Seeking to slow down traffic in the wake of tragedy, two aldermen have proposed a “Complete Streets” law.
Aldermen Erin Sturgis Pascale, of Fair Haven, and Roland Lemar, of East Rock, introduced the legislation at Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting in City Hall.
The proposal caps two years of meetings, chalkings and petitions led, in part, by traffic-calming warrior Sturgis-Pascale (pictured above at a “road-witching” event). It comes in a year when a Safe Streets movement has been galvanized by the recent traffic deaths of medical student Mila Rainoff and 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee.
Click here to read the proposal, introduced to the board on Tuesday.
The legislation would “mandate that when the city, or a developer, builds or rebuilds a street, they must do it with equal attention to the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists,” in the words of Sturgis-Pascale.
“We have the infrastructure for the cars,” she said Tuesday. “Let’s make sure we have infrastructure for everyone else.”
The proposal’s introduction cites New Haven as the walking capital of New England: 14 percent of New Haveners walk to work, a greater proportion than in any other city in New England. Another 31 percent of city residents bike, carpool or take public transit to work.
The aldermen propose creating a nine-member Complete Streets Steering Committee, consisting of three aldermen, three city employees and three New Haven residents. The committee would create a Complete Streets policy that ensures that those who walk, bike or use public transit can travel safely on city streets.
The committee would establish guidelines by which streets are rebuilt, including community input and sensitivity to traffic-calming. Members would also create a policy of traffic enforcement and a city-wide education campaign.
The proposal embodies the goals of the Safe Streets Coalition, a grassroots traffic-calming group whose petition has garnered citywide support.
Alderman Lemar, whose East Rock street was just paved, said he’s gotten a first-hand view at how the Complete Street philosophy can not just make streets safer, but bring a community together, too. The movement has met a positive response from the cops, including Police Chief James Lewis.
A public hearing for the Complete Streets proposal will be held before the Legislation Committee on Sept. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Its easily accomplished in 4 steps.
1) Mandate that the police department (all officers...not just traffic officers) enforce existing traffic laws, including those bearing upon pedestrians and bicyclists).
2) Install yield signs at crosswalks.
3) Bottleneck street widths with curb protrusions at intersections to slow traffic (this can be readily observed at the Omni block)
4) Repair road skirts and paint bike lanes on major roads.