Doored” Cyclist Fix Sparks Debate

Bike lanes, or cars? Outside P&M Orange Street Market Thursday.

The city vowed to reconfigure Orange Street to stop drivers from dooring” cyclists — while neighbors and business owners questioned whether the solution should involve removing half of the on-road parking. 

Sign on Orange Street.

City Director of Transportation, Traffic & Parking (DTP) Sandeep Aysola engaged in that debate with 70 neighbors Thursday night at a Zoomed community input meeting about the future of Orange Street’s bike lanes. He heard several competing concerns about the department’s suggestion to remove parking on one side of the street. 

Aysola presented three improvement options to Orange Street neighbors, business owners, and users of the road. 

The first option is to remove on-street parking on the odd/east side of the street, then relocating the current bike lanes closer to the curb and widening them from four to five feet with the addition of two-foot buffer lanes. 

The second option: Remove on-street parking on the even/west side of Orange and similarly relocating and widening the two-way cycle track and adding a buffer lanes. 

The third option is a hybrid: switch up east and west-side depending on the block. 

Currently bike lanes extend on both sides of Orange from Humphrey Street until Cold Spring.

Aysola estimated Orange Street currently has about 180 car parking spaces on each side of the street. Either of the three options would eliminate about 90 spaces and retain only half of the current parking spaces. 

Wednesday’s group of homeowners, business owners, and cyclists remained divided on the best option. All agreed that the street’s bikers need protection from being doored” by parked cars — suddenly smacked by doors opened by parkers who didn’t notice two wheels approaching on the left..

From curb to curb, Aysola said, Orange is 42 feet. 

Aysola added that within the ten intersections on Orange, there are 20 CT transit stops on either side of the road. 

Crash data over the last three years shows eight crashes involving 17 people within the Orange section with minor injuries sustained. Two pedestrians have been struck on the corridor; one sustained minor injuries at the intersection of Orange and Bishop streets. No bicycle crashes have been reported on the corridor from 2019 – 2021. 

Overall it is a very safe section of Orange Street,” Aysola said. 

He suggested that Covid-19 might have led to an enduring change of traffic patterns. On average, 2,800 cars were operated on the road during a 12 p.m to 1 p.m peak in 2021. In 2016 traffic reports recorded 3,400 cars during a peak of 5 p.m to 6 p.m

Aysola and his team conducted a field visit and visual observation of the corridor this Monday between 2 p.m and 3 p.m., with the results shown below.

Orange Street residents like Christian Bernards, who lives on north end of the road, raised concerns about the elimination of one side of parking. He said that it’s tough finding street spots at night. He added that during the day delivery vehicles will take up parking. 

Cyclist Kai Addae raised concerns about the narrow bike lanes on Orange, which make cycling unsafe at times.

I have been doored,” she said. 

Cyclist and Yale Law School student Gilbert Orbea agreed with Addae that Orange Street presents a constant threat of dooring.” 

He recalled almost being hit by a car merging while biking Wednesday on Orange. 

We’re talking about people safety. We’re talking about the threat of being killed. I go to Yale Law School, where a student on a bike was killed last year,” Orbea said. 

He advocated for safer bike lanes and removing one side of street parking as a way to incentivize biking rather than rely[ing] on the half measure that we have now and say, It hasn’t caused any injury so far.’ ”

Orbea added that improved bike lanes would benefit Orange Street merchants, as cyclists are more likely to stop at businesses when accessible. Cars usually have a point A to point B travel destination,” he said.

Caffe Bravo owner Mike DiPaola disagreed with Orbea. 

Parking is essential for business,” he said. 

Many of DiPaola’s customers come from surrounding towns, he said. 

DiPaola, who has managed the restaurant for seven years, recalled constant customer complaints: Even with two lanes of parking you don’t have enough parking,” they say. Or: When are you going to get more parking?” 

Even though the pandemic didn’t destroy our business, that will,” DiPaolo said of the idea of wiping out half of street parking. There has to be a better alternative to support that initiative [safer bike lanes] as well as support the business that make Orange Street so great.” 

Wednesday meeting conversation.

Some argued that the removal of parking would punish” nearby businesses.

Orange Street homeowner Mary Beasley called the idea of removing parking a really big ask” for homeowners. She argued that parking not be removed.

Biking is a privilege,” she said, noting that Orange Street is home to many disabled and senior residents. 

Others suggested the city should focus instead on proving safe driver education about bike lanes to avoid dooring. They also spoke of the impact on parkers when the street sweeping bans are in place. 

Other neighbors, like Elena Grewal and Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent, spoke in support of the removal of some parking. 

Rodriguez-Torrent argued that would help New Haven move toward being more walkable and bikeable.” Grewal, who chairs the neighborhood’s community management team and plans to open an ice cream shop on Orange, added that she would like for her future customers to be safe on the road. 

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