotary, will in no way reduce the noise these vehicles make: in fact, the noise from stop adn go traffic will be greater.

So in the final analysis, if the rotary idea is about a safe intersection, change, disallow parking on weekdays in front of the church. If the problem is noise...move out of New Haven, or move to one of those quiet side streets.

What is the issue then ? Speeding? Or an intersection that is dangerous due to poor visibility ? By disallowing cars to park in front of the church on week days, the poor visibility problem is solved, and very inexpensively !

If you want to fix speeding, that is another issue. There is speeding everywhere in New Haven, not just on Edwards street. Edwards is busy as it is a conduit to Science Park and beyond: there is a lot of recent truck traffic because of the construction there and on Prospect hill. There is also a lot of necessary speeding by police vehicles and fire trucks on call...the fire house is located off of Edwards. There is also much more bike and pedestrian traffic in recent years.But putting in a rotary or raised structure will end up contributing to bottle necks, more noise and confusion, particularly because there is insufficient space.Posting a speed trap on occasion however might be the most helpful way of addressing speeding concerns and put money into the city's coffers.

I think the main problem is the cars parked in front of the church, and I agree that removing those parking spaces would fix the problem. Right now, no matter how slowly or carefully you are driving, it is nearly impossible to see around those vehicles until you have already pulled halfway out into oncoming traffic on Edwards (which means if a car is coming, you won't see it until you are right in front of it!). I haven't seen crashes at this intersection, but I have seen many very, very near misses, and think it would be great for safety to remove those spots.

Rotaries done effectively actually reduce stalling and bottlenecks. I remember being flabbergasted when I did a bus tour through England, our huge bus lumbered through tiny medieval towns at break-neck speeds because there weren't many traffic lights, just rotaries. Traffic really does flow more smoothly in Europe, even with traffic calming, because they don't have all the traffic lights.

Interesting--is there some rule that says only one issue may exist at a time at each intersection? BOTH the speed and the dangerous lack of visibility are problems. AND they are connected. If a person on Livingston can't see and inches out further into Edwards before turning, they are liable to get their front end clipped--as I have witnessed three times in less than a year. Cars going 45 or 50 mph cannot react safely--cars going the speed limit can.

I absolutely agree that part of the solution is to eliminate the first 2 or 3 parking spots in front of the church. The rest of what is needed is for traffic to slow down. There is a speed limit already posted on this block. It should be enforced. If it is not--which is currently the case--then the city is responsible for taking some other sort of action to slow traffic. Rather than more noise and confusion, traffic calming measures will lead to more safety and a better quality of life in the neighborhood.

Also, I have a question: where can I find out if indeed Edwards Street is an "Evacuation Route"? I have Google searched it every way I can think of and come up empty. If it is an "evacuation route", how would a speed bump affect that designation? God forbid cars evacuate in an orderly and safe manner at an appropriate speed, you know?

A rotary on a truck route is a problem. Ditto for a police car or fire truck speeding to a call. Additionally, to be done correctly, there must be ample room for the rotary. In this case, there is insufficient room. A few speed traps on occasion, the way it is done on Whitney by the Hamden line will help deter speeding cars.

Speed Table and Curb Extensions Coming to Edwards Street in New Haven; Will Foster Community

http://www.newhavensafestreets.org/2010/12/speed-table-and-curb-extensions-coming.html

According to people on See Click Fix, the city has developed a plan for roadwork to fix this issue.