Markeshia Ricks Photo
As a crowd of neighbors looked on, Mark Fenton ran into the middle of North Frontage Road near Orchard Street and jumped up and down because no cars were coming. Then he joined the crowd on the side of the road as a flood of cars, released by the traffic signal at Howe Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, zipped by at speeds well above the posted speed limit.
“They drive at this higher speed — and by the way, some of you do too — because this road is designed for them to do so,” Fenton said. He offered a big solution: convert the one-way road to two-way. Then he offered a simple solution: Change the speed of the light so you can cruise down the road without stopping if you drive 27 miles per hour.
“If you set these signal lights so that they stay green all the way through if you do 27 miles per hour, and turn red when people speed, they will do the speed limit,” he said.
The crowd listened to his idea, and as the night went on, offered their own.
That was the point of a walk the crowd took with Fenton Monday night.
They were there to offer ideas for the future of the remaining 10 to 11 acres of land left to build back up in the median between North Frontage and MLK traveling from downtown to Ella T. Grasso Boulevard.
Fenton, a public health, planning and transportation expert, was brought to New Haven through a partnership between the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, Yale’s Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE), Yale New-Haven Hospital and the city’s Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking. He offered ideas, listened to people’s ideas, and prepared to brief city officials Tuesday morning as they proceed to plan the future of the land in question.
Fenton encouraged attendees to think not just about programs or projects that might benefit the area, but also about policy changes such as whether to require a drug store to build to the street and put parking in the back, or only offer street parking.
The group gathered in Hill Regional High School’s cafeteria and then braved the biting cold Monday night for the walking workshop.
Attendees in general called for converting one-way traffic on North Frontage Road /Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Legion Avenue to two-way traffic, or at least find a way to slow traffic down.
They suggested reducing the amount of surface parking, and if garages are built, relegate part or all of them to the underground. One suggestion: Build an aquatic center or performing arts space in the community.
They wanted to tie it all together with a transit system that doesn’t take everyone downtown to the Green then back out to their destination.
The energetic and mustachioed Fenton pointed out that only about 20 percent of adults get the prescribed 30 minutes of daily physical activity recommended for reducing chronic disease.
He said the result is 365,000 premature deaths a year caused by obesity and inactivity that probably could be prevented with design and planning that encourages people to get out of their cars and walk more.
“A lot is happening right now,” he said. “This is the moment to strike, because what you plan and build right now, you will be stuck with for decades.”
Many who attended the workshop knew all about being stuck. Mid-20th century urban renewal separated the neighborhoods of Dwight, Hill and West River by bulldozing all those acres along Route 34 to make way for a highway that was never built. Neighbors said they hope that with their input the city will use its traffic-calming “Complete Streets” program to put them back together again.
Officials and neighbors at the indoor workshop after the walk.
Some attendees were already on edge over the plans underway for the first 5.5 acre-lot of the median, across from Career High School, where a new headquarters is rising for the not-for-profit group Continuum of Care along with office space, a garage, a pharmacy, and maybe a hotel.
The crowd gamely walked around the neighborhood pointing out what had been done right so far in the area, like bright lighting and pedestrian friendly sidewalks near Yale-New Haven Hospital.
They also pointed to features of the landscape that need improvement — such as prison-like, chain-link fencing around public housing in the area, and narrow, cracked sidewalks going into the Dwight and West River neighborhoods.
Hill resident Lena Largie said the workshop encouraged her to stay involved in the process as the development of Route 34 moves forward. She is interested in seeing businesses that attract pedestrian foot traffic, she said, the businesses that come to the area “must be based on the needs of the people.”
Both city transit chief Doug Hausladen (pictured) and City Engineer Giovanni Zinn participated in the workshop. They noted that much of what Fenton had to say is in line with what the city aims to achieve through its refocused Complete Streets program.
Hausladen said what he heard was a great demand for traffic-calming measures. “We need to prioritize that,” he said. Zinn agreed saying, “the residents of the neighborhood know the neighborhood best, and we want to apply our design expertise in a way that the neighbors want.”
Hill Alder Latrice James said she heard some good ideas Monday night, but she remains concerned that neighborhoods that aren’t as wealthy as East Rock, for instance, might get traffic calming that is not as aesthetically pleasing or durable. Part of the refocused program, also known as Complete Streets 2.0, supports projects that are effective but inexpensive. James said she’s OK with such solutions on a trial basis, but not as a permanent solution.
How about this.I plan on getting one of these.Can the city make lanes for this.
AMISH BUGGY
http://youtu.be/BBVLhw1FKHU