New Haven Independent: Hope For Fender-Bender Corner

Hope For Fender-Bender Corner

by Allan Appel | February 20, 2008 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

nhidwscmt%20002.JPG This tight intersection at Olive and Court Streets, with sightlines made for surreys not Saturns, has been the scene of many accidents. It’s about to get safer.

And it won’t cost the city a ducat thanks to some innovative thinking from Director of Traffic & Parking Mike Piscitelli. Piscitelli revealed the plan to the Downtown Wooster Square Management Team (DWSCMT) Tuesday night.

With eight recent accidents at the intersection — as well as another eight at Grand and Olive — Piscitelli came to the DWSCMT meeting back in November to consult. Part of the problem was the additional traffic, vehicular as well as pedestrian, coming along Olive due to the closing of the Grand Avenue at Olive intersection.

But the real culprit was that parkers were ignoring the no parking signs within 25 feet of Court on Olive, thereby severely limiting the view out onto Olive. Additionally, cars sometimes parked on Court, despite its being verboten. Finally, the wrought iron fences on the south corner might be beautiful, but it constituted yet another obstruction for drivers.

nhidwscmt%20004.JPG Result: drivers nudge, inch, and poke the front ends of their vehicles dangerously, often even blindly, out from Court before making their turning move, and accidents result. There is also not a lot of respect for the Yield to Pedestrians sign at the crosswalk spanning Olive.

Solution: The city maintains a kind of on-call traffic consultant — Earth Tech, Inc. — to whom Piscitelli wrote. The consultant’s suggestions: increase the no-park zone on Olive from 25 feet to 50 feet. Enforce it vigorously with new signage, including painted triangular signs in the pavement.

“These consultants study these things,” Piscitelli reported to a dozen management team participants at City Hall on Tuesday night. “And this works.”

nhidwscmt%20006.JPG Piscitelli said that in addition to pushing parked cars away from the intersection, he plans to address the danger to pedestrians, many of whom are not so fleet any more. He’s training some of his school crossing guards so they can be deployed, when not on school-centered duty, to come to Olive and Court and escort people across the intersection.

“The key is to do it at different times of the day,” he said, “with a kind of inconsistency that will help cumulatively calm traffic down.”

Currently Piscitelli’s school crossing guards work only at schools. He’s creating what he calls a “Safety Guard Program,” at no extra cost, just additional training and investment in human capital, as he put it.

Or, as he charmingly put it, “Using humans is easier.”

The traffic consultants found the intersection didn’t warrant a four-way stop sign or a new signal. The signal would have been too expensive anyway, said Piscitelli. He solicited management team members for suggestions for the busiest times when a safety guard might be needed.

nhidwscmt%20001.JPG “We’ve heard from the Wooster Square farmers’ market people,” he said, “that they would like the safety guard service at the intersection during the weekend markets.” Juggling the schedules of the school crossing guards, he said he hoped to deploy not only at Court and Olive but other pedestrian hot spots as well.

Opening Fair Street, and even Trolleys?

In yet another traffic tale to-be, Piscitelli said that he’s also asked the South Central Regional Council of Governments to study opening Fair Street between Union and Olive. That would give a direct connection for pedestrians from downtown to Wooster Square. Currently as soon as you cross State you must dogleg on Union up to Chapel or down to Water.

“It’s part of rebuilding the street grid in the whole area around the former Coliseum site,” he said.

Finally, another item in the beginning stages of study, Piscitelli said, is returning trolleys to downtown. As murmured whispers of “I love trolleys,” or even “I remember the trolleys” from several white-haired participants, the meeting ended.

These issues will be on the agenda of the next DWSCMT on March 18 at City Hall, as well at other venues to be announced.

Comments

Posted by: DWSCMT | February 20, 2008 9:43 AM

For more information on the Downtown Wooster Square Community Managment Team

visit us on-line at:
groups.google.com/group/DWSCMT

or e-mail us at:
dwscmt@gmail.com

Posted by: Janna Wagner | February 20, 2008 10:47 AM

I live on Court Street right near Olive and the culprit isn't solely people disregarding the parking signs and parking too close to the corners (though this does happen and can be treacherous). There are many other problems: speeding drivers and drivers who disregard the useless pedestrian crosswalk. I have seen many of my neighbors almost run over and then assaulted by angry drivers racing to get nowhere during rush hour.

I am all for trying the City's proposal but am not certain this will solve the problem. This intersection has been a problem since I moved to the neighborhood 9 years ago and it has just gotten worse with the construction on Grand and State. I appreciate the effort but hope the City (or State) is willing to invest the funds it might take if the "human capital" doesn't work.

Posted by: Ben | February 20, 2008 11:57 AM

I see this problem has been posted on http://www.seeclickfix.com

Posted by: Your Tax Dollars at Work | February 20, 2008 12:35 PM

For about a year, "beat" Officer Crouse has been giving out warnings, tickets & delays to drivers not coming to a full, absolute stop at the corner of Wooster Place and Greene (where there is almost no traffic and where one has to pull from Wooster Pl. into Greene just to see oncoming traffic coming from the east on this one-way street). When the spirit moves him, he does the same thing at the corner of Hughes & Greene. Recently he was observed downtown at the corner of College & Chapel lecturing pedestrians on jay-walking.

He has even been spotted calling for backup (2 squad cars) when a particularly "dangerous" driver or pedestrian gives him an argument suggesting he might better spend his time stopping loitering, burglaries, muggings, etc. instead of hiding in alleys looking for minor traffic violators.

Meantime, where are Officer Crouse's managers? Is he acting under departmental orders or are they just letting him do his thing?

This enthusiastic supporter of Law and Order should be deployed to Olive & Court.

311 & DWSCMT please take note!

Posted by: on whalley | February 20, 2008 1:06 PM

They love Crouse. Petty traffic violations build revenue. Stopping burglaries, muggings etc.. is expensive and risky. Writing tickets makes money for the municipality.

Cops writing tickets are like drunks collecting cans.

Posted by: on whalley | February 20, 2008 1:11 PM

Think my browser cut me off there,

I was going to add BearCat's are expensive. More tickets, more money.

I wonder if NH cops have quotas. If they have quotas like some municipalities do then it's easy to figure ticket revenue into the budget then because people never expect ticket revenue to actually be in the budget it's easy to up the quotas to pretend to make back the difference in the perpetually overspent budget.

Revenue by ticketing the poor bastards still living in New Haven helps make up for the fleeing tax base I guess.

Posted by: nfjanette | February 20, 2008 1:50 PM

If accurately depicted, Officer Crouse deserves a medal. It's about time someone in the police department began enforcing basic traffic safety laws. I'll gladly take a lecture for my occasional jaywalking on a quiet street in exchange for consistent ticketing of dangerous drivers.

Posted by: JackNH | February 20, 2008 2:49 PM

When I complained to a policeman when he saw me nearly run down in a crosswalk, his response was to tell me I'm lucky I don't live in Rhode Island, where it's worse.

Posted by: charlie | February 20, 2008 3:38 PM

Safety needs to be improved at crosswalks city-wide, not just this one. Signs and bollards should be installed in every city crosswalk.

Posted by: Janna Wagner | February 20, 2008 4:20 PM

I appreciate the link to the management team minutes because it shows some but, in my opinion, not enough progress on this front. My fear is that it will take someone getting hurt for *us* to really take action...and I say "us" because despite my post on NHI and my efforts to engage City Hall on this matter (which were all positive), I haven't attended my own neighborhood management team meetings. My post and my good intentions aren't enough. I appreciate the space to vent but in venting I realize I need to get to these meetings and be a part of the conversation, and solution.

Posted by: Ben | February 20, 2008 4:21 PM

Agreed Charlie

Posted by: DingDong | February 20, 2008 4:35 PM

Let's get the study going before Stamford finishes theirs and becomes a competitor for state and federal funds. They've just announced their own study: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-rail3feb18,0,7135365.story

Posted by: Your Tax Dollars at Work | February 20, 2008 5:35 PM

Charlie: you think you live in Westport or Greenwich. In New Haven Cops don't have time to help little old folks cross the street.

Officer Crouse is a genuine hero contributing to the bottom line. He and his ilk are "cash cows."

Posted by: Your Tax Dollars at Work | February 20, 2008 5:39 PM

Yeah trolleys! Very cool Mike! Where's the beef?

Posted by: Our Town | February 21, 2008 9:23 AM

The reason the city does not enforce more heavily is that they DO NOT get the revenue from traffic violations, only parking violations. The money from traffic violations goes to the state.

Posted by: Larry Shaeffer | February 21, 2008 9:44 AM

I was surprised that the consultant didn't offer up any real traffic calming solutions. Seems a mini-circle would be a good solution for that intersection. Its would improve the aesthetics of the area while dramatically improving ped. safety and decreasing auto crashes. Check out (see links below and google "traffic calming") Seattle's program where they've replaced signal/stop sign intersection controlled at over 600 locations (on streets as narrow as 24') and reduced crashes by 90%. Raised pedestrian crossings with speed humps also would be a good option. This kind of "self-enforcing" traffic control works 24/7 and doesn't need any policing (or overtime).
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/ntcpprogram.htm
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?a=gcbdc&c=dfjdc
http://www.ite.org/traffic/tcdevices.htm

Posted by: charlie | February 21, 2008 10:40 AM

Our town, that problem has been evident for quite some time. Obviously the law should be changed so that towns have an incentive to enforce traffic laws.

Posted by: Your Tax Dollars at Work | February 21, 2008 11:29 AM

Traffic calming! Great ideas! Reduces accidents, reduces needs for enforcement allowing deploying officers to duties involving needed law enforcement and crime prevention. EVERYBODY BENEFITS!!!

Posted by: charlie | February 21, 2008 12:34 PM

Larry, that is a fantastic idea and I'm also surprised that a roundabout was not recommended here.

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Hope For Fender-Bender Corner

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