“Contras” Occupy Wall Street

Takeaways:

Mayor was really desperate for a photo op.
Tom Breen is a good sport for playing along.
Money quote courtesy of Mayor Elicker: We’ve got a lot more work to do,”
Giovanni Zinn - honest and sincere as always.

What will the Edgewood cycle track look like east of Winthrop? Will it still accommodate bike traffic in both directions? Is it going to take away parking on one side of the road? If anyone has a link to the plan for the whole cycle track, I'd be interested in looking at it. As someone who both drives and bikes down Edgewood, I'm having trouble envisioning what it will look like.

The more city streets that become safer for bike riders and walkers and mobility device riders, the better.

I spent over 30 years in the Gold Building at the corner of Church and Wall biking to work for most of them. On one of my first rides home I headed up Wall against traffic and a fellow bicyclist yelled at me for going the wrong way. Chastened (in fairness he was correct) from then on I biked down Church to Grove and then up Grove to Goffe. I've always felt a bit unsafe on Church, especially at the intersection with Grove where you take a left surrounded by left turning cars. It doesn't get much better after the turn, as Grove is a raceway. This lane is long past due but I'm happy to see it. My office moved but just further down Church so I will use it. Next - turn Grove and Elm into two way streets.

Bike people are not contrained by one way streets, lights, sidewalks, stop or yield signs, or luxury 2 lane cycle trax. This is all theater.

"Crown Street should be next."

I personally love the idea of a contraflow bike lane being placed on Crown Street between Howe and State. I think Crown should only have parking on one side, with also having only one travel lane for all traffic.

I also envision there being a protected bike lane going westbound. The "contraflow lane" would be going eastbound on the same side as the parking would currently be..

but I would definitely like to see more of those lanes be placed in the city, especially in the Central Downtown area. They seem to work well where a lot of people would ride their bikes to work, to school, or to different attractions and designated places that are around.

The biggest problem making NHV streets unsafe is not as much a lack of bike lanes but more that there are one way streets period (they create confusion, panic and speeding). Trying to fix this with contra-lanes is like trying to keep a fox out of the henhouse by fattening up the hens.

One City Dump, drivers routinely ignore speed limits, red lights, stop and no turn on red signs. Are they theater as well?

Carl, I believe the conversion of both Grove and Elm Streets are in the recently approved Safe Routes for All plan. It will take some money to change the traffic signals re-stripe the streets, etc. In the meantime, there are many one-way streets in the neighborhoods that could be converted to two-way, at little cost and without eliminating parking. The city should do both.

Robn, I entirely agree that one way streets are the larger problem. But many streets, particularly near downtown, are narrow. Converting them would require eliminating parking: creating contra-flow lanes is a second best but more feasible solution. (As I noted above, there are many one-way streets that could be converted without losing parking.)

Agree with Rockin' Robn. I thought there was recent discussion to improve traffic flow in NH by making more two way streets. This is the third most maddening thing in New Haven and everyone hates this so much. I'd add that the one way streets adds to confusion and speeding but less so than the dysfunctional traffic signals. The saying "you can't fix crazy" applies to transit in New Haven and that's why people just do what's needed to get from ptA to ptB. City government is NOT doing what's needed here so it's Wild West Style.

Hi Kevin - one of the reasons drivers ignore traffic rules is because they know they can do so without any consequences; motor vehicle stops are down 40 - 60% in the last few years. Drivers notice when other drivers don't obey street signs and speed limits.

Dennis, I would be surprised if there are any publicly available data to back your assertion. The town level data at http://trafficstops.ctdata.org/ only go through 2020. FWIW, there were 878 speeding stops in the city in 2019 and 930 in 2020.

In 2020, non-Hispanic blacks accounted for 43% of all NH traffic stops, well over their proportion of drivers in the city, much less the region. This is not conclusive proof that the NHPD is engaging in racial profiling. But it does indicate the need for a conversation on this topic.

I've lived here 35 years. Throughout that time, drivers have routinely gone well over the speed limit, ran red lights, etc. without being ticketed. Moving to red light cameras and related automated enforcement technologies would help. But that will not happen with authorizing legislation, which will not be adopted anytime soon.

Kevin McCarthy: I agree that traffic stops based on race are more complicated and more nuanced than automatic surface racial profiling. The need for a conversation on this topic would certainly be educational.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/08/the-big-question-about-why-police-pull-over-so-many-black-drivers/

Hi Kevin - There is plenty of data available. My source is the NHPD Compstat report found at the link below. In 2018 there were 16,946 motor vehicle stops. We're on pace for 6,400 this year. Motor Vehicle Stops are down 62%


I presented the numbers to Chief Jacobson at a recent NHPD/Community meeting and he acknowledged that his team needs to do a better job in this respect.

I encouraged the Chief to begin including the number of pedestrian/bicycle car accidents in the monthly COMPSTAT reports


https://www.newhavenct.gov/government/departments-divisions/new-haven-police-department/compstat-reports/-folder-329

There are many streets downtown that could be two way- Elm, Church, Grove, George. If there was parking only on one side and a bike lane on each street, (Elm and Church are wide enough that they could have bike lanes on both sides,) the narrowing of the streets and adding bike lanes would be better for traffic calming and safety.
Not everyone rides a bike improperly, there are plenty of people who would be more likely to use a bike if it was safer on city streets. Right now the people who do ride bikes, are little more likely to be risk takers, because you have to be willing to take your life in your hands, to ride around the city.

Connecticut's motor vehicle statutes clearly state that bicycles, essentially classified as vehicles, must obey all traffic laws. Look it up. This contra lane may be illegal.
I drive a car. I bike over 1,000 miles a year in New Haven and suburban towns. All that is needed to promote safety for all is to have enforcement of violations by vehicle operators, bicycle riders, and pedestrians. But there is no enforcement at all. Stop with the "profiling" excuse. If I get blown up in my car or on my bike, neither the race nor gender of the at fault person is of any matter to me. I accept my responsibility as a vehicle driver and bicycle rider to obey all traffic laws and accept any consequences if I don’t.
And you mean to tell me that bicyclists actually complain that having to go around the block because of one-way streets is part of the rationale to allow them to go the wrong way in a "protected zone?" Cry me a river. Only a matter of time before these lazy bicyclists will ride the wrong way on streets not designated for this.
Making streets safer for all is a matter of holding all users accountable for their use of the road.

Robn and Elvin, thanks and you are right that one data point is not conclusive. But it does provide evidence that being pulled over for "driving while black" is a real phenomenon.

Dennis, thanks and you also may be right. But the data you linked to show the number of motor vehicle stops fluctuates. So far this year traffic stops are down 25% compared to the comparable period last year. But stops during the most recent 28 days are up 50% compared to the same period last year. BTW, our district manager does present monthly car/bike/pedestrian crash data in his monthly reports to the East Rock CMT.

One City Dump, a bit more than a year ago, the Independent ran a story about a speed enforcement initiative on Whalley Avenue, in which 31 drivers were cited for going 15+ m.p.h. over the limit in a three hour period. Folks who regularly drive or bike on Whalley would only be surprised that there weren't more drivers cited for this. https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/cops_catch_speeders

And I would propose the following experiment. Come to the intersection of Orange and Trumbull, which has no turn on red signs going west to Trumbull and north on Orange. See how long you wait before seeing a driver make an illegal turn. I would be surprised if it is more than 10 minutes (I've lived a block away for 30 years). If you can document that it is more than an hour, I'll buy you a beer.

Username06443, contraflow lanes are specifically allowed by statute (CGS Sec. 14-286b). Years ago, Rep. Lemar, House chair of the Transportation Committee, asked me whether prior law allowed them (I had staffed the committee for ten years}. I said no, and he successfully introduced legislation to allow them. The same law allows two-way cycle tracks, such as on Edgewood.

Username 06443, thanks.

Here are the relevant provisions of Sec. 14-286b

a) Any person operating a bicycle, an electric bicycle or an electric foot scooter upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic shall ride as close to the right side of the roadway as is safe, as judged by such person, except when:...
(6) Riding on parts of roadways separated for the exclusive use of bicycles, electric bicycles or electric foot scooters, including, but not limited to, contra-flow bicycle lanes, left-handed cycle tracks or bicycle lanes on one-way streets and two-way cycle tracks or bicycle lanes.

We have had one of the "contra" lanes on High St. for years now. I have seen plenty of confused drivers think the contra bike lane was a 2 way street. I guess the double yellow lines are a bit misleading to unfamiliar drivers. I realize that hind sight is 20/20 but perhaps the lines should be a different color.