Liz

This intersection needs major work. Narrowing the travel lanes by reducing pedestrian crossing distances would be one of the most effective ways to permanently reduce speeds. The city could also consider raised intersections and roundabouts, as they have in other neighborhoods.

Chris Heitmann wrote:

Cars don’t look like that when crashing at 25mph, which is what the posted speed limit is here and throughout New Haven. On neighborhood streets like Central and Willard, it arguably should be slower, more like 20mph. While the NHPD has done an excellent job of stepping up traffic enforcement in the neighborhood, enforcement will only get us so far. Similarly with education: it’s needed, but will have a very limited impact (no pun intended). The third “E” - Engineering - is where the city can really improve safety here. As Pedro suggests, this intersection is an excellent candidate for a small roundabout (not as big as on West Park, for which there’s no room here). Other alternatives would be bumping out the sidewalk at all four corners, thus narrowing the street and reducing crossing distances, raised crosswalks, and/or pedestrian refuges/planted medians leading into the intersection. The city needs to really study what the BEST solution would be here, and to consult with neighbors throughout. My concern with the idea of another traffic light is that cars would arguably speed more in order to make the light. The solution needs to SLOW PEOPLE DOWN, which would make this safer for cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and the kids who cross and wait here for the school bus every morning.

Thank goodness no one was seriously hurt yesterday and that no pedestrians or cyclists without 3000 pounds of steel to product them were in the intersection when this happened. A big thank you to the NHFD for a job well done and to the Independent for bringing attention to this sadly ongoing yet preventable issue.

A few other residents wrote:

- I live a few houses down on Willard, and that intersection is horrible. You have to pull out almost into the middle of Central to see past the street parking, and people fly up and down Central. It’s the only big intersection in the area without a 4 way stop.

- I was almost involved in a serious accident in high school right at this intersection. A guy in a Camaro was flying down central, and I pulled out from willard not seeing him (since he was so far down the street) and he slammed his brakes hard and just missed me. While I was the “cause” of him stopping, it was the fact that he was going about 60 down central that would have caused the accident.

- Central is a nice long straight run through Westville and people use it as a speedway to cross over New Haven all the time since it links Rt 34 to Whalley. The minimal cost of stop signs at all of the unsignaled intersections would greatly reduce the speeds on this street.

- Thank God no one was killed last night. That is without question one of THE WORST intersections in New Haven. Speed on Central Ave combined with poor visibility from Willard is a recipe for casualties.

See http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/grand_am/

Traffic routinely exceeding 45mph on Chapel St in Westville. Same drivers will ruthlessly tailgate (or illegally pass) anyone driving the speed limit.

Chapel Street remains a raceway in Westville with another three accidents at the intersection of Alden Avenue within the past few weeks. Even after the addition of bumped out curbs and medians, drivers have figured out that they can maintain their speed while flying through this area. Unfortunately, the medians in the road have had no effect on the speed and even caused issues with neighbors entering and exiting their own driveways and reduced parking for those with small driveways.

Perhaps a roundabout at the intersections of Alden Avenue and Yale Avenue will slow speeders down in this area. Another idea, in addition to the roundabouts is cameras, discretely placed in several locations from Yale Avenue to Forest Road, to catch speeders who would then receive tickets along with a photo catching them in the act. Putting up speed trackers or stationing a police car on the street every once in awhile will not slow folks down. Time to remove the medians and try another option.

The main benefit of the bike lanes here would be to reduce vehicle speeding. It would also make cycling between Westville and Downtown New Haven more comfortable - many residents currently report feeling too unsafe to ride next to the traffic here, which frequently exceeds speeds of 45 miles per hour. See description at http://nacto.org/cities-for-cycling/design-guide/bike-lanes/buffered-bike-lanes/.

Doyle's is closing at end of April. It would be excellent to have a deli and grocer open at this location similar to Nica's or Romeo in East Rock.

Does anybody know someone interested in the opportunity? Please spread the word.

Just a heads up to all. Packages delivered by UPS mostly and sometimes FedEx have been stolen. It happens within minutes after delivery. Suspect someone is trailing the route.

Also - unsure if same suspect - a suspicious white truck has also been floating around just minutes after UPS. Truck has been seen driving and creeping slow around homes, stopping at porch-sightline and peering onto porches from the vehicle. Driver is older gent with two younger gents in vehicle. Suspicious vehicle has been approached and their explanation has been they were looking for scrap metal ON PRIVATE PROPERTY! Regardless, its an admission of suspicious activity. They shouldnt be peering for any reason.

Westville Quality market persistently uses the sidewalk as a parking lot.

It would be great if the City could talk to them about the issue and encourage them to put outside seating in its place.

The use of seating would be much better for the neighborhood and the business.

If I sound like a whiny East Rock ex-pat screaming for Nica's you've heard right.

The crosswalk where Fountain Street merges into Whalley Avenue in Westville Village continues to be a danger zone, both for pedestrians, cars, and bicycles. Until this intersection can be completely rebuilt to slow traffic down and allow for a safe, signalized crosswalk here, there needs to be both an in-street pedestrian sign installed (as utilized throughout the city) as well as a transformation of the asphalt island at the merge into a planted median and median refuge. This will help slow traffic down by signalling to drivers that they are NOT on a highway, rather in a neighborhood with people walking and small businesses trying to survive. This is an inexpensive mitigation effort that can and should be done immediately. TT&P, please acknowledge.

Having walked from Westville to the YNHH neighborhood and back and then watched the progress of clean up in this neighborhood, I want to thank the City of New Haven and the DOT for a remarkable effort. I know that there is still much to do and many people working with limited equipment. Those who are putting in the long hours and effort are deeply appreciated!

This is a very tricky intersection, and most of it can be attributed to the traffic light. My perspective is one as a pedestrian, often crossing with small children. Nearly every time we attempt to cross Fountain St, there is at least one car (often multiple cars) running through the red light. While the drivers should get some blame (please, police this intersection!!!), the traffic signals deserve some blame. It is a 4-way intersection between Harrison, Alden and Fountain, but Alden and Harrison do not line up with each other. For cars traveling North on Fountain, there are two traffic lights and it is not clear where you are supposed to stop. The second of the traffic lights is almost completely covered by a tree - also a problem. Drivers are often confused if they make it through the first light but see the next one. It is a long drive to make it through the whole intersection.

This is downright treacherous for pedestrians. You really don't know when it's clear to walk through because so many drivers are confused (or just outright breaking the law). I would suggest a longer yellow light, a clearer sense of where to stop, and patrolling. With multiple churches/temples, a post office, a library, chapel haven and Westville village all within a stones throw, there are many, many pedestrians coming through this intersection. Please make it safer for us!

The main benefit of the bike lanes here would be to reduce vehicle speeding. It would also make cycling between Downtown New Haven and Westville more comfortable - many residents currently report feeling too unsafe to ride next to the traffic here, which frequently exceeds speeds of 45 miles per hour. There are currently sharrows, which while they serve a very valuable purpose for wayfinding and to make road users more aware of cyclists, are not an acceptable long-term solution for a street of this type. The goal needs to be a street that is comfortable for everyone to ride on, whether they are 8 years old or 80 years old. See description of proposed improvement at http://nacto.org/cities-for-cycling/design-guide/bike-lanes/buffered-bike-lanes/.

Traffic speeds on Central Ave in westville are insanely fast with numerous parked cars being hit and totaled. In my own family 3 parked cars have been totaled on Central near Edgewood Ave and a friend farther down Central just past Barton has had their car hit multiple times and a vehicle used for work totaled, destroying their business. As an inexpensive and quick solution, I would like to propose that white lines be painted to designate a shoulder on the side of the street with no parking and a white line be painted 18"-24" from the parked car doors (much the way the snow created a narrower lane last winter with plenty of room to safely open car doors) this would create a narrower feeling driving lane (I think the minimum suggested is 8' wide so there is plenty of room). This would give the street a feeling of being narrower and slow traffic a bit. I just watched a car honk, swerve around a car trying to park and screech away at high speed. It is dangerous for people, and for the many many cars that have to park on the street because many houses don't have driveways or have multiple renters without off street parking.