Emily Hays Photo
Roland Lemar (center) at Monday’s hearing.
A week after seeing a fellow parent lying injured in the crosswalk near his child’s daycare, State Rep. Roland Lemar returned to Hartford determined to make New Haven’s streets safer.
On Monday, Lemar, co-chair of the state legislature’s Transportation Committee, oversaw a hearing on a bill he has proposed to tackle the root, as he sees it, of these kinds of crashes: speeding cars and distracted drivers.
The proposal, House Bill 5324, is the latest in a series of measures he has advanced in recent years, including two versions of a “vulnerable users” law that is enabling cops to add financial penalties for reckless drivers who seriously injure pedestrians, cyclists, and disabled people.
“I’ve been working on street safety for over a decade now. We focused on ‘Complete Streets’ policy and street design,” he said. “I think a lot of those have made the streets safer, but our drivers have gotten less safe.”
Drivers have struck and killed four pedestrians in New Haven already this year and injured others. If that rate continues, it would continue a trend of increasing numbers of walkers killed by drivers in Connecticut and nationwide. (The above interactive map was prepared by Doug Hardy of CT News Junkie.)
New Haveners are worried about these numbers. They sent in dozens of comments to a Tuesday afternoon public hearing on Lemar’s bill. All nine members of the public who waited in the Hartford Legislative Office Building to speak supported the bill, and four were from New Haven. (Click here to read about other measures Lemar and State Rep. Pat Dillon are advancing this session to calm streets.)
HB5324 largely increases fines and rules for drivers, like raising to $625 the penalty for repeatedly driving while using a cell phone. It also allows local governments to decrease speed limits below 35 miles per hour.
This last measure was a favorite addition among commenters. Many pointed to studies that showed that a pedestrian hit by a car going 40 MPH has a 15 percent chance of survival, compared to a 95 percent chance if hit by a car going 20 MPH.
Physician Rahul Shah (pictured above) waited through hours of related and unrelated speeches in Hartford to share his support. He works in the emergency room at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford and tends to kids hit by cars.
“Whenever there’s something preventable like this, it is difficult. It takes a toll. You feel like there is more we could all be doing,” Shah said.
Shah explained to the state transportation committee that this lack of safety has far-reaching health consequences. He recalled talking with a child dealing with obesity during his residency at the Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital.
He said he asked hopefully whether the kid might be able to start walking and biking around his block. His mother was bewildered and said that her street was far too unsafe for such a thing.
To Regulate or Educate?
State senators and representatives came and left the six-hour transportation hearing on Tuesday afternoon. No one expressed opposition to Lemar’s bill.
The only debate took place during the testimony of the Quinnipiac University men’s cross country coach, Joshua Glaab (pictured above).
Glaab described his fears as a runner and a daily cyclist. He lauded the message of stricter enforcement that HB5324 was sending.
“I feel that Connecticut as a state has encouraged both aggressive driving and an entitlement issue when it comes to being in our cars,” he said. “This morning, I had a 15 minute bike ride to meet with someone at park services in New Haven. Three times, I had cars cut me off.”
State Sen. Henri Martin, a Republican who represents the area around Bristol, asked Glaab whether he thinks it would help to spend more time in driver’s ed classes on these topics. Glaab agreed that it would.
“Some people will become more conscious with these laws. How can we make sure that lasts?” Martin said.
State Sen. Henri Martin.
Democratic Sen. Catherine Osten of Sprague asked Glaab whether he thinks some of the education efforts should extend to pedestrians. She said that many roads in her district have no traffic lights. When pedestrians wear dark clothes, they can be very difficult to see.
Glaab offered that there are more natural deterrents to this kind of behavior for pedestrians and cyclists than for motorists.
“If I’m on a bike and I hit your car because I’m doing something unsafe, you get a dent. If you hit me with your car, I’m lucky if I get a short hospital stay. I’m very likely to be in a casket instead,” he said.
New Haven Transportation Director Doug Hausladen prepares to speak to the Transportation Committee.
Not everything commenters want is in Lemar’s bill. In particular, Lemar did not try to introduce cameras in the bill to ticket people who run red lights.
Lemar said this omission was the result of a “spectacular failure” he experienced in his first term. When he tried to advocate for stoplight cameras then, he received 14,000 negative emails by his count.
“I tell you my email inbox in 2011… I’m still recovering,” he said.
Lemar is far more confident about HB5324. He has until March 20 to get it out of committee, he said, and he thinks he has the votes to do it. Then he will have to rustle up votes among the full General Assembly, but he is taking one step at a time.
Glaab offered that there are more natural deterrents to this kind of behavior for pedestrians and cyclists than for motorists.If I'm in a bike and I hit your car because I'm doing something unsafe, you get a dent. If you hit me with your car, I'm lucky if I get a short hospital stay. I'm very likely to be in a casket instead," he said.
There is not question that a car can do the most damage.But who pays for that dent to my Car?How about Contributory negligence on the part of the Jaywalkers and Cyclists?In fact here is deterrents.As I said before New York has crack down on Jaywalkers which is supported by local politicians.
NYPD to Ticket Jaywalking Queens Pedestrians for Their Own Safety, Pols Say
NYPD officers plan to increase ticketing against jaywalkers — a move supported by local politicians who say pedestrians who violate the rules of the road endanger themselves and others.Elected officials are going to start getting phone calls when people start getting summonses, I know it," said Assemblyman Mike Simanowitz, "Don't call me. I'm not going to agree with you. If you're crossing in the middle of the street, you're wrong, you're endangering yourself, you're endangering others, you're endangering drivers," Simanowitz added."Cross at the green, not in-between, and hopefully we will be able to reduce the number of traffic fatalities."The push comes as the mayor has been defending the effectiveness of his Vision Zero initiative, which was designed to increase pedestrian safety through a number of changes, including increased penalties against reckless drivers.It's not the first such initiative since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office — the NYPD reportedly handed out 452 jaywalking tickets between Jan. 1, 2015 and the end of February, compared with just 50 during the same period last year
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20151110/flushing/nypd-ticket-jaywalking-queens-pedestrians-for-their-own-safety-pols-say/
Part One.