Traffic-Calming Moves West

I recall approaching city hall about installing speed bumps maybe 5 or 6 years ago and we were told it was a non-started because they are considered a hazard for emergency vehicles and snowplows. I know we have some new personnel in there now, but are the concerns valid? If not, I would love to suggest a few spots for speed bumps. I guess we'll see how this one works out.

I've seen rumble strips used instead of speed bumps. Not as noxious to emergency vehicles and may be an option.

Great idea, maybe this will help deter accidents due to DUI or recklessness. I wish that the city would consider another neighborhood, near Tweed. The 4-way stop at the corner of Fort Hale and Hyde is run through hundreds of times a week, mainly from taxis going to-and-from the airport. Touted as a quiet, safe, child-friendly area, it isn't due to the large number of unsafe drivers plowing through the stop signs. Maybe each Alderman can poll their residents? Surely each ward has a "danger zone" that needs this type of attention.

This is a terrific change of approach for New Haven! Over the past few years there has been a steadily increasing number of residents who have pleaded with the City to become more aggressive, innovative and committed in its approach to traffic calming on city streets. Moving away from the "we can't do it under any circumstances" approach to a "we will give it a try and measure the results" approach is a small but meaningful step forward. I'm hopeful that we can see a similar effort along Orange St and on the intersection of Trumbull and Lincoln Streets in my Ward. I'm sure that many readers could point out other prime locations in their own neighborhoods.

Frank, would you want to live anywhere near a rumble strip?

Bruce
We were told the same thing! We just had a kid hit at rice field because a person came speeding around that sharp ben. They don't care about the child at play sign or the fact that there is a baseball field and playground there. No speed bumbs for you!!

So when they gave me that same answer I suggested they do the lines in the road, ya know the ones that are on the highway right before they repave. They are cheap to do and they make people slow down and they do know damage to cars or plows. Still no speed bumb, I am sure the kid that just got hit really would of liked the speed bump.

"It might be sexy to go after people with guns."

Did she really say that? I'm sure the officers that have to face criminals with guns feel real sexy.

I may be alone in this opinion, but I find speed bumps and lots of stop signs on through roads to be really irritating. I can't get through town in a reasonable amount of time at a reasonable speed (under 30 mph) when all those traffic calming measures get imposed. Makes me want to avoid driving in the city altogether. Tempts me to coast through those impediments and start making decisions on my own as to what's a rational stop sign or speed limit or speed bump and what's just politically pleasing to the immediate neighborhood and their alderperson.

And to me that's bad public policy when otherwise law-abiding, cautious, non-speeding drivers start to even THINK about deciding which signs to follow and which ones to ignore. I will try to contain that impulse in myself. But if I'm feeling that way, are there many other people who might feel similarly or act out on that frustration? There's a cost to every traffic calming measure, and one unexpected cost might be an increased non-compliance by frustrated but otherwise good drivers. Selective non-compliance will surely lead to some accidents and a loss of respect for the law as inviolate.

"It might be sexy to go after people with guns ..." END OF QUOTE. This quote IS NOT the smartest thing we heard from Fair haven Alderwoman Erin Sturgis-Pascale.

Just to make it clear:

There are no speed bumps on Perkins Street. And the equipment that was supposed to monitor traffic conditions on Perkins before placement of the speed bump was vandalized shortly after installation and sat in the street for nearly a week, without gathering any data. It is now no longer there, so I am not sure what their plan was.

In the meantime, the cars still whiz by, speeding.

Ms. Sturgis-Pascale was obviously just pointing out that gun violence and the like gets more attention and air play than traffic calming, but that she also considers the latter a priority. It's sad that people are just waiting to pounce on an Alder who's trying to have a positive impact. Instead of constructive input, people come here to pick apart her choice of words.

I'm glad to see the Alders and the traffic czar take on a chronic problem for this town. We've had plenty of traffic fatalities in the past few years, and I see no problem inconveniencing people a bit if it slows them down. If people find themselves less inclined to drive downtown, so much the better.

They use speed "humps" in other CT. towns... I have encountered them in Westport and other places. These are not the traditional speed "bumps" you see in parking lots... they are longer and less severe versions but are just as effective in slowing traffic. Driving over them at modest speed is not nearly as jarring as a speed "bump" and does not result in any loud thump or anything that might serve as an annoyance for neighbors. But if you are speeding they are still plenty effective. Speed "humps" also do not interfere with plowing, etc.

JMS

We have plenty of cops...write tickets. That works for traffic calming. All these other measures cost a lot of money, create safety issues and will often damage your car if you roll over them at more than 5 mph. All that revenue will support the city's bloated budget and may lead to lower property taxes....hey, there's an idea.

Hey, Roland maybe you can through it out there that Rice field needs it to. We have been asking for awhile. It seems it is not do-able or a priority. To many kids play there!! And yes not just Cedar Hill kids. I know we asked our alder a few times. Right Ed?? Hey maybe we asked Bruce Fisher for signs...not sure ya I think we did 1000 times and finally got that. But they do not read the signs. And why spend a bunch of money to see how fast the traffic is (what a waste) just stand there, we do, it is really fast!!! They come around that ben 45 - 50 miles an hour sometimes!! it is what 15 - 20??? Roland I know you are the do-gooder of do-gooder can you help??? Or have you been draged to the dark side??

I recall Perkins St. as a quiet, narrow, one-block- long street when I was a Fair Havenite, many years ago.

Never would have known of it probably except that the Dahlmeyers, friends of our family, lived near the middle of the block,

Has it changed that much , that it now has the first speed bump in the City>

Fair Haven Doc says the story is intrue.

What's the scoop?

I agree with Fair Haven Doc: there are definitely no speed bumps on Perkins. I have to drive down this street daily to get home and I find myself playing 'pace car' for those behind me. Traffic calming measures should really be put in place at the intersection of Grand and Front, though; it's a nightmare during rush hour with all the rude drivers blocking the intersection on a red light, which in turn causes anger among those with the green light. It just escalades from there.

To JZEE:

"Makes me want to avoid driving in the city altogether."

That's the idea!!!

As for your second point about too many regulations and drawing your own boundaries -- that is truly something to consider in planning these traffic calming measures. You are absolutely right. If there was a stop sign on every corner, nobody would ever come to a complete stop...unless we got really, really strict on enforcements.

There are some communities such as Northampton, MA, where you just know that you MUST yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. In Deer Key, FL, you simply do not speed for fear of hitting an endangered deer species. Word gets around about places where these laws are strictly enforced and it definitely has a significant impact. We need to set up that sort of environment here.

I caution my good friend and alderman Roland Lemar, that one of the things I learned on this issue is that there is no magic bullet, nor any one size fits all solution. It's interesting to look at how other cities have balanced neighborhood, safety, traffic, and fiscal interests in rolling out - and rolling back! - speed hump programs. See for instance this approach in Hermosa Beach, CA, which came up in quick Googling of the topic: <a href="http://www.hermosabch.org/departments/publicworks/speedhump.html&quot; rel="nofollow">http://www.hermosabch.org/departments/publicworks/speedhump.html&lt;/a&gt;
With a good balance of education, engineering, and enforcement - the three "e"s of traffic safety - we can make great strides towards taming traffic. It's great that we're taking these steps around town.

I think traffic enforcement is something that is desperately needed in this city. I have heard the PO say they do not have enough cops to do it and would rather spend their time stopping serious crimes rather than pulling over cars for running stop signs. My response to that excuse it breaking a traffic code IS breaking a law. Further, I spent many years as a cop in another city and did traffic stops. In those stops I removed several POUNDS of drugs from the streets, several guns and captured tens of fugitives (including breaking up an international car theft ring on a speeding stop.) Traffic stops not only can make our streets safer for pedestrians, bikes and other cars but also can help us get rid of the scum who commit more violent acts.