This is a terrible intersection. I live on Eld and although it would be faster to get home from i95/i91 by turning right on Bradley, left on State instead I go the longer Pearl route to avoid this intersection.

We need to make this intersection safer for the residents of Bradley, the MANY motorists who use Bradley as a cut through, and the pedestrians and bicyclists who aren't noticed because motorists turning from Bradley onto State are concentrating on oncoming traffic/edging out into State.

This is a big problem intersection. The CS request is a great idea. I like the idea of a bump out, also known as a curb extension (which would make pedestrians much more visible) and any other measures that would significantly reduce speeds, such as narrow lanes.

Visibility isn't as much of a concern when speeds are lower, because reaction times increase exponentially. In fact, increasing visibility too much (e.g., by removing all street trees) can actually result in higher vehicle speeds and make an intersection significantly more dangerous.

One way to address visibility immediately, if there is an imminent safety risk, would be to remove one of the parking spaces near the intersection that currently blocks the view of drivers heading south. But again, that may just result in higher speeds and negate any gain in safety.

Bump-outs/curb extensions are also useful to prevent illegal parking in the area that should be "daylighted". If a bump out is too expensive, temporary measures are often used. A system of bollards that creates a temporary curb extension can last for 5 to 10 years until funding is found to make the installation permanent.

Here is an image of a temporary curb extension. These are widely used in other countries.

Mark -- thank you so much for all of this very helpful info -- especially for the temporary (and less costly) bollard system idea.

This is an extremely dangerous intersection and, since Bradley is a one way street, I am forced to go through it multiple times a day. The mirror posted across the street does little to help the driver's visibility - you get a glimpse of a car as its almost about to hit you. Turning both right and left are dangerous here as cars often park (illegally) up to the end of the curb on State St, so it's difficult to see around them.

I'm all for a curb extension and measures (limiting parking up to the intersection) that would make this safer!

As an Eld St resident I agree that making any turn (but most dangerously, a left turn) from Bradley St onto State St is treacherous. There is a small reflective mirror posted across State St, but it is not reliable enough to use as you cannot see far enough down State St and cars come down State St at speeds higher than posted speed limits to get to 91 on ramp or downtown. I have found this turn to be so dangerous I have started changing my route home by avoiding Bradley St (which is significantly quicker) by heading north on Orange st, turning right on Pearl St and right onto Eld St.

While I am thinking of this, Pearl St on the State St side needs to be re-paved. The jarring divots and bumps are unparalleled in any other city I have lived in.

Thank you for allowing me to post my opinions about this intersection. Hope we can make a positive change there.

Page 1 of the New Haven Complete Streets application for a bump out or traffic light at Bradley/State, submitted April 2012

As a Bradley Street resident, I have to use that intersection every day and it is a very dangerous one, especially turning left. Cars parked in front of old Goodfellas block the view and you hope that nobody is driving fast when you try to make a turn.

I have seen several "near misses" at that intersection: cars:cars and cars:bikes.

As a resident of Bradley Street, I agree, and am very much in favor of a traffic light at the intersection of Bradley and State Steets.

Peggy Atherton

I feel as though a traffic light is the only option that would alliviate the high probability of injury at State and Bradley. Cars speed through this section. Visibility is not good, especially at night when the dark underpass obscures both cars and pedestrian traffic. A solution here is long overdue.

As a Bradley St resident for over 20 years, I am constantly faced with turning at this very treacherous intersection. Visibility is always extremely poor. We have been trying to seek a resolution to this problem for a long time.
Bradley St was also promised a re-paving some years ago after sidewalks were done and we have watched our road surface continue to deteriorate. We have planted trees and beautified the block. Kindly take care of these issues. We would appreciate it.

As a current resident of Eld Street, I support this long-overdue measure. The intersection is dangerous, especially at night or under low-visibility conditions. The t-intersection is made worse by aggressive parking on State Street that forces someone turning (esp. left) to move into the flow of traffic (and hopefully not get hit by a speeding car).

I hope that the impact evaluation also takes into the account the possibility of traffic calming measures on Eld. If drivers know there's a light at Bradley/State, then they may be tempted to turn onto Eld to avoid it. Our once-sleepy street is no longer quiet, especially with J. Fucci's construction crews tearing down it to get back to Trumbell Street. More traffic could be an unintended side effect of the new intersection. Perhaps this is the time to revisit a speed bumps on Eld (and Pearl?)?

I am very much in favor of a traffic light at the corners of State and Bradley streets .
The traffic is much increased and the parked cars right up to the corners make visibility awful .

Mark A, Candido

Every solution should be evaluated, but note that a traffic light installation would be extremely expensive and require police enforcement. The visibility issue that is clearly a problem here (and at other intersections throughout New Haven) can be addressed through some of the alternative, low-cost measures suggested below as well as through lighting. There are proven, low-cost methods to reduce speeding as well.

Has the Alderperson signed on to the CS application?

I support this CS application and have spoken with Jim Travers in Traffic and Parking about it. When cars are parked on State St., it becomes a blind turn. I have seen near-misses here for cyclists and cars. It could be greatly improved with a bump-out or alternative traffic calming measure. The current mirror on State is not sufficient.

Thank you, Ms Holmes!

A bump-out is an extremely (prohibitively!) expensive solution given the position of storm drains and other conditions, given the few people who use Bradley, and especially given other low-tech/low cost solutions:
1) Change the direction of one-way traffic on Bradley. This eliminates all traffic entering State Street from Bradley, and eliminates all turning hazards - simple!! Very good visibility for traffic entering Orange from Bradley. Stop signs on Orange would ease access during rush hour, if necessary, and also slow traffic on Orange - a good side benefit.
OR
2) Move the CT Transit bus stop on State @ Bradley, and stripe a crosswalk near the corner. Visibility is mostly blocked by illegally parked delivery trucks; adding a crosswalk moves legally parked cars away from the intersection. People do not park in crosswalks - the violation is too apparent.
3) Adding a flashing yellow light to the existing light pole south/east of the bridge would better caution northbound drivers and slow traffic, but this is still a relatively expensive intervention.

I am a resident of the neighborhood, and know well the problems at this intersection. I do not think the CS proposal is a wise expenditure of tax dollars. Please please please! No more overbuilding like the mess on Edwards @ Livingston, where 3 inexpensive stop signs and 3 crosswalks would have solved all problems.
The CS proposal also has the unfortunate appearance of an infrastructure-for-votes political trade, given a reasonable per capita cost/benefit analysis ....

As I've mentioned below, I agree a low cost solution should be pursued first.

With lower cost solutions such as paint, geometry changes including "daylighting" techniques, in-road pedestrian signs, temporary curb extension bollards, mini-circles, cones and planters, we could do traffic calming on 20 intersections for the price of a single example like Edwards/Livingston. Many European cities have done this for years and now many American cities are starting to as well. Seattle just finished calming 1,000 intersections, and Saint Louis put out large planters in the street at multiple intersections throughout Downtown.

We just need someone with the creativity to do this. Just getting the in-road pedestrian signs was a process that involved years of advocacy by citizens against a very resistant engineering department - even though there was massive amounts of qualitative and quantitative data from other states to support their use.

One note on the comment below - I am not sure that a flashing light is an inexpensive solution.

Changing the direction of one-way traffic on Eld Street is the best idea. This solution poses no inconvenience to Bradley Street or neighborhood residents, costs very little, and cleverly disappears all hazards and issues.
Humphrey, Pearl, Trumbull, and Audubon provide nearby easy access to State Street for the neighborhood, and a 4-way stop at Orange and Bradley solves any possible access-to-Orange problem.
On another note, I don't endorse imported design solutions like the northwestern ideas being proffered here and in other CS applications. Climate, culture, and urban structure there differ greatly from ours here (which is why many of us live here and not there!) The difference in rainfall alone suggests site-specific tactics.
Planters from Portland, murals from Philadelphia, photo"art" from Godknowswhere ... Why not invent New Haven solutions that respond to and resonate with place? Imitation is a poor, poor substitute.

As I write there is an accident that just happened at the intersection of Bradley and State Street. This is exactly the accident all of us fear every time we pull out of Bradley onto State. Something must be done to make this a safer intersection for all -- now.

Daphne: Thank you for documenting the crash. It is very helpful.

Urbanista: I agree that context is important, but most of the solutions that are being mentioned here are common to cities with identical climates not just worldwide, but also in Connecticut. It's a simple fact that when you make the road wider, people tend to drive much faster, all other things considered. It's also a fact that being hit by a car at 20MPH carries a 5% or lower risk of death, whereas being hit by a car at 30MPH carries a 50% risk of death, no matter where you live. Changing the status quo is the only way to improve our quality of life and health.

There was a truck parked in front of the restaurant, in the "No Standing" zone at the time of the accident (see attached photos). The presence of the parked truck, at the time of the accident, was confirmed by the person who saw the accident take place and who gave me the initial photo. Trucks or SUVs regularly park in this spot, which completely obstructs the view when turning from Bradley onto State. There would have been no way for the car pulling out of Bradley to see the oncoming traffic. This was explained as a major part of the problem in our Complete Streets Application.

We must have bump outs, a traffic light, or a change of traffic flow to fix this.

The problem continues...Around 1:00 pm today one illegally parked truck -- called the police, no action.
2:30 pm-- *Three* illegally parked trucks delivering to the old goodfellas/soon to be Bronx Burgers. Called the police again. Dispatcher added information to the earlier call and said they'd send a car.

Three illegally parked vehicles at once, 2:30 Friday

View of Bradley St drivers blocked/left turn onto State very dangerous

Thank you for the update, Dangerous-Intersection. The solutions suggested above would permanently solve the visibility issues that you bring up. This is known as "daylighting" an intersection.

While "daylighting" can make the area safer by increasing visibility, it can also have an unintended consequence: higher speeds. As people driving along State feel less worried that they'll hit a driver pulling out of Bradley Street, they'll begin driving at a much faster speed. This is basic psychology - something that our traffic engineers need to study a lot more of.

Bottom line is, in addition to improving visibility, we need other changes to the design that permanently limit travel speeds to the level desired by the community.

Guest- you need to request to speak with a supervisor and leave a name and call back number so when they don't respond you have recourse.Have you tried calling traffic and parking directly? Sometimes they can be more responsive.

BTW your dreaming if you think that anything will change at this intersection. Its been like that for more than 20 years. It will take several fatal accidents for anything to be done.

Thanks for the tips about the requesting to speak to the supervisor, and contacting traffic and parking. RE: "your dreaming if you think that anything will change at this intersection." -- I agree -- the City taking action is unlikely. .But we still need to document the illegal parking problem/dangerous intersection, which caused an accident last week.

Folks, now is our chance. The old GoodFellas/Bronx Burger space is empty, and illegal parking in the bus stop on State is no longer a daily/continuous habit. Let's find a way to remove the temptation/ability to park in the bus stop. Perhaps a curb extension as suggested in an earlier post?

I filled out a complete streets application for this problem in April 2012, created this SeeClickFix report in July of 2012, have discussed this issue many times with our then Alderman Jessica Holmes, and our current Alderman, Doug Hausladen, I reported it on SeeClickFix again (with photographs), and sent an email to Rob Smuts and the rest of the complete streets committee, in March 2013 when there was an accident at this intersection due to a truck illegally parked in front of the former Goodfellows. At that time Mr. Smuts wrote back saying the city engineer was working on a design proposal, and, after the accident, this intersection was put on the high priority list. I have heard nothing since. I agree -- now is our chance! It would be wonderful if there was finally some movement on this.

More illegal parking at this intersection:
http://seeclickfix.com/issues/715205

Shouldn't the City be liable for the next accident caused by an illegally parked car at this intersection, since they have done nothing to address the issue, but have been informed?

Can someone from the city please provide and update on the status of this intersection? On March 19, 2013, Rob Smuts sent an email, to me, that this intersection was on the higher priority list, due to the accident and traffic data, and that the city engineer was working on a design proposal. I haven't heard anything since. Thank you.

They need a chicane

Hello,

This SeeClickFix post was just brought to our attention. The city is currently pushing to have a greater presence on SeeClickFix, and we are trying to catch up on old postings while managing the new. Typically, the Engineering Department will contact the person who submits the request, however, contact information in the original request on file was left blank.

The Bradley and State St. intersection is on our Complete Streets list. At the moment, the project is On Hold. This is because it is located in one of the remaining areas with a combined sewer system. The Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) is working on separating the combined sewer systems around the city. The project is on hold until this separation takes place, otherwise, any new work would be torn up soon after it was built.

According to what I have available, it looks like a design as been proposed for the new sewer system, but there is no information when the work will start. I will check in with the engineer who is more knowledgeable of the WPCA's sewer project to see if we have their schedule, and provide an update early next week.

Thank you for your reply. Please let us know what the design plan is for the Bradley/State intersection, or how we can find out, in addition to the time frame.

Can we find out what the timeline is for this item, before someone is killed here?

There was just another accident at the Bradley and State Street intersection. In March of 2013, there was a hopeful conversation with city officials about doing something to address this dangerous intersection. But, nothing was done. Is it possible to do something at this time?
Thank you.

We do need a solution to prevent cars parking at the bus stop/blocking view of drivers exiting Bradley.

If the meantime, how can we report illegally parked cars when City of New Haven offices are closed? In the past, police officers have declined to ticket cars at this intersection. Now that we have a new (interim) Chief and district manager, will officers ticket illegally parked cars if asked?

November 2019: After over a decade of commenting on SeeClickFix, neighbors filing a complete streets requests, meetings with alders and Director of Transportation, this intersection is still dangerous. The white painted lines near fire hydrant *have* helped somewhat, thank you DH/Dept Transportation, but intersection still perilous. Most perilous when any of the common circumstances occur or combine: 1). cars park or idle illegally near Boiling Sohu/(old Good Fellas spot) 2). City buses or construction vehicles park at legal spots under overpass 3). Cars exceed City Speed Limit

Neighbors, Community Leaders, Dept Transportation: What else can be done at this corner to make it safe for cars, pedestrians, cyclists?

Related/from another post on the topic

We are closing this request due to its historic nature. If this concern still requires attention and you still believe SeeClickFix is a viable tool for its resolution the best way for it to be addressed is for you to create a new request including a current description of what is occurring and what solution you hope to see regarding this matter, citing/linking this request in the details. Thank you for your dedication to improving the quality of life in our community.