This father and daughter made it across Whitney Avenue with their lives intact. Will they be able to again once the state finishes redoing the road?
That was the question on the minds of 35 East Rock neighbors who showed up to a brainstorming session at Wilbur Cross High School Thursday night.
The meeting was called by East Rock Alderman Roland Lemar, safe streets activist David Streever and aldermanic candidate Justin Elicker to address what they see as shortcomings of a repaving project on East Rock’s main thoroughfare.
State-hired workers are currently milling and repaving Whitney Avenue from Canner to Trumbull Streets, smoothing out treacherous holes and cracks.
Keith Ryan and his daughter, Z√∂e (pictured), crossed safely Thursday because the traffic was blocked off by police and construction vehicles. When the road reopens, Keith said, it’ll likely be taken over by drivers’ mentality of “get out of my way or I’ll run you over.”
Ryan, who lives on Foster Street, said he’d like to see a bike lane added. “Cars really have to learn to integrate,” he said.
Some of his neighbors agree. They fear the new road will be more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians because cars will now zip along faster, undeterred by potholes. They say the repaving plan falls short because it doesn’t include any infrastructure changes that encourage cycling or walking. (Click here to read more about that.)
In the discussion in the school cafeteria Thursday night, a Willow Street mom recounted a routine struggle of taking her child on a walk. The crosswalk lights on Whitney are not long enough to make it across the street safely with a stroller, she said.
Neighbor David Cameron (at right in photo) agreed.
“Even though the light says walk, I’m not sure it’s safe to cross,” he said. A bigger problem, he said, is a culture of driving where red lights are seen as “just a suggestion.”
Thursday’s meeting focused on creating a new vision for Whitney Avenue — one where moms can roll strollers across the street without worrying about getting hit by a car, and where bikers don’t have to seek refuge on the sidewalk.
Neighbors sketched that vision in thick markers on large maps printed out by the City Plan Department. They circled the dangerous intersections and drew in new crosswalks and stop lights.
“Scary — poor visibility,” read one scribbled description. Another called for “permanent speed trailers” along the corridor to curb vehicular velocity.
Other ideas: Add “sharrows,” painted signs in the street indicating they must be shared with bicycles. Add a median, or “pedestrian refuge,” to make crossing easier. Add more crosswalks at street corners. Draw green markings in the street connecting East Rock Park to Edgerton Park. Add cement barriers for turning lanes.
Neighbor Joe Puleo suggested extending the on-street parking hours to slow traffic.
“The quickest way to reduce speed is to add parking,” he said.
“That’s a great idea!” called a cyclist in the crowd.
Rob Smuts (at left in photo), the city’s chief administrative officer, replied that any such changes need approval from the state because Whitney Avenue is part of state Route 10.
However, Smuts said the city is willing and able to alleviate traffic problems on surrounding streets that feed into Whitney — such as Edwards Street, where the city is considering adding a roundabout at the intersection with Livingston.
Smuts and Chrissy Bonanno, the city’s deputy director of economic development, encouraged citizens to lobby the state.
“What we need is coalition-building to go back to the DOT,” Bonanno said, referring to the state Department of Transportation.
Streever said recommendations from Thursday’s brainstorming session will be compiled and sent to city and state officials. The meeting’s organizers want to create a Phase Two of the redo project to include less auto-centric improvements.
Would the state be willing to implement the neighbors’ recommendations? DOT spokesman Judd Everhart said Friday morning that he had no immediate answer but would look into question.
The idea that the DOT is the bad guy here is often portrayed by Rob Smuts as his justification for not having the City hold up its end of the bargain. Don't fall for it Elicker, Lemar and Streever. They have been lying to you all along about that too. Trust me. The Mayor's office sold out the advocates and the city councilor who called - they lied straight to their faces about their work on behalf of safety improvements.
This Mayor's office is out of control and engage in blatent lies to cover their asses, time and time again. Its truly pathological behavior.