From that response, am I to assume that the city policy is to recategorize the issue (i.e., pass the buck) and do nothing?

I ask again: what measurable outcomes and benchmarks are you using to prioritize walkability in this neighborhood?

This is in regards to the Complete Streets policy (http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Engineering/pdfs/CS-Manual-FINAL.pdf), from which I quote (p.11):

1.2 BOA ORDER
The order of the New Haven Board of Aldermen specifies the creation of a policy that:
a. requires the accommodation of the safety and convenience of all users
of the transportation system using a Complete Streets hierarchy of users,
which begins with pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users. These users shall be
accommodated and balanced in all types of transportation and development
projects and through all phases of a project so that the vulnerable – children,
elderly, and persons with disabilities – can travel safely within the public
right of way;
b. mandates the application of this policy, through adherence to principles of
the Design Manual, to any new or improvement project affecting the public
streets and sidewalks (including resurfacing, restoring, and rehabilitation
projects);
c. prioritizes walkability, inter-modal transit, traffic calming and pedestrian based
urban economic development over competing goals; and
d. references performance standards, with measurable outcomes and
benchmarks.

Thanks for the post. Pursuant to your previous posting we have sent officers down Wooster St and issued a significant number of tickets for vehicles in major violations such as this one. Unfortunately we are unable to be present for every instance of violation. We are sending officers again tonight to investigate the area.

My apologies Ben, due to a previous concern in the area of Truman St we were not able to enforce on Wooster tonight. I promise to dispatch officers tomorrow, Saturday, and going into next week.

Too bad you had to quote scripture to get a response- who in the City keeps changing and categorizing things? Who is this masked "city official". lol
At least this time it was correctly forwarded.

Thanks. I understand that traffic and parking enforcement can't be everywhere all the time, and I also understand that I'm not always going to be there to see you in action.

From my perspective (as someone who walks several miles through this neighborhood and downtown nearly every day for several years), the pedestrian safety issue does not seem to be getting any better. There are still cars that park and physically block the crosswalk. There are still cars and buses that don't stop for pedestrians who are in the crosswalks. There are still cars that make illegal turns on red (or completely blow through red lights without stopping) when pedestrians are trying to cross. There are still cars that drive the wrong way down Wooster and Brown Streets. Occasional enforcement every few months only when someone brings the issue up on SeeClickFix is not resolving these issues.

Well stated. And though most bicyclists follow the rules, there are those that terrorize pedestrians by barreling down sidewalks, riding in the wrong direction, and in a sense of amazing entitlement, ride two side by side. I'm a bicyclist myself, but I don't think I'd get a kick out of doing wheelies around the fountain on the Green, even if I could.

Officers issued tickets on Wooster St last night and today to all vehicles in violation. Although I don’t think I’m the “masked city official” referenced above, this SCF issue concerns parking violations which I am able to address. As for the other issues listed in the comments, most are moving violations and would not fall under my or this departments purview which may explain any recatagorization. The best solution would be to open separate issues regarding these concerns so they can be addressed by the appropriate parties at NHPD. We will continue to monitor the area into next week.

Ray Willis
Parking Enforcement Evening Supervisor
City of New Haven
Dept of Transportation, Traffic, & Parking
(203) 410-0077

Ahhh- so "verified city official" can be from any department and just sends it to the correct division? Thank you for taking the time to elaborate on the inquiry !

Issue got better for a while when enforcement was stepped up, but has gone back to being a problem. Again, pedestrians have to step out into the street to see if traffic is coming.

We have continued to monitor violations on Wooster St and have found this situation to have greatly improved. We will continue to monitor the area to sustain our progress, please reopen or repost if you find that vehicles begin to again routinely park illegally. Thank you for your help in this matter.

There are always cars parked illegally on this street. Here's one about 20 feet from the NHPD car that has been parked on Wooster 24 hours a day for the past few days. Could that police officer maybe enforce the laws?

I personally investigated the intersection tonight and found no one in violation. Again, we will continue monitoring the area however there will always be vehicles that park in violation when our officers are not present at that exact moment. If there are specific instances of this occurring, we can act faster if you give us a call at (203)946-8076 and let us know that it is presently occurring. I would advise you to contact NHPD directly at (203)946-6316 with any questions regarding their officers.

I tried calling but there was no answer. There is a car (blue Sebring license plate 8abnv3) parked here at Wooster and Franklin in the no standing zone. Could you ticket or tow? Thanks.