New Haven Independent

Posted by: Kiomary | August 18, 2008 1:59 PM

This is just another opportunity for people to come together and stand up for our community. Who is going to take action? Another life, a years long problem and still we sit around wondering what to do if anything. The answer is simple put up speed bumps as many as it takes in all known areas, increase police visibility and start confiscating cars and making arrests. Take the confiscated cars sell them and use the proceeds from the sale to cover costs related to speed bumps, additional police, etc. Sooner or later the individuals who engage in drag racing will get the picture-WE MEAN BUSINESS. Lets take control of the situation and not let the situation control the outcome. We continue to do the same thing and we continue to get the same results. When are we going to see it's just NOT WORKING!!!!

Posted by: JP | August 18, 2008 2:52 PM

Wouldn't it be common sense for a cruiser to be parked at long Warf at all times after sundown. For that matter put one on Dwight street and one Ella T Grasso Blvd. As soon as they get the long range riffles they won't even have to get out of the car.

Posted by: Ben | August 18, 2008 3:04 PM

Just close long Wharf and make it a park!

Posted by: LastStraw | August 18, 2008 5:07 PM

It is time for legislation allowing for the permanent seizure of the vehicles involved in drag racing, as well as the temporary impounding (with towing fees) of vehicles carrying spectators. Make this resolution very public, possibly even installing signs along Long Wharf, et al.
Then, discreetly install high resolution cameras in these 15 or so "hot spots" and record license plates. The cameras wouldn't even have to be monitored -- in the morning an officer could visit boxes containing DVRs and just pick up the discs. Most retail stores with these higher end systems invest around $10,000 per location -- start with Long Wharf, then move the existing systems to other locations as needed.
In one afternoon of towing "150 cars", we could effectively remove large-scale races from the city.

Posted by: bugupit | August 18, 2008 6:56 PM

drag racing followed by death followed by vandalism of public property, I see.

RIP: rest in peace? how about Racing is Prohibited

Posted by: KAMB | August 18, 2008 7:15 PM

I know a cop and I spoke to him about this. These are his ideas of what needs to be sdone and they it makes sense. The is a solution to this problem.

The cops really cant chase the cars because of the danger to onlookers, other drivers, and themselves. These people are 'drag racers' and like the chase thing.

So, why not videotape the license plates of the offending cars before the drag racers take off. Some are registered some are not. But at least you know who owns the cars and if the driver does not want to give up the driver, lock them up for owner liability. Most of these racers have their girlfriends register their cars. This will end that when they get arrested under the owner liability statute.

Also, its illegal to assemble and watch these illegal races, so hand out citations to the onlookers. Soon there will be no crowd, no car chases, and they go away.

Just a thought from an officer.

Posted by: KAMB | August 18, 2008 7:15 PM

I know a cop and I spoke to him about this. These are his ideas of what needs to be sdone and they it makes sense. The is a solution to this problem.

The cops really cant chase the cars because of the danger to onlookers, other drivers, and themselves. These people are 'drag racers' and like the chase thing.

So, why not videotape the license plates of the offending cars before the drag racers take off. Some are registered some are not. But at least you know who owns the cars and if the driver does not want to give up the driver, lock them up for owner liability. Most of these racers have their girlfriends register their cars. This will end that when they get arrested under the owner liability statute.

Also, its illegal to assemble and watch these illegal races, so hand out citations to the onlookers. Soon there will be no crowd, no car chases, and they go away.

Just a thought from an officer.

Posted by: ld | August 18, 2008 7:45 PM

Laststraw, since when does the nhpd do anything that makes that much sense? Instead they show up to the races in police cars and clear people out so the racers can just move to another location.
Mayorga, lives right next to a drag racer on Lexington Avenue; the same street where eight cars were totaled as a result of drag racing. She has the mayor's ear and she can't even have her own residential street protected and monitored to avoid these crashes.
Does anyone know how to request speed bumps? Do they even deter drag racing?

Posted by: David Streever | August 18, 2008 8:08 PM

I second Ben's comment!!!

Posted by: Dawn | August 18, 2008 8:28 PM

I have a great idea! In the words of that councilwoman from the Hill section - lets use the area for a community center!!... When will these council people get it that this is a serious problem? Maybe we need new blood!

Posted by: anon | August 18, 2008 8:31 PM

Just take bollards, or the ugly concrete planters in front of the Federal Building on Orange Street, and drop them into the middle of the road. People should really be driving 20 mph in all of these parts of New Haven anyways, since many pedestrians and children are often present. You can only get cars down to that reasonable level if you install traffic calming devices, such as narrowed streets (9' should be the max. lane width on all city streets), bollards and concrete planters. They did it at Grasso & Route 34 and it worked, so get a few more out of the garage, they are practically free.

Neighbors can give you a list of 40 streets where they need to be installed immediately. Places like Quinnipiac Avenue where cars routinely hit 50mph. Put concrete down the center and a few bollards, and watch as the speeds instantly drop back down to civilized levels. For every 5 mph drop in speed, property values increase by 20%. The choker on River Street is a good start, but we need five or six more there.

Next, put in speed bumps and diverters on all the quiet side streets, the ones that aren't supposed to have any through traffic, and lower the speed limits on them to 10 or 15mph. Every city in Europe has 15mph speed limits on ALL residential streets, why can't we? Children should be able to play near their house without worrying about getting killed by a passing driver.

Why is the city dragging its feet on this? This isn't the 1950s. These are ******OUR****** streets. Who cares if someone driving back to East Haven or Woodbridge takes 90 more seconds to get home? Tell the Connecticut DOT to get a life; they can speed around their suburban wastelands in Rocky Hill at 60mph and watch half of their teenage kids die, I'll take pedestrian / bike / baby carriage / retail-friendly neighborhood streets, thank you very much.

The illegal motorcycles that circle around town at 45 mph need to be stopped too. Can't the city just create a special noise / illegal vehicle fine of $20,000 + confiscation? That would get them to move on to greener pastures. Who cares about legal disputes, start harassing them out of town with $20K bills and $800 towing fees, and they'll stay out. Send the message that illegal activity stops now.

Until something serious is done, and the city sends a message to the thousands of people violating the law here every hour and ruining our community, we can expect more hit and runs, death and destruction every day in New Haven.

Posted by: pedro | August 18, 2008 8:41 PM

Laststraw, that's a pretty good idea. Does anyone know what other states, like California do about street drag racing?

Ben, long wharf actually may be changed to limit this, but not as a park. The entrance and exit ramps are going to be moved all the way down to the west edge on long wharf and on sargent drive (hence the removal of trees that the independent covered).
So those two roads will become probably more heavily traveled, and drag racers (hopefully) will be discouraged.

My big question is, why new haven? As Melissa points out, these people are coming from out of town to race on OUR streets.

What makes new haven so special, or lax that we are a magnet for drag racing?

Posted by: Me | August 18, 2008 9:35 PM

That's a good point Pedro.
On a side note slightly less important but still related:
Are the police going to arrest the kid spray painting long wharf drive on the cover of the register today?
They really should or the RIP memorials will start showing up everywhere in spray paint. The area has grown to 40' x 20' of vandalism now.
If it wasn't on the cover of the paper maybe we could look away, but the impact of 100,000 people looking away is too strong not to arrest.

Posted by: Frank | August 18, 2008 9:54 PM

There must be a way to close that area off in the evenings,there is no ned for people to be there at 1:00 A.M. That area is dedicated to the men and women who served and currently serve our country it should be protected in the same manner that our servicemen and women protect our country.

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | August 19, 2008 8:05 AM

ME

So, were only going to insist on applying the law when more than one person witnesses the crime?

Posted by: MORRIS COVE MF | August 19, 2008 9:47 AM

Obviously, we're all upset at this drag racing/crime taking place... If the City of New Haven can't or won't install speed bumps, can we gather together to donate/raise money to buy them ourselves? Enough is enough! For all the people sick of cars running stop signs to those living in fear because of drag racing in their backyards, let's unite. But how?

Posted by: Insider | August 19, 2008 10:04 AM

You know alot of people are screaming for speed bumps, but that works both ways. If you have an ambulance racing to a scene or a fire truck a speed bump could be a serious hinderance.

I don't think theres any quick answer to this problem. The whole racing culture has to be addressed these idiots watch movies like the Fast and the Furious and they fancy themseves urban car racers, there needs to be education and our laws need to be stiffer for this to stop.

Posted by: Me | August 19, 2008 10:08 AM

FEDUP,
Good point. I guess I was being a little sensitive given the situation.
Am I crazy for thinking that Stephen Milano should be locked up for vandalizing city property?

I understand if the city does not have resources to go after vandals, but when the register hands him to you?

Posted by: Donna | August 19, 2008 11:50 AM

Why does the traffic light at the I-95 exit on Long Wharf Drive flip to yellow/red flashing at midnight--with the yellow caution flashing on Long Wharf Drive and the red flashing on the exit ramp? Would these people still drag race if they knew a green light might turn red any second, with drivers coming off the exit? Wouldn't the simple (and absolutely FREE) act of keeping that light as a normally activated green/yellow/red light 24/7 make Long Wharf Drive a less desirable race location?

Posted by: ld | August 19, 2008 2:54 PM

Does anyone from the Mayor's office or Police department read these comments??
All of these are great ideas. I would like to know why they are not implemented. Especially the free/inexpensive ideas, like changing the lights.

Posted by: LastStraw | August 19, 2008 11:04 PM

"My big question is, why new haven?"

Well, there's the obvious answer of "getting away with it".
I'm writing this response at 10:52pm, while listening to my police scanner. A call just came over the scanner for a narcotics complaint that was placed, according to the dispatcher, at 19:25. Last I checked, that's 7:25pm -- over three hours ago.
These kids know New Haven is a big, busy city, and there is no way the police department can mobilize enough officers to catch them all.

If the NHPD brass does read these comments, they can go here for an 8 camera DVR/Linux based system with night vision for under $2500. That's around $0.02 per New Haven resident -- and I'd happily give my two cents worth.

Posted by: anon | August 20, 2008 8:26 AM

Donna, that's a good question, but I suspect the answer is that the traffic volume there is normally so low, that a true red would cause people to get frustrated and ignore it. A better solution is to drop concrete barriers into the middle of the road. Isn't the road posted at 25? If not, it should be, since it's a pedestrian rich environment. If the road is posted at 25, I see no problem in building it so that people actually drive that speed. Until it can be rebuilt in 2016 (and that's optimistic, given the state of highway funding), the temporary solution is probably the only way to go. That means dropping large numbers of concrete barriers, planters, etc., painting much narrower lanes (9 feet max instead of the current 12 or 13) with striped areas that are off-limits to cars, chicanes, and other basic traffic calming measures. Not to do these things will only lead to more traffic deaths. I'd hate to have all that blood on my hands between now and 2016, and I suspect the Aldermen in this area would as well. It's time for the city to STEP UP and STOP ACCEPTING traffic deaths.

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | August 20, 2008 8:28 PM

Laststraw

Video Surveillance is a good idea, but you need megaqpixel IP cameras to do the job. More like 20k installed.