that's why i think if there was a nice arch above elm street for pedestrians to continually cross it would solve the jaywalking and alleviate a bit of the desire to speed through that section...

i added a photo. not the best example, but the arch is right- perhaps stone instead of wood...

The problem is pedestrians are lazy and most probably wouldn't want to climb up a bridge to cross the road. Burying the roa would be great but exhorbitant.

Hm, I don't think pedestrians are necessarily lazier than people who desire to be completely sedentary yet move at high speeds.

No, but given the choice between jaywalking along the flat road and climbing up and down a bridge, I think many pedestrians and most students will jaywalk.

Pedestrian bridges tend to be ugly and unused. Let's bury the traffic instead.

I think this a really interesting problem. It is obvious that citizens were designed to cross here from point a to b by the disjointed paths that were created here by the University.

This is a very good example of where citizens can help design a city from the bottom up based on their use of the city.

We have a similar example happening in Argentina: http://seeclickfix.com/issues/13684

Would others pass this around Yale and post a text to vote flier at this location to see if others would want a pedestrian bridge at this location?

The link to print a flier is here: http://seeclickfix.com/issues/11831.pdf

I agree that it's a problem - but I don't think that a bridge is a solution. The whole point of jaywalking is that people don't want to walk to the crossing point, but climbing up stairs to a bridge of appropriate height would take just as much effort to cross.

I bet if we get creative, we could design something that is attractive and entices people to want to cross safely. How could we make it more fun to cross over a bridge than to walk in front of traffic? Or is walking in front of traffic just too much fun :-)

Agreed!
Brian, could you bring this as a marketing challenge to the architecture department?

Are there any other pedestrian bridges over streets in New Haven? Is this something that makes sense in New Haven?

I don't think there are.
What do you think the best solution is?

That bridge would be packed. People (and yes students) would take it if they could text the whole way across which they would. I think this is a great idea.

there is a pedestrian bridge going from the NHPA Air Rights Garage over South Frontage just West of York Street. This is very rarely used as it would require people to walk up stairs and back down.

a pedestrian bridge prioritizes motor traffic rather than having an equitable roadway for all users. if this were 2 way traffic and one lane each way, would this make it easier/better for pedestrians? also, can someone comment if Elm Street is on the 2012 conversion plan?

Doug, my concern here is that pedestrians don't respect the rights of the traffic. They frequently walk out into the street without looking, or, if they do look, they anticipate the traffic slowing/stopping for them. Instead of going to the two intersections and being safe, they're choosing the dangerous way.

I see a pedestrian bridge as providing another safe option for crossing the street. Furthermore, the picture posted for this issue has no stairs, so it seems easy enough to walk up and down.

Greg, I dunno if you can get adequate vertical clearance without lofting the bridge w/ stairs

greg - great idea, but it just won't work in concept. max is right on the stairs - and the real solution would be a mid block cross walk, cycled into the York and High Street lights. See brian tang's post on the alternate solution SCF issue referencing what is out in front of city hall.

what you are seeing is thousands of pedestrians trying to do their best with poorly designed streets. better design would lead to better behavior on the part of pedestrians.

You know what'd be cool? If there was money to tunnel that section of Elm St.. yeah...

I see a lot of extravagant solutions to a simple problem. Tell me, whose pocket is this pedestrian bridge going to come from? As a New Haven and Connecticut taxpayer, I can list a few things that rank higher on my personal priority list than ensuring that Yalies don't have to walk all the way to the crosswalk before they step into the street.

I have long maintained that Yale ought to offer a mandatory class to every new student: "Pedestrianism 101."

Well, I guess you guys are right: a stair-less bridge wouldn't fit.

I don't like the idea of a mid block crosswalk here, though.

Sorry, but a pedestrian bridge simply will not work here. Urban Design 101.

One solution would be to bury the entire street for thru traffic between Park and State (or between York and Temple, etc.), limiting surface traffic to those who need to take local streets. This could enable the width of the surface street to be reduced down to one travel lane (about 10 feet). However, this would be extremely expensive and not necessarily desirable.

A cheaper solution is to traffic calm the street, so that it is appropriate for users of all ages and abilities. There are simple ways to do this and thousands of examples from other countries.

Over the past few years, London has taken a notable lead in balancing the needs of all road users. Look at the area around Picadilly Circus as an example. To create a walkable city, pedestrian crossing distances should be no greater than 10 feet and speeds no greater than 20 miles per hour. In cases with high traffic, like Elm Street, bollards and barrier fences should be installed to improve the safety and comfort of pedestrians.

Bury the street? To save a few Yalies the trouble of walking a dozen yards? Not on my tax dollar, thank you very much.

Traffic calming measures would be appropriate. But honestly, I'd like to see Yale take up the cause and reach out to its students (and faculty) about pedestrian safety.

I realize that some of the younger students in particular may not come from urban areas, and they may harbor quaint notions about crosswalks and the like. They seem to need to be reminded not to expect the streets of New Haven to come to a screeching halt every time they set foot off the curb.

By the way, I realize this is not just a town/gown issue. However, before we start entertaining fanciful (and expensive) notions about pedestrian walkways and re-engineering this street, we should at least consider the possibility that the responsibility here lies with the pedestrians.

This Saturday the Downtown-Wooster Square Community Management Team and Wooster Square Watch are sponsoring a community planning meeting.
Results from the 2010 New Haven quality of life survey are now available and will be a terrific indicator of the areas of focus for improving the quality of life in our neighborhood.

Please join us!

Saturday, May 8th
8:30 am -- 12 pm
(coffee and refreshments provided)
Conte Hills School Cafeteria

I hope many of you can make it to think strategically as a group about how we as citizens can make a difference in the neighborhood within our broader mission of safety through awareness and prevention.

See you there!

twitter.com/dwscmt
http://groups.google.com/group/DWSCMT

uncle egg: i completely agree with your statement about how you'd like to see Yale take up the cause and reach out to its students (and faculty) about pedestrian safety.

doug: i also agree that we shouldn't cater to driving as the most important mode of travel when considering street improvements.

i also think that there is no need for elm street to be three lanes of speeding traffic through a busy downtown and university. i originally posted this thinking that a bridge would work at a slight grade with no stairs if we were willing to sacrifice one lane of travel. two car lanes, and one cycle track. perhaps even a two way street up from church or state to connect with the broadway district. then again, if it was a two way street, it'd potentially be slow enough traffic to have an effective crosswalk without the need for a bridge...

it just seems silly that it is an obvious place for hundreds of students/residents/visitors to cross daily, but instead they are expected to walk up to high street, wait to cross high street, then wait to cross elm street, then walk back down to immediately across the street from where they were standing.