Very true comment Ok. Ley street is a heavily traveled street that is used as a short-cut to get from Dean street to Townsend avenue where Nathan Hale School is, and quite often vehicles speed down the street. It is only a matter of time before one of these children are hit by a vehicle. I wonder if parents and home owners who allow this realize they are liable if a child gets hit by a vehicle in front of their house because a Basketball Hoop was placed at the street in front of their house encouraging children to play in the street. Isn't there a Basket ball Hoop just a block away in the schoolyard of St. Bernadette's? I'm sure it will probably take a child getting hit before something is done about this issue.

I drove by there earlier, it's on Ley Street close to Townsend Ave. 4 kids playing basketball in the street and in the dark. All wearing dark clothing making it hard to see them. The kids didn't look like the usual kids that are there and may not even been the ones that live over there...nice, a public basketball hoop now, glad I don't live over there. They seemed to act as if I was in their way...I thought I heard profanities directed at me as I drove by. I didn't like the way two of the bigger kids looked at me as I passed them...maybe it's time I start avoiding that street.

8:05 pm 12/15/12, kids playing basketball in street,' some look as young as 10 years old. The original post was over 3 weeks ago and hasn't been addressed? SeeClickFix? More like SeeClickandIgnored. Accident just waiting to happen.

The homeowner is responsible?? What about the parents of the children? If they let their children play in the street, maybe DCF should hold them accountable for the inevitable accident that is coming, rather than the homeowner.
I like SEECLICKIGNORE. How about Public Works claiming trash and leaves were picked up that were not--- SEECLICKLIE

This site is another waste of time , designed to make people feel they are heard when they are not. It is a good barometer of the services/amenities/accountability found in New Haven. Take a look at what we've got.

Does New Haven have any laws/ordinances that do not allow hoops in the street?

No, this issue has not been resolved, nor has it even been acknowledged. As stated in the complaint and comments, nothing will probably been done about it, at least not until a tragedy happens.

This still has not been addressed. Yesterday the high winds knocked the hoop over and it landed partially across the road. Because the hoop is black in color it was hard to see it lying in the street and I almost ran into it with my car.

I'm sorry that the hoop fell over. Perhaps they should put water in the base to keep it upright.

More generally, however, local streets are our most important public space. If this were on a major arterial, that would be one matter, but since this is a local street, for use by local residents who live on the block to access their homes, the movement of through automobile traffic should not be the priority. If you need to get someplace not on that block, just take Burr Street. If you are using Ley Street as a cut-through route, you are the problem, not the people who live there.
http://www.streetfilms.org/revisiting-donald-appleyards-livable-streets/

I bicycle past basketball hoops on the street in Hamden all the time and I don't mind at all because I recognize that I am the visitor/guest on those streets and that I should behave myself accordingly.

If any action should be taken, it should be to close the street to through traffic and keep it open for local access only.

Before closing an issue like this Brian, please take the time to thoroughly read the issue and all of the comments. The main issue here is not that the hoop fell into the street, but that children are being encouraged to play in the street. The issue here is that no one, not a resident of the street or just a passer-by, wants to be the one that accidently strikes a child that darts out in front of them while playing basketball in the street. This issue will remain open until it is addressed, and hopefully it will not be addressed simply because a child was struck by a vehicle.

Actually, I think the issue is that people are using Ley St as a cut-through route. That is a serious issue that is likely a major nuisance to people who live there. The solution is not for the residents of Ley St to forfeit the public space they have claimed; the solution is for through traffic to not drive down Ley St. Like I said, if you need to get somewhere, why don't you just take Burr St?

Because I live here on Ley Street Brian, right smack in the middle of it. Some of the other commenters live here as well, and yes the cut-throughs are a problem that we live with every day. The cut-throughs will always exist, but the allowing of children to play in the path of the cut-throughs will not. Your input is appreciated and you are entitled to your opinion, but this is our problem.

You know, it is possible to prevent cut-through traffic with a pretty simple traffic control device. It's called a "half closure." The city installed one at the intersection of Fredrick and Fowler in the Amity section of Westville. In that case, it made the block of Fowler between Fairfield and Fredrick two-way for local traffic, but one-way for through traffic. It was a simple and cheap version (a Do Not Enter sign placed in the middle of the street), but they can be designed to be much more attractive (by instead blocking the lane with a planted area, for example).

Speed humps can also be reasonably effective at discouraging, or at least slowing down, cut-through traffic, especially if paired with other traffic calming enhancements. I think this would be worth asking your alder person about. Surely the cut-through traffic creates all sorts of problems other than threatening children and adults playing on your street.

You have my sympathies and I wish you the best of luck in discouraging cut-through traffic and in calming the traffic on your street. Let me know if your alder person doesn't understand traffic calming or if I can be of assistance in any other way.

Better yet, if I were in your shoes, I would make a pair of bright yellow plywood sandwich boards that say "Welcome to our street. Kids play here. Please drive slowly." and prop them up on the side of the road at either end of the street. The inward facing sides could say something like "Thanks for driving slowly! Y'all come back now :)" It would add some flair to your block, you wouldn't have to wait for anything, and best of all, I really do think it could work. Let me know if you'd like any tips on constructing plywood sandwich boards (basically, you take two pieces of plywood, paint them, attach them with a pair of hinges, drill two holes in the bottom of each side, and run a piece of rope through the holes to keep it from opening too far.)

Yes Brian arrogance!!! The solution to a problem when you don't want to deal with it..Streets were made for driving on not playing!!!! It's a busy street the kids don't move out of the way because parents don't tell them too!! The only way they will remove it is when a child gets hit by a car!! Shame on you!!!!

Oh and next time they are obstructing traffic CALL the COPS!!

I actually think we should encourage people to use our streets like this. Simultaneously we should mitigate behavior like "cutting through" streets. If its true that a child who goes near the street will likely be hit by a car, then shouldn't cars be regulated? Why would we blame the victim? This is a COMMUNITY not a highway! If a child gets kidnapped in a mall, we don't say, "well, children shouldn't go near a mall, we all know that. They're dangerous." How did it ever get to this point that we've accepted speeding cars as a normal characteristic of our city streets, as something that just cannot be changed. That's sad. I hope the good folks on Ley Street can take back their street.

That makes no sense ..plenty of parks for kids to play ..encouraging kids to play in the street bad idea..streets are for cars not kids..

I think you need to question your assumptions, Opinion, because they are making you look ridiculous. New Haven's streets existed for over two hundred years before the invention of the automobile. Even sleepy ol' Morris Cove originally developed as a community based around a streetcar line (which incidentally passed one block to the south on Concord Street). New Haven's streets were unpaved or paved only with cobblestones until the early 1900s. By 1896, a decade before even early automobiles arrived on the scene, cyclists, yes the bicycling precursor to AAA, lobbied the state legislature to regulate bicycle etiquette. This is the origin of Connecticut's vehicle laws. (The automobile was on nobody's mind when our moving vehicle laws were passed.) Meanwhile, it was also the cyclists who lobbied city government to pave over the old cobblestone and brick streets with smooth asfalt that would be better for cycling.

I don't blame you for thinking that New Haven's streets were built to serve the automobile. For the most part, we have gone well out of our way over the past half century to modify them to exclude all other users. It is important to recognize, however, that our streets become inhospitable only when we choose to make them that way. The fact is, anyone who runs a child off of the road is being a jerk, especially when the driver is a guest in the neighborhood and the child lives there. Speeding down a local street like this is a rude and inconsiderate thing to do. Why should we bend over backward to accommodate such behavior?

Times have changed!! You also were able to sleep with your door open!! And leave things outside without chains..and then when cars were made leave them open..if you want to let your kids play in the street awesome..but we will continue driving down any street we want..good luck with this ..you clearly have much time to dwell on it...

This hoop diappeared for a while, but has now once again been set-up at the curb in the street.

I'm sure it was taken away during winter months..it will stay until someone gets hit by a car..because they don't get out of the way wheb a car cones...then it will be the drivers fault!!!!

This is a bunch of BS. A beautiful day like today and I can't even enjoy the pleasure of opening my windows to let the fresh air in because I am forced to listen to the repetative pounding of a basketball, and I live several houses away. No one gives a crap that these kids are playing in the middle of the street and risk getting hit, that they block traffic, and that the sound is annoying as hell. I didn't buy a house near a park where a basketball hoop should be (not in the middle of the road). We pay taxes and what do we get in return? Ignored. "New Haven" The home of ATV's and motorcycles flying up and down our streets, Basketball Hoops set-up wherever someone wants to put it, cars flying down streets and not stopping for stop signs, and more. Total BS

As always nothing will change until a kid is hit cuz they don't move out of the way.. Steal it in the middle of the night !!!! Call the cops !!!

GREAT, now there are 2 basketball hoops set-up, one one each end of the "one block long" street!!!!! Double the annoyance, and double the chances for a child to get hit. Thanks for not addressing this and ignoring it for 6 months instead!!!

Get the media involved!! WTNH ..get mayors office, police, zoning involved!! It might not even be LEGAL to have them on a city street!! Since nothing is done here!! Get neighbors to sign a petition !!!!

OMG ...Hopefully this is the last comment...I spoke with the parent this morning ,5/2/13, who was unaware that the entire street was in a uproar over his kids basketball hoop (his words not mine) ..anyway , i told him I was surprised that no one neighbor addressed this situation with him and it takes a police officer to address it with him...I spoke about the dangers of kids playing in the street and i told him it was illegal to obstruct traffic..i pointed out a large lot (half a block away) on the corner of burr and Ley that they can use to play ball and nobody , I think, would mind . lastly , i told him if it continues ,we , the police, will confiscate the hoop..enjoy your summer....Sgt. Anastasio..

Thank you, Sgt. Anastasio! Such a shame that people won't step from behind their internet anonymity and have a kind word with their neighbors. Thanks for not being one of them!

It's easy to not be anonymous when you're a cop with that authority and you don't have to live with those neighbors. How brave!

This is an issue all over New haven...at least if the kids,teens,etc. are playing at or near home parents will know where they are and get to know their friends. Encourage them to move when cars come and be respectful to neighbors, and neighbors make an effort to be respectful as well.You are the role models kids can learn from how to be good citizens! Thanks to Sgt. Anastasio!!! I hope Westville is reading this!

to another anonymous guest: I put myself out there because thats what ( See click fix) is all about . when folks have issues, they use this site to explain their problems...Then someone like me and other city officials who read this regularly can fix the problem..its just nice to tell folks who it is thats trying to help them...and BTW ..ive lived in Morris Cove for 50 years and live within walking distance of this house..in fact the boys who own it and their friends know me and know where I live...has nothing to do with being brave , its about "common sense and respect for others"..thanks for your contribution to this cause and enjoy your summer!

This issue is closed!! Didn't you read NO playing in the street!! Let it go!!!

I have spoken to parents of many of the children and they continue to let the children play in the streets. All the homes on this block of sheffield have a back yard. This is a problem to driver's and the kids stand in the way which can be very intimidating to drivers. This is not a new issue the court was previously closer to the corner last year which was dangerous to the kids as well as the drivers and complaints we were reported.
However, I will speak to the police LT in the area and see what can be done and i welcome your concern's thank you Alderwoman of this area Alfreda J Edwards

BASKETBALL HOOP back in the street!!!! Driving home from work 3 kids playing in the street ...DID NOT move !!!!!! After the police told them not to!!!

We are trying to delineate issues that are still current and need the department's attention to resolve. If your issue remains and needs to be addressed, please either reopen or create as a new issue under Traffic/Road Safety. Thank you.

This issue is closed.