This is one clicket that I'm sure will remain open for years. Last Thursday PM on our way to the farmers market the man running the stop sign at Lewis St was nice enough to lay on the horn as he barreled towards us. He swerved as we lifted our baby carriage safely onto the sidewalk. If we didn't hear the horn, his yelling at us may have given us enough time to maneuver the curb. Unfortunately I can't say the same for his middle finger. I could have had my head turned and missed that.

More epithets from speeding car drivers, more wagging middle fingers from all involved, more mad dashes to the curb as Novena's are quickly uttered in garbled tongue. Alas, this one still exists. How about one of Mike Piscitelli's handy "Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk" signs? This crosswalk DESPERATELY NEEDS IT. I'm off to light a candle...

Still tragically unsafe. With snow on the road and on the sidewalk of the park side of Front, it's become more or less of a bobsled run. I'm off to get my cowbell to cheer on the cars that ignore the stop sign and slide on through! Ho, Ho, Ho...

Crosswalk remains hazardous. Snow on the park sidewalks hasn't helped the issue. It took days for the snow to be shoveled after the last storm.

No Change. The compacted snow, read that 'ice', has made for a temporary ramp up the curb. Although helpful, the ice has also turned the road into a temporary bobsled run. Cars attempting to stop at Lewis, or not, arrive to the intersection as residents start clanging their cow bells for the split time. It's all very 'Sarajevo 1984'.

No change.

Still a crosswalk. Still hazardous.

I bet there is a grant out there that could pay ADA-compliant curb ramps. It might be worth a look.

This document from Portland provides some good guidelines for crosswalk design:
http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=84048

Same. No change.

Remains the same.

We urgently need a crosswalk to Lewis Street Park from the east (river) side now that more children are using the park. We also need signs alerting drivers that there is a crosswalk. If not, it is just a matter of time before there is a tragedy.

Right on Lee--this should be a priority for all parks.

agreed.

I think a mini traffic circle would be the best solution here. A mini traffic circle is essentially a two-way stop (actually, in this case a one-way stop—Lewis St), except for the fact that there is a circular planter in the middle of the road. For drivers on Front Street, it would simply be a matter of slowing down, keeping right, and driving around the mini traffic circle; for drivers on Lewis St, they would encounter a stop sign as normal, turn right like they normally would, and turn left by first stopping, yielding the right of way to traffic on Front St, then turning right, and continuing around the traffic circle with the effect of a left turn.

I should note that this is what was recommended by the 2008 report produced by the community:

http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/TrafficParking/pdfs/FairHavenTrafficCalming0608.pdf

Still the same, still hazardous.

Still hazardous. The in-street "yield to pedestrians" signs helps, but the curb is a nuisance and people routinely ignore the stop signs in all directions.

Any response from the city on this one?

Thanks for the post.

Thank you for the update. Would the city consider tabling the entire intersection? Doing that could eliminate curbs altogether, improve walkability, slow traffic tremendously and create a real vibrant community hub around the park.

This is a typical solution for small park areas in other cities but would require a commitment to reduce traffic speeds on Front Street down to about 15 miles per hour, which is the desired speed anyways.

As an area resident I write in support of Marks idea of tabling the intersection. The curve and 3 way stop make it so that emergency vehicles and snow plows have to slow down anyway. Another big help would be to have the Condo association designate the exit closest to the park an "entrance only". This would reduces the number places from which a car comes at pedestrian wanting to cross the intersection.

Federal guidelines showing tabled intersections and other popular improvements:

Innovative Intersection Safety Improvement Strategies and Management Practices: A Domestic Scan

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/resources/fhwasa06016/chap_6.htm

The images here don't show bollards, which are another popular feature around the edges of intersections, especially tabled or raised intersections. They prevent vehicles from entering the pedestrian zone, increasing pedestrian comfort and preventing drivers from parking at the edge of the intersection.

Cambridge, MA, which has snowfall, climate and demographics similar to New Haven, recently converted several of its intersections to tabled intersections. Their transportation department did surveys before and after their installation. The surveys showed dramatic increases in perceived safety. Also, their data showed that the number of speeding vehicles declined from about 60% of vehicles to less than 10% in some cases.

Any progress on this? Has the neighborhood submitted a Complete Streets Request Form so that the request gets into the city system?