Descrição
Drivers going both ways on College never stop at the pedestrian crosswalk at the Wall St. intersection. Yale Police needs to crack down on this, since it's only a matter of time before a pedestrian gets seriously hurt here.
Declarante
Drivers going both ways on College never stop at the pedestrian crosswalk at the Wall St. intersection. Yale Police needs to crack down on this, since it's only a matter of time before a pedestrian gets seriously hurt here.
97 Comentários
Derek (Visitante)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
Rob Rocke (Utilizador Registado)
Brian Tang (Visitante)
jackie (Visitante)
Jessica Johnson (Visitante)
There are just two giant and frequently ignored crosswalks, and one side of the street even has a reminder sign to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk (the sign on the other side of the street was removed due to construction on Stoeckel Hall?).
anonymous (Visitante)
jackie (Visitante)
you're right--i meant the college/grove intersection.
sorry for screwing up and all that. your suggestion of what i "should" do is quite right, even if the tone is a bit school marmy. cheers.
Brian Tang (Utilizador Registado)
Jenn (Visitante)
I've noticed there are sometimes police parked here, but I've seen no indication that they are watching for people ignoring pedestrians.
Brian Tang (Utilizador Registado)
If it's legal in the state of Connecticut, I would recommend that plainclothes officers stand on street corners at unsignalized crosswalks and record the license plate numbers of all the vehicles that pass without yielding. They could then mail warnings to the addresses corresponding to the vehicle owners and (if the law permits) tickets to repeat offenders.
I have seen this work wonders in both Oregon and Washington State. It was the very first thing that came to mind when I told my high school French teacher (and Portland resident) that I was pushing for pedestrian safety here in New Haven. Such simple enforcement operations strike fear into drivers because any pedestrian waiting at a street corner just might be a cop waiting to ticket any driver who doesn't stop and wait for them to cross. It certainly made a big impression on me growing up.
I don't know what the law is in Connecticut, but in Washington, if a pedestrian is standing at a street corner--even at a say a T intersection with no marked crosswalk (imagine the intersection of Center and Church)--drivers are legally required to come to a complete stop and let the pedestrian either (a) make it all the way across the intersection, or (b), on wide roads like Church, get some number of feet past the vehicle in question before the driver is allowed to continue. The same goes for pedestrians crossing with the green light. Where I come from, turning drivers must yield to everyone--oncoming traffic, cyclists passing on the right, and pedestrians crossing with the green light--even when he or she, the driver of a turning vehicle, has the green light. The one case where the turning vehicle has the right of way is when the driver has the green arrow. Other than that, the turning vehicle never has the right of way.
Imagine what it would be like if plainclothes officers had the authority to enforce such laws by posing as pedestrians trying to cross the street. It would sure ruffle some feathers, but it'd also be bound to bring about radical changes in driver behavior, in no small part as a result of the controversy and rumors that would ensue once the Independent inevitably starts reporting rumors about drivers getting actual tickets for failing to yield to pedestrians waiting to cross.
NHPD, if you are watching this issue, is there any chance that anything resembling the enforcement stings described above might be legally feasible in New Haven?
Jenn (Visitante)
It would be amazing if the NHPD would do this.
I think it would also open their eyes about drivers' flagrant disregard for pedestrians, and just how difficult it is to travel by foot around here.
nate (Visitante)
Georgia Kram (Visitante)
Georgia Kram (Visitante)
jackie (Visitante)
Jenn (Visitante)
The whole point of a crosswalk is that pedestrians have the *right-of-way*. Cars need to slow down enough that they'll see the pedestrians approaching, and anticipate that they may be crossing.
So, Yes, pedestrians should be able to "strut boldly" across.
And, if that means that drivers, "hold their breath" waiting, so be it. Maybe next time, they'll bike, walk, take public transit, or choose to not drive through downtown.
Brian Tang (Utilizador Registado)
Because this is essentially the central hub of the Yale Shuttle system, there's almost always someone standing at the corner. To be fair, it is pretty hard to tell who is standing there because they are waiting for the bus and who actually wants to cross.
Included in this post is a diagram I made of the intersection as it stands right now.
Brian Tang (Utilizador Registado)
jackie (Visitante)
Jenn, you'll have to forgive me for suggesting that the imperious tone of your response is exactly why I fear that some pedestrians would actually give their lives rather than wait for a car to pass—even one driving at a safe speed, but for which it would be unsafe to stop short. as a driver, that makes me nervous; as a safe streets supporter, it makes me embarrassed.
I don't need to be told to take public transportation and walk, since I do so plenty. I am totally "for" drivers and pedestrians obeying the law and especially for drivers not driving like maniacs. I want pedestrians to be safe. Still, but I'm not a podocrat. I’m for traffic calming and good traffic engineering.
Jenn (Visitante)
Jackie,
If it weren't a marked crosswalk, I would completely agree with you. On elm near the post office, pedestrians are being idiots, crossing at completely inappropriate times/ places. (I still don't think they're "giving their life", but on that I'll agree to disagree).
But, this spot is designated as a crosswalk.
I've never had the problem of worrying if I can stop in time because I slow down to about 5-10mph to be sure that the people standing there are not intending to cross. I think that's my obligation as a driver. And, I've never waited for more than 60 seconds for people crossing. And, I've never had a pedestrian jump out in front of me.
Maybe coming from the West Coast spoils a person.
But, don't worry, I'll move back when I'm done here.
Brian Tang (Utilizador Registado)
Dan (Visitante)
Jenn (Visitante)
In this instance, there is no big red hand. Just a plainly marked crosswalk.
walker (Visitante)
joey (Visitante)
Sad part is that most of your violators and perpetrators of vehicular assault ARE your own , then the silence is deafening,cross in critical enmass,watch where your going,and shut your pie holes
Peddy (Visitante)
Could you elaborate on this silence? I don't feel the deafness. And, I personally don't own any violators or perpetrators. And, I'm not sure I have a pie hole. If I did, its opening and closing would not be carried out per the request of a stranger.
joey (Visitante)
Your head is that orb of emptiness that most uselessly sits upon your frail shoulders , the pie hole is the gaping gape which enter vicodin which impairs your thought process which impedes any sense from emiting ..spew and gibberish doth flow from
..You are anonymously posting here petty, what you own,feel,open or close is not of any concern to anybody especially when NOBODY ASKED YOU, -no one was talking to you . if you wan't to politely ask me to elaborate then do so
jackie (Visitante)
JoJo (Visitante)
joey (Visitante)
I think walking in ones shoes is the best medicine for all , as i walk /bike and motor about , i have respect for pedestrians,as i am one at times , i live in New Haven and much to the chagrin and sentiment of some I AM your neighbor , i will not remind you anymore.
I have seen Witch hunts over a traffic violation and at times traffic death ,turn into a candle lighting ceremony with students doings alms and rocking back and forth.
In my 30 years of driving i never received a traffic ticket .. i am your man..
So don your striped volleyball tights and day glo authorised brazzierres and cross - together and safely
Anonymous (Visitante)
How about a politically connected crackhead that spent time in both Mental Hospitals and all two hundred state prisons
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
Nice drawings, Brian, but the ideal situation here would be a pedestrian refuge median, like the ones used on narrow 2 way streets in London.
These provide a much greater degree of safety and comfort, particularly for the large number of elderly, young, disabled, and injured people who have trouble walking across wide roads.
I hate to point this out, but if the vast majority of our traffic engineers and politicians were not middle aged, able bodied individuals, our streets would be designed very differently.
Brian Tang (Visitante)
The primary goal of the curb extensions I proposed was to provide people waiting for the bus with a place to wait where they wouldn't confuse drivers by standing at the corner and never crossing.
Also, I grew up with a pedestrian refuge literally outside my front door. I like them, but putting one here would mean eliminating between three and five on-street parking spaces. I don't think that any marginal improvement in safety above and beyond what would be afforded by curb extensions would justify eliminating that parking.
I also prefer curb extensions because then you gain that space for other uses (e.g. bus stops). You can sometimes plant things in islands, but usually they just pave them over and that space is lost (you can plant things in curb extensions, too).
And FYI, Bruce is disabled.
Gremlin (Visitante)
Brian Tang (Visitante)
Personally, I do my best to cross at legal crosswalks and I always cross with the green light when there is a traffic signal (the only exceptions I can think of are College St between Phelps Gate and the Green and High St in front of the High St Gate) the problem in these cases is that the people who designed Yale's campus a million years ago fully intended people to jaywalk. Just a hundred years ago, there were no crosswalks; most streets weren't even paved! People walked all over the place. In fact, the original meaning of "jaywalker" was not somebody who crossed the street mid-block; a jaywalker was someone from the sticks who had no idea how to safely walk in a busy city (think of an American tourist in London who steps right in front of a bus because he looked the wrong direction). Today, although jaywalking has a legal definition, misconceptions are fairly common. For example a corner is legally a crosswalk, regardless of whether one is marked. In other words, people crossing Whitney at Audubon St are not jaywalking; they are within the legally defined crosswalk and state law requires that drivers yield them the right of way. Another misconception has to do with making a turn on GREEN at a signalized intersections that do not have pedestrian signals or at the intersection of Whitney and Trumbull. If a pedestrian is attempting to cross with the green light, the turning vehicle is required to yield the right of way, even though they are turning on GREEN.
Still, there are an awful lot of "jaywalkers" out there, in the original sense of the word. It would be nice to convince Yale students coming here from rural or suburban backgrounds that walking all over Elm St is not fooling anyone into thinking they are from New York.
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
The pedestrian median makes it much easier for a pedestrian, especially one who is disabled or elderly. Many medians have plantings; there are some right near the port in Guilford, Connecticut.
Another question is how you could bring the speeds down without having a median. I suppose a raised crosswalk might work just as well? Top speeds should be no more than 15MPH in this area, given the high pedestrian volume.
Anything more and you are literally guaranteeing serious injuries and fatalities here-- and our goal should be the complete elimination of such injuries. They are all preventable and to do anything less is just unethical.
From a major national study that recently recommended creating maximum speeds of 20MPH within all urban areas:
"Road safety researchers say only one in 40 people who are hit by a vehicle at 20mph dies, compared with one in five at 30mph.
Robert Gifford, of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: "The 20mph zones are proven to save lives and that is especially important when thinking about children and the elderly."
Anonymous (Visitante)
joey (Visitante)
I was never at a stop sign in my life where a car barely even slowed down let alone come to a full stop - They got it like that - live with it - accept it ...How many times have you heard someone say "if they dont slow down someone will get killed" -unfortunately it's becoming commonplace , If these guys can inform the public to drive careful and obey the rules of the road then we're all for them.
Letting the police do their job is another thing, I don't want to see any young lady get her car kicked by overzealous spandex wearing bicyclists, no more hollering at elderly woman please. - and hopefully there will be no more fatalities - have a nice safe summer
Resident (Visitante)
pedestrian & Driver (Visitante)
LD (Visitante)
This is a link for the state's statutes on crosswalks. Pedestrians and drivers have a responsibility to follow the laws...
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ps97/rpt/olr/htm/97-r-0173.htm
ctddw (Visitante)
Ctddw (Visitante)
Resident (Visitante)
ctddw (Visitante)
chalk (Visitante)
ctddw (Visitante)
chalk (Visitante)
It's not about time or entitlement. It's about safety.
Drivers need to slow down and yield to more vulnerable users of the road.
ctddw (Visitante)
Resident (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
I wouldn't push the concept of diverting traffic onto a limited number of mega-arterials too hard if I were you. After all, that's the basic premise behind cup-de-sac developments and we all know how that turned out... In general, I'd say it's a better idea to distribute traffic across as many small streets as possible; porous, fine-grained street grids give drivers options and ensure that drivers take streets where they can actually stop and support local businesses instead of being funnelled onto high-speed expressways. I really don't see the benefit to diverting traffic to Church/Temple.
Another problem with trying to get traffic to take alternate routes is that you start getting into NIMBY battles between neighborhoods. I've seen it; I almost got kicked out of a neighborhood by suggesting we should altruisticly accept greater traffic volumes as a courtesy to the other neighborhoods. There are good arguments for reclaiming public space on College and/or reducing crossing distance. I just don't think diverting traffic to neighboring streets is one of them.
Resident (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
cricket (Visitante)
Resident (Visitante)
You could keep the shuttles (since you'd need a roadbed for fire and delivery access anyways), just integrate them in a sensitive way. Maybe on one lane with occasional passing areas where the delivery areas were - the shuttles could be timed to avoid conflicts. This is really basic stuff.
Cricket, I love that idea. It makes pedestrians much more visible -- especially shorter ones!
East Rockette (Visitante)
Keep the shuttles, but with a max speed of 20 mph. Everyone else on bikes or shanks' pony. Let's hear it for the woonerf!
(Personally, I can't understand why Yale isn't all over this idea. They're halfway to looking like a proper Euro college town - why not go all the way? Not just for picturesque reasons, but also to protect all those students they're in loco parentis for. And I can see this working as part of De Stefano's grand vision for the city: if you're going to promise college to all the kids who graduate, let's make sure they can survive the trip to and from school for starters, and then want to come back to the safest, coolest town in New England. Hey, we can dream).
fingers (Visitante)
Drivers constantly stop there whenever I've been on that street. Part of the problem is that at certain hours there is a steady stream of people crossing. People don't cross in groups. They cross as they see fit.
There needs to be put up a light and crosswalk signals. Trying to drive through there is a nightmare.
Sarah (Visitante)
Should we bill you the $200K it costs to install a light, fingers?
Take temple street if you want to get there faster. or leave earlier.
Resident (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
As a driver and a pedestrian in New Haven, I understand the conflict here, and have seen ridiculous behavior by both parties. At this particular crosswalk, I was in the front sear of an ambulance and watched in disbelief as a Yale student stepped off the car in front of the bus, causing the driver to slam on his breaks.
Everyone needs to take responsibility for their personal safety and be aware of their surroundings as both pedestrians and drivers. These other suggestions may help, but it boils down to personal responsibility if you ask me.
I am not for creating a pedestrian only zone on College/Prospect. That may be the spine of Yale, but it's also a route for some of us into the city. As both a Yale student and a New Haven native, I think we have to balance both parties. For example, you mention the Yale shuttle being allowed in, but what about the city buses for the rest of us?
enforce the law (Visitante)
Resident (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
ctddw (Visitante)
Derek (Visitante)
The State of Nate (Visitante)
This issue should be closed (I see this has been attempted in the past). There is an in-road pedestrian crosswalk sign and another crosswalk is about to be painted to parallel the international that already exists.
If pedestrians are still concerned with a driver's failure to yeild, I have a few suggestions, although I am inserting an obligitory WARNING here.
If it appears that a driver is not going to stop, sometimes I wil point at the crosswalk and the sign, as they drive past and look at them at the same time. Sometimes I will take a half-step on the crosswalk, to let the driver know that I want to cross and they should adhere to the law. (Not into the driver's path of course, but sometimes the driver will slow down considerably, sometimes they will just ignore me). I don't reccommend this to everyone, since there is no telling how a driver will react, but if some people started practicing tactics like these, (I'm sure some people already do) it might work to the advantage of people who wait patiently, as people should, for a car to stop at a crosswalk.
Brian Tang (Utilizador Registado)
Fechado Anonymous (Visitante)
Resident (Visitante)
I disagree. The issue should remain open until we see some serious traffic enforcement at the location, including pedestrian crosswalk "stings" like those done often in Washington D.C. This would help encourage driver compliance.
In addition, driver compliance will increase when the intersection is rebuilt to encourage pedestrian traffic, including bumpouts and the like. Currently, many pedestrians have a difficult time crossing this road because speeds are high and the street is too wide.
If we don't prioritize pedestrian traffic in areas like this, the city will continue to suffer.
Please reopen this ticket or I'll have to start a new one.
Resident (Visitante)
Reopened Anonymous (Visitante)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
This is definitely improved, though not quite there.
I agree that the issue would be resolved if speed limits were reduced along the street, and that the pedestrian crossing distances should be reduced going across College.
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
Glenn (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
How about conducting a survey or tracking data before deciding that the issue is closed?
It's certainly better now with the yield sign, but there's much more that could be done to make this area even more walkable.
This wouldn't be as big of a concern elsewhere, perhaps, but this is an area with hundreds of students and a lot of elderly people and children who attend concerns at the Yale Music School, right on the corner.
It's sometimes hard to remember this as an able-bodied, young and healthy person because the experience of crossing such a wide road is much different for those people than for a child, family, disabled, blind or elderly person.
Besides the yielding problem itself, there are also vehicles traveling way too fast here (which affects their ability to yield to pedestrians in time).
Derek (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
Dudley (Visitante)
joey (Visitante)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
Reconhecido CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
Anonymous (Visitante)
This was posted on Issue #23, which is about the fact that pedestrian signals haven't even been put in on Route 34 crossings, and people are still speeding at 50 miles per hour and running red lights, even though Yale just completed a $500 million new Cancer Center there.
Everyone please be careful!!!
SEPTEMBER 2006 -- Yale senior struck by a car while crossing Elm St., next to the Old Campus, causing serious hip injuries.
AUGUST 2009 -- Jogger killed while crossing Elm Street. Third downtown pedestrian fatality in less than eighteen months.
OCTOBER 2009 -- Another pedestrian killed crossing Church Street, suffered massive head injuries. A block from Yale offices and two blocks from the freshman quad.
MAY 2006 -- Yale junior is struck and killed while biking near the Yale Bowl.
MAY 2009 -- Medical Center Ph.D. Researcher struck and killed by bus while crossing Frontage Road, near the location of other recent fatalities.
February 2006 -- A Yale Music student is hospitalized after being struck by a car near Science Hill.
APRIL 2008 -- 4th year Medical student struck and killed while crossing South Frontage Road at York Street.
January 2006 -- Student hospitalized after being struck by a pick-up truck in front of the Yale School of Management.
December 2005 -- Two seniors hospitalized after being hit by a mini-van at the corner of Edgewood and Park Street.
MAY 2009 -- Woman hit and dragged by bus on Broadway near York. Multiple arm fractures, but pedestrian survives.
September 2005 -- Undergraduate sent to the hospital in critical condition after being struck by a bus in front of Woolsey Hall.
MAY 2008 -- A Yale Law student struck and seriously injured at the intersection of Chapel & High Streets, in front of the BAC.
FEBRUARY 2008 -- A visiting professor is hospitalized after being hit by a car on High Street, next to the Old Campus.
OCTOBER 2007 -- Freshman struck at York and Elm in a hit-and-run accident. She suffers four skull fractures.
OCTOBER 2006 -- Public Health graduate student struck at North Frontage and College, when a driver loses control and runs up on the sidewalk. Student suffers broken collarbone.
Moe (Visitante)
Brian Tang (Visitante)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
I saw that in-road pedestrian signs have been placed all around Southern Connecticut State University. I saw several there this past weekend.
What's taking so long for this one to come back?
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
MG (Visitante)
E (Utilizador Registado)
E (Utilizador Registado)
campus (Visitante)
Hill Resident (Utilizador Registado)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
Tommy (Utilizador Registado)