New Haven Independent

Posted by: Brian Tang | June 10, 2009 10:03 PM

Holy crap! People have been complaining about the Willow St bridge for a long time. Bruce, if you're reading this, you have to understand nobody is claiming that the majority of road users stand to benefit from bicycle accommodations. Yet we have a responsibility, a moral obligation, to ensure the safety of those students who do walk or bike to school.

Posted by: Brian Tang | June 10, 2009 10:25 PM

The Willow St bridge was constructed in anticipation of the (thankfully scrapped) East Rock Connector. This is a perfect example of excess road capacity leading to unsafe conditions. THIS ROAD NEEDS A DIET. I propose that we eliminate one of the SE-bound travel lanes, shift the centerline over, and use the freed-up road width to stripe bike lanes. Anybody want to help me write the Safe Routes to School grant? Unfortunately it doesn't apply to high schools yet, but who knows? That might change soon. Cross kid who got hit, if you happen to read this, can you shoot me an email at brian.ttp@gmail.com? I want to fix this problem. Unfortunately, we may have to wait for Congress to get their Bike/Ped act together, but things are looking better all the time and you never know when Blumenauer might slip a helpful provision into a completely unrelated bill.

Posted by: Jonathan Hopkins | June 10, 2009 10:58 PM

Well, the individual automobilers are getting a little less subtle, I see...

Posted by: Streever | June 11, 2009 8:15 AM

I heard the driver was going under 25 mph & the student had simply ridden directly in front of the car without warning--and is receving counseling/care instead of a citation for breaking the law. Sounds like a good outcome.

Definitely shows how much safer people are when cars travel under 25! (or, at least, follow the speed limit of 25)

Posted by: anon | June 11, 2009 10:18 AM

It is a good thing the driver was going under 25. When I drive in an urban environment, I try to keep my speed at about 15 mph or below.

I have had several close calls with pedestrians, but luckily have never hit one, and I attribute this in part to driving at a speed that isn't likely to kill. More reaction time and a fraction the force if you hit something (or someone hits you). According to KKAD25, pedestrians are three times more likely to die in a 30MPH zone than they are in a 25MPH zone.

Whenever I hear traffic engineers talk about how "easy" it is to "get up to 30 or 35" on an urban road, it makes me want to vomit. We all need to take responsibility for not killing other people, and drive slower. And our engineers need to begin designing roads that will encourage people to drive at appropriate speeds, which in urban environments, should be no greater than 20MPH.

Posted by: Roland | June 11, 2009 4:14 PM

Brian,

I'll help write the grant.. as an FYI, the East Rock Community Magnet School (soon to be entirely rebuilt)is in direct sight of the accident location as well as Wilbur Cross HS. Let me know what I can do to help on this....

Posted by: anon | June 11, 2009 11:14 PM

Making East Rock school more accessible from Fair Haven, via a better pedestrian connection, is crucial. Willow + Blatchley Street, between the school and Erector Square, is currently an unattractive pedestrian "no go" zone, even for able bodied residents. Ask people who live in the area. To say nothing about how a handicapped, blind, elderly or disabled person would feel.

Maybe the Fair Haven Greenway can be completed by the time it opens? I've always wondered why East Rock Park is so difficult for our families from Fair Haven, Newhallville and other areas to access without a car. It is clearly a popular place and imagine how much money our citizens could save (and could then lavish upon local stores, restaurants, health care or private schools instead of on car maintenance/gas) if they could actually get to the park without needing to use a car.