Who Gets To Go To East Rock’s Summit?

Bottom line .... its the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and for many who have served they might not be able to visit in their latter years if they are denied the use of their cars and thats just not right. Solve the problem, operate a free shuttle from open to close every day with phone and camera on demand service for all.
1.3 million for broken down collapsing buildings the city should be able to afford a shuttle for the veterans and handicapped and older folks.

It's insane that we're even considering this. Having the road open one or two(add a weekday to make it more balanced if we need to) days a week is a fair compromise. A park for all? What about a park for the people who want to enjoy the summit without hearing multiple cars idling? Or to enjoy the road up without stoned teenagers driving down like maniacs? Don't even come at me for the last part, because anyone up there pre-2020 can verify the amount of people driving up just to smoke a blunt before heading down again

Why stop there? Let’s let people freely drive all over the New Haven Green so they can appreciate it more.

This is ridiculous. Open it back up.

East Rock Park is a citywide treasure. The ascent to the top is magnificent. On any given day, the narrow winding road has a large number of pedestrians and cyclists. It already can be challenging for pedestrians to safely avert zooming downhill bikers. Allowing cars one day per week seems to be working. The city could also offer some kind of additional shuttle to the top on certain days to disabled, older or less mobile residents. But the lack of car traffic 6 days a week has made East Rock Park noticeably cleaner, less polluted, and safer. It’s greatly enhanced its value to the city as a unique urban gem.

Open the park to all, as it should be. If you are concerned about safety, put in speed bumps every one hundred feet. This is not a private park for those who want it to remain closed, it’s a public park. The drive to the summit is closed in the winter already, those selfish people who want the park closed will enjoy it then without cars.

I'm disabled, and the only way I can access and enjoy the summit is by car. It's virtually impossible to reach it with mobility aids such as walker, wheelchair or scooter. Even using powered models would be extremely difficult, due to the distance and incline. It's not fair to exclude access to an entire group just because their physically impaired. The City of New Haven, particularly the Elicker administration, has been blatantly bias against the disabled, by limiting access by closing off streets, removing parking, providing very few handicap parking spaces, and not maintaining sidewalks and walkways, which causes hazards for mobility. East Rock is a public park, which should be accessible to all. Perhaps a lawsuit is needed to ensure the rights of the disabled to equal access.

Isn’t restricting a PUBLIC park to those who can climb a steep, mile long road a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act? And I would guess that many,many people that are not “technically” disabled would be unable to make the climb either. As for the safety concerns, surely there are records regarding how many pedestrians have been hit by cars since the park opened. I can’t remember reading about any but I am open to be corrected.

open it up to everyone, we all pay taxes to maintain our parks.

For those that want a less "motorized" environment, go to a more rural park. You can cycle to some lovely ones in the Northwest corner of the state.

There is no park on existence that is equally accessible to everyone. These arguments are asinine. Are we going to open Edgewood's path to cars too so the duck pond is more accessible to everyone?

People with mobility disabilities have a real point, and I think TheMadCap's suggestion is reasonable. But the road to the summit is not steep - it was designed for horse and buggy. And the Farnam Drive parking lot offers a substantially easier walk than the one described here - the rise is about 100 feet less. According to Google Maps, it takes 26 minutes to walk up this route, and 23 minutes to walk down.

I'm a long-time member of Friends of East Rock Park, which regularly conducts clean-ups. While Ms. Bombero is correct that you can find trash across the park, it was notably worse when all of the access roads were open. In particular, fewer large items such as mattresses are being dumped.

There are people who can walk the paved roads but not the trails.

This includes people with dogs and baby carriages, as well as the fit but elderly

Why discriminate against them?

Walking preserves me and the environment

I’m all for a shuttle and would contribute to that.

I rode my bike up the back way a few weeks ago huffing and puffing and might share some of these accessibility comment had
I not been greeted at the summit by a 65 year old guy in a wheelchair (manual, not electric.)
True story.

As a person with arthritis, some days I can walk to the top and some days I can't and I can't predict ahead of time when I'm going to have a flare up and not be able to walk that far. This is the only summit nearby that's accessible by road. If you have a special occasion and you want a nice view, this is the only place that's accessible by car, and for it to only be available on Sundays is really inconvenient. I know lots of people that used to use this for picnics, proposals, birthday ice creams. None of that is possible anymore. None of us who need to drive up there can do that spontaneously anymore or without planning weeks in advance because it's only available one day a week. It's just a really sad loss for some of us. I understand the issues with the trash and the crowding, because it was always hard to get a parking spot on the weekends before, and I used to like to go on a weekday to avoid the crowds as well. Now on Sundays it's impossible to get one of the few spots of there because there's no other days that we can go. You end up idling because you're fighting with all the other people who drive up on this one day a week for just one of the like 12 spots there are. I don't want to idle at the top. I want to drive up. Get a spot. Enjoy the view for like an hour and then go home. I wish I could walk the trails, and sometimes I can, but sometimes I can't. I even kind of miss doing the giant steps even though that was always difficult even before I had arthritis. If people really want to avoid crowds, and hike up alone, do the trails and Giants steps.

Restricting cars denies families with small children and those who wish to picnic with a cooler the ability to use the summit and lawn there . And that incline at the first switchback is incredibly steep! Perhaps that’s what some people want- keep certain people out of the park who don’t live in the East Rock neighborhood..

Pro shuttle here.

“Restricting cars denies families with small children and those who wish to picnic with a cooler the ability to use the summit and lawn there”

I’ll rewrite this. “Restricting cars allows families with small children to stay active and consider alternatives like bicycle and e-bikes with child carriers.”

Just to clarify - I was not at the mtg to discuss EAST ROCK PARK. I attended this meeting to provide public testimony w/r/t the trash and dumping at EDGEWOOD PARK. The perimeter of the park is forever littered with empty bottles/nips/food containers etc. It's mostly along the perimeter of the park (on Chapel and Edgewood Ave) where guests drive in, park and party, and leave behind the litter. The interior of the Park is quite clean. The Friends of Edgewood Park do a great job, but keeping the park clean takes a huge effort.

I've emailed DPW/Parks and Mayor Elicker for 2.5 years and met with DPW/Parks on two occasions with a simple request; there are THIRTEEN garbage receptacles (some a few feet away from another) located at the tennis courts. There are hardly any along the stretches that are always littered. I've been asking that some of the 13 by the tennis courts be moved to areas where there are none. Simple request. No response. So I went directly to the Parks Commission. I will meet with the New Deputy Parks Director soon. It will be my THIRD meeting to show the City where there aren't enough garbage cans. It's beyond frustrating. I realize more garbage cans doesn't necessarily translate into people using them, but at least those of us who walk the park will be able to pick up garbage and dispose of it without having to carry it for blocks.

I dont think that cars driving through the park Improve the general experience but maybe some compromise? The city could install a camera and swing arm at the end of the low parking lot where the road ascent begins. Then maybe they could give a QR code sticker to people with disability placards so they could enter. All summit spaces would this be accessible spaces. Use camera records to follow up on placard abuse complaints.

How about running a shuttle bus/van with wheelchair access to the summit on select weekdays and all weekend... it clears the road of cars and gets people with mobility issues to the summit... This, I am sure can be supported by grant funds.

XYZ park is a great asset to ABC town, and as a public park they should make every corner accessible to cars 24/7. Just let them drive all over it. It's not fair to families with kids that they can't. How else will they picnic or propose to their future spouse? They have literally no other options otherwise and this is a crime against their human rights.

The park was open to cars 7 days a week before the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is over it should reopen to cars 7 days a week. Pedestrians, bikers, and cars have shared that road for years. Did Covid make them forget how to do so? Maintaining the road and picking up trash is part of park services. Isn't that what our taxes pay for? The public should be able to choose its mode of navigation when it chooses, not on an artificial schedule that makes no provision for flexible choice. The park commissioners should focus on facilitating freedom instead of trying to exercise control.

@at Eastwest- yes, you are right- whole families from Fairhaven should just jump on their $3000.00 dollar e-bikes with kids and coolers in tow. Let’s face it- most of the people walking or cycling for exercise are white. If you worked all day on your feet in a restaurant or in construction, the last thing you would want to do is walk to the summit with kids and accessories in tow for an evening picnic. Some people don’t have well manicured backyards with patios and decks. Denying access to those who don’t live in East Rock or on Ridge road is totally racist.

If the reason to limit access is due to dumping and littering, then the City would be limiting access to most of the City parks.

Racism

Closed under a state of emergency, with the initial claim that an increase in people using the park's trails, during the pandemic, increased the risk of transferring the virus from person to person. But the current administration does this chronically. No public hearings on street closures, lets not forget Farnham Dr has been closed also for emergency reasons? (stopping motor vehicle traffic from the end of Orange St, to Davis St in Hamden.) Decades ago, the road to the summit, from Rice Field, on the New Haven side was closed to motor vehicle traffic, to give pedestrians a safer trail, besides the Giant Steps to the summit. Keeping the Hamden side open for motor vehicle traffic to the summit. Hamden inherited all the additional traffic, Cedar Hill benefited with a reduction of cars and motorcycles that used to race through the neighborhood, which does not exist to this day. But Ridge Rd, and Davis Street in Hamden inherited all the noise, including the packs of hundreds of motorcycles that go up into the park on weekends, or late on Friday night, to party, as they drive around the barriers to the road to the summit. Racism? Laying that on a neighborhood, as one commentor listed Ridge Rd, and the East Rock neighborhood as racist. Please come to Ridge Rd. Meet the people who live across from the park, and you might leave with a different idea. As for the East Rock neighborhood, where the Mayor has lived for decades, and been part of all their committees, the ward representation, and it seems all actions taken at ER where from old ideas of the Friends of East Rock Park, which the Mayor was a founding member of. So when power over the parks department was given to the Mayor, he had made the ideas of the FOERP, reality, and now wants a short cut to make them legal. REGARDLESS of the remainder of the people, which the park was donated to the city for. To benefit all the people. Open Farnham Dr. All the time. Use English Dr to the summit better.

This meeting also included an update from Dr. Gwendolyn B. Williams, the City Youth Director. A few things really stood out to me.

I'm sorry, but the road was open to cars all the way up until Covid, and things were working more-or less fine. Just open the damn thing back up

"The 1994 USDA regulations—7 CFR 15e <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/7cfr15e_03.html&gt;
and 7 CFR 15b
<http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/7cfr15b_03.html&gt;
govern USDA implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. They prescribe the
requirements for ensuring access to programs."

"Program Accessibility
For the purposes of evaluating accessibility, a “program”
is an activity in which people may participate. Basically, the
program is the reason a person visits an area and may include
opportunities such as:
• Camping in a campground
• Viewing the scenery at an overlook"

Bottom line:

I don't want to seem glib in my response to this article; however, it is not hard to understand why our parks are neglected and in such disrepair considering how long it is taking for these Commissioners and the Director to make a simple decision. The pandemic is over; the parks of our City need to be reopened to the levels that existed pre-pandemic.
Isn't it just that simple?

The roadway to the summit should be opened to vehicles from sunrise to sunset 7 days a week with speed bumps/humps to slow vehicles to the posted speed.
Add in dedicated bike lanes on either side and a cutout through the humps/bumps on either side for wheelchair/mobility devices, and add a license plate reader camera at the entrance and where the illegal dumping is most common, and you’ve addressed the concerns. The whole city has specific sites where illegal dumping is common and a high resolution and license plate reading camera is a good deterrent.
Then elderly, disabled, people with very young children and those who would like to take a picnic to the top will also have access to a public park with beautiful views.
When West Rock Park restricted vehicle access, they lost a bunch of the public who could not hike to the lookout or Three Judges Cave.
Hubbard Park in Meriden has vehicles driving slowly around the park, but the road to the Castle Craig and the reservoir is closed to vehicles during the winter season, maybe a similar seasonal compromise could be put in place for East Rock summit access road.
Just because some people behave badly, shouldn’t mean that other people have to suffer for it, and if you are able bodied, you won’t stay that way forever, as anyone can get disabled through injury, illness, or eventually if they are lucky, old age.
Everyone needs to stop being selfish and self centered and irresponsible and share the road with consideration for others.

East Rock Park was laid out in 1882 with a mixture of roads for horse-drawn carriages and footpaths. It was always the intention that people who can't walk to the top can get there. There are multiple ways to get to the summit on traffic-free footpaths, although they are steep and rocky in places. For those who prefer to walk on paved surfaces, there are roads on the east side of the park that have long been closed to cars. The summit road should be open every day so people of all abilities, and visitors to the city who may have limited time, can enjoy the best view of it.
I've enjoyed walking to the top on both the trails and the road for many years, but I understand the needs of those who cannot do so. The road closure was a great thing during the pandemic shutdown, but it's time for it to get back to normal as most everything else has. All the reasons here for not fully reopening the road are poor excuses. The commissioners' delay in making a decision is unfortunate. Open it up already.

agostaformayor, federal law does not require vehicular access to the summit of East Rock any more than it requires such access to the summit of Sleeping Giant. The restrictions on the East Rock road have been in place for several years. There are many people with mobility disabilities in the area and no shortage of lawyers. Has anyone sued the city for its action? Ot the state with regard to Sleeping Giant? FWIW, I suspect the path to the Edgewood Park duckpond is too steep to be ADA compliant.

There is a good case for modestly expanding vehicle access to the summit. But you are engaging in what my lawyer friends call hand-waving.

Stylo, about 30% of New Haven households don’t have cars. The fact that Sleeping Giant is a short drive away is not particularly relevant to them.

Why not compromise? Leave the Farnam closed six days; repave and open the road off State street.

For all of you wanting to keep East Rock Park closed to cars, can we do the same thing to Lighthouse Park? Or do these rules only work for the privileged East Rockers?

One minute video of the East Rock summit “closed” and locked down in November of last year: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct_tg9ggq_Y/?igshid=MTI1ZDU5ODQ3Yw==

At a time when urban planners are thinking of ways to reduce cars in downtowns, it’s no time to increase traffic in parks.

I like living in a walkable city where I can meet most of my needs by hoofing it.

We bought a car in June of 2022. It has almost 3,000 miles.

I've spent a lot of time scrubbing the ADA regulations for an answer and this is a very hype specific technocratic problem that's not really addressed but that probably has an easy answer. That is to either key card disabled drivers into the summit road, or provide a shuttle.

These are my reasons why....
1) The intent of ADA is equitable access. This does not mean everywhere, but wherever reasonable.
2) If a vehicular road never existed on the summit, one could argue that conversion of a walking trail into a road would not be required by ADA. However, it does exist.
3) Banning motor vehicle would make the park more bucolic for sure, but the presence of some vehicular activity doesn't destroy the park's essence (as it would if one were to drive a highway through the grand canyon.)
4) The summit is the central unique offering of the park, not just a marginal element and its discriminatory to deny that experience to disabled people.


WRT to families who want to picnic; they can do what one does at lighthouse or for fireworks displays. Either picnic at the parking space, or use a roller cooler. This is reasonable.