Paul Bass Photo
Coming to this corner: A beacon.
Doug Hausladen and Giovanni Zinn brought speeding-weary Wooster Street neighbors promises of a “beacon” of hope for a fatal road. Some wanted stop signs instead — but not necessarily bike lanes.
So went the latest chapter in the ongoing quest to slow down drivers on Olive Street.
Zinn, the city engineer, and Hausladen, the city transit chief, offered an update at the neighborhood’s community management team meeting this week. Neighbors pressed for more long-term solutions for the busy street where 81-year-old pedestrian Dolores Mariconde Dogolo was struck and killed by a car at the intersection of Olive and Greene streets at the end of October.
For years neighbors have sought city action to address speeding on Olive Street. Dogolo’s death heightened that sense of urgency. (Read more about that here.)
The information that the two city officials shared with neighbors Tuesday night was the result of a meeting convened last November by Mayor Toni Harp and Wooster Square Alder Aaron Greenberg.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, which took place in City Hall, Hausladen said the city plans to install the “beacons” — pedestrian-activated, rectangular rapid-flashing LED beacon lights — in two painted crosswalks along Olive Street similar to the one at the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Audubon Street. A third beacon will be installed as part of improvements that will be made as near an impending Wooster Square residential development.
The beacons will go in along Olive Street at Greene, Court and Wooster. The city also announced recently that it has plans to step up traffic enforcement, which neighbors have said has been lax in the city for some time. (Read about that here.)
Zinn said the city has seen some success with traffic calming at the Whitney Avenue and Audubon Street intersection. But neighbors at the meeting wanted more. Why not put up more stop signs as a cost effective solution for slowing down traffic? some asked.
Hausladen and Zinn said it’s not that simple. While stop signs are fairly inexpensive, Hausladen said, road engineering standards don’t allow them to be used as traffic-calming measures.
“They could even lead to higher rates of speeding if they are misused,” he said.
Dolores Dogolo.
Zinn said putting in stops signs without the backing of analysis that takes into consideration traffic volumes and crash history to justify their use could create a liability for the city.
How about making Olive Street one-way? others asked.
Again, Zinn said, studies have suggested that making streets one-way can actually cause speed to further increase.
Hausladen said that as much as Olive Street is perceived as being attractive to drivers who might be exceeding the speed limit, studies of the street show that the majority of the drivers on the road are actually driving at just below the limit.
Hausladen and Zinn offered a different possible long-term plan: Allowing parking on both sides of the street and creating bike lanes.
That didn’t go over well.
“Olive Street is already narrow,” one neighbor responded. “Why would you put bike lanes in?”
Hausladen said the idea of putting bike lanes on Olive Street grew out of the November discussion that centered on Olive Street as a part of the Wooster Square neighborhood and also the Farmington Canal Heritage Greenway Trail.
Noel Petra, who’s developing a new residential complex at Olive and Chapel called 87 Union, suggested that people should consider bike lanes.
“Actually, analysis has shown that the more things that you have in the roadway, the more traffic slows down,” he said.
“To the peril of the bike rider,” a response came from the room.
Anstress Farwell of the New Haven Urban Design League, asked the men to circulate what they presented to the neighbors so people can study it and add more detailed feedback.
Zinn said the idea of putting bike lanes on Olive Street was just that, an idea. The city hasn’t even gone as far as to develop cost estimates for the it. “This is not ‘the’ plan,” he said. “We are here to get your feedback.”
“And the feedback I’m hearing is ‘You’re not there yet’,” Hausladen said. He said he took neighbors’ concerns as good feedback and that he and his staff would go back to the drawing board.
“They want more from us, and rightfully so,” he said.
This is a good idea. They should have murder beacons on every corner.