Description
There are way too many cars speeding down Whitney Ave at all times of day. I am a frequent runner on this street, and I am often amazed at how many cars speed. There are also many instances I have recently seen of cars going right on red (when not permitted) or even LEFT on a red light. Cars run red lights daily. As a runner, biker, and walker, my life is threatened by these actions by drivers. PLEASE begin to enforce traffic laws!
13 Comments
juli (Registered User)
Neighbor (Guest)
Just me (Guest)
MichaelD (Guest)
Greta (Registered User)
juli (Registered User)
neighbor: cyclists have just as much a right to the road as motorists, and are afforded all of the same rights to do so. bringing up a bike trail is completely unrelated to the issue at hand. just because taxpayer dollars have been spent on a recreational trail (which is utilized by not only cyclists but runners, skaters, baby strollers, etc), it doesn't mean motorists have a right to break traffic laws and endanger the lives of pedestrians and cyclists.
and i think the excuse of light timing is weak. having to stop at a light or two does not significantly alter your travel time. if you are that stressed about getting caught at a few lights, and are willing to put peoples lives at risk to prevent getting caught at one, you didn't allow enough time for your commute. how many minutes does society deem perfectly acceptable to sit in front of a TV waiting for ten commercials? if you find driving your vehicle lawfully to be inconvenient, maybe you should find an alternate form of transportation i.e. not relying so heavily on single-occupant driving trips.
Neighbor (Guest)
juli (Registered User)
neighbor, again, i am confused. you sound like you are suggesting that because there is a bike trail, that is the only place cyclists should ride, just to justify the taxpayer expense you keep referring to. (this is especially frustrating considering the tiny fraction that is spent on walking and cycling infrastructure improvements despite the huge percentage of trips made on bike or foot in new haven.)
back to the original issue at hand, though-- speeding and red light running is a huge issue in new haven, especially on streets like whitney, and we should not have to accept life-threatening situations just because people are in a rush.
Greta (Registered User)
Me again (Guest)
Juli we can't guilt trip problems into going away, unless you want to put that on a placard and stand over on Whitney for the rest of eternity so people can read it as they speed by... although that might make things worse. My comment about the poor timing of the lights was trying to address WHY people are speeding. If you can fix the source of a problem you fix it permanently; if you just treat the symptoms you'll be doing it forever.
"How many minutes does society deem perfectly acceptable to sit in front of a TV waiting for ten commercials?" : I don't know but for me it's zero. I won't watch live TV, only DVR and I don't drive in New Haven except when absolutely necessary for exactly this reason. I would rather roll through town over a trail of broken glass naked in January that drive around in that city. Some might think that's all fine and dandy and people should walk or bike or w/e, however the businesses that lose out because the city is such a pain to navigate probably don't like it, the drivers who have to drive around in town don't like it, and the pedestrians/bikers who have to deal with cars trying to speed their way out of this place dont' like it either.
So fix the timing on the lights and everyone will be happy :)
angela (Guest)
neighbor (Guest)
Closed runner (Guest)