New Haven Independent

Posted by: dylan | June 13, 2008 7:29 PM

Wait a minute. The DOT is planning to WIDEN Whalley Avenue. Which stretch of Whalley is being considered for widening?

Posted by: anon | June 14, 2008 10:29 AM

Great news! We need to reclaim our streets for the benefit of our neighborhoods' safety, local economy and public health-- not for moving as many cars through them as quickly as possible. Sign the petition for safe streets (which Pat Dillion is listed as a signer of) at www.newhavensafestreets.org to ensure the future safety of our children. Send a clear message that 45,000 Americans killed per year from traffic-related injuries is unacceptable.

Posted by: observer | June 14, 2008 11:56 PM

The Whalley avenue widening project is to run from Emerson Street to Ramsdell.

When I first heard about it, I thought, great -- it will make driving easier. At the same time, I have been aware for years of the appalling speeding and red-light running that occur at the intersection of Davis Street. Gabrielle Lee's terrible killing has jolted me into realizing that these two ideas in my head have been mutually exclusive. You can't fix the problem at Davis St. without slowing traffic down and making driving less efficient, not more so.

The state Dept. of Transportation is notorious for putting efficiency above everything else. They are the ones responsible for the Route 34 connector, which originally was suppose to -- connect -- I-95/91 with the Wilbur Cross parkway, and they are the ones responsible for proposing a series of ring roads around the city, (of which Route 34 was a part), which, happily, never got built, a vestige of which exists at the Willow St. exit off I-91, where one of the by-pass roads was supposed to slam into the East Rock neighborhood and the Mill River area.

That is their mind-set.

Whalley Avenue could, indeed, be widened, especially westbound, if only ONE traveling lane was provided, as well as a second lane devoted EXCLUSIVELY to left turns. That would eliminate the unexpected back-ups that occur behind left turners, which make people swerve into the right lane, and probably makes them more impatient to run the next red light. Perhaps yet more traffic signals, at additional intersections, and staggered, NOT synchronized, so it becomes impossible to build up any speed between them, would help.

Traveling would become slower and more inefficient. Sorry, but there is public safety at stake.

Posted by: DingDong | June 15, 2008 10:59 AM

This is excellent news. Let's see if DOT listens. Maybe, just maybe, the State DOT can turn a leaf on its sordid past and for once 1) take pedestrian safety and public space issues into account and 2) sit down with community groups and ask them if they really want higher speed streets so suburbanites can get home 5 minutes faster or safer, more livable communities.

Posted by: Your Tax Dollars at Work | June 15, 2008 12:56 PM

Whalley is a key area for planning and traffic calming. DOT needs to take into account neighborhood needs for safe strets, more bicycle paths and public transit.

Posted by: Carole | June 15, 2008 4:39 PM

It would be a mistake to make this into a city-vs-suburbs struggle. Plenty of us city-dwellers also fall into the bad habits of weaving through traffic, zooming from red light to red light, and running lights that were "barely" red -- all to get to our destinations a couple of minutes sooner.

Let's mobilize on this project so that DOT hears what we want, loud and clear, with some specific suggestions for making Whalley safer and more pleasant. And if any of our Woodbridge or Bethany neighbors want to join, all the better.

Posted by: DingDong | June 16, 2008 10:15 PM

Carole, I suppose you're right (although I think the majority of traffic on that part of Whalley is headed for the 'burbs) - but no need to alienate potential suburban traffic calmers.