I continue to believe that we need an actual stop sign there. The temporary sign is removed in the winter to allow for plowing, and often the sign is knocked down or at the side of the road.

Crosswalk enforcement "stings" have been proposed for similar issues, all over New Haven. They are done in many other cities.

Fundamentally, speeds are too high for vehicles to stop and for there too be a proper balance between drivers and pedestrians. The community should submit a request for traffic calming on Olive Street under the auspices of the city's new "Complete Streets" policy.

Bumpouts or a raised intersection would greatly increase pedestrian visibility and slow traffic, dramatically increasing the likelihood of vehicles slowing. Cambridge, MA, has collected extensive before and after data on the use of these types of measures and their impact on the likelihood of drivers to yield to pedestrians.

"Crosswalk enforcement "stings" have been proposed for similar issues, all over New Haven"

And nothing has happened.

anirra,

you seem to be posting really negative and less-than-helpful posts on several issues today.

what do you propose as a solution?

i agree that this intersection is among many where drivers rarely yield to pedestrians.

Additionally Anirra, we have a new police chief from Chicago where they have employed this technique well on Lake Drive (i think that's the road)

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chicago-police-plan-evening-crosswalk-stings.html

On Saturday at 10am, the Wooster Square Block Watch and the Downtown-Wooster Square Community Management Team are going to meet at this intersection to do a walking tour of the wooster square area from this corner West to Water Street. During the tour, we hope to do enough research to come up with a community idea for what type of zoning, businesses, and residences the neighborhood wants in the area. Currently, it seems like there is a lot of wasted land considering how close it is to downtown and our members thought it would be a great exercise for the community to come together and devise a strategic plan for the space. Please come and join us! Tomorrow at 10am - and afterwards you can hit up the farmer's market!

We will look at:
crosswalks
lighting
zoning
appearance
infrastructure

and nothing will happen.
i have put this in my journal, doug.
lets see.

Why would one not put a stop sign here? Now that Grand Ave. is open again, Olive should be able to return to being a residential street. It would certainly be safer for the children who live here. And, by the way, CT Transit's buses are among the worst offenders on this count.

My guess is that there are specific rules for Stop signs regarding traffic flow and traffic patterns, so it might not just be possible to put a stop sign.

The city reallly needs to investigate in-block user activated crosswalk lights. I've been recommending them for the city for years. Amherst and Northampton MA have them and they are highly successful in stopping traffic when in use.

But stuff like this and what Mark proposes with bumpouts etc. obviously costs money, and the city as we are being constantly reminded has none. So obviously we still need to ASK for things like this so that when money is available they will happen, but for the time being we also need to propose lower cost solutions that can be put into place in the near-term.

Something that might not cost much would simply be yellow flashing lights, either one strung above the road, or one mounted on a pole. At the very least it would serve as another visual signal for drivers to heed.

A second step would be for it to be hooked up to a pedestrian activated button so that it would flash only when in use (and make it a TON more visible for traffic).

Pedro:

Regarding funding, using the city's work order to project the number of years of backlog on issues like this would be a first step. Second, if the time frame was not acceptable, residents could advocate for new financing mechanisms and the city could look into lower-cost solutions, such as paint striping (like the ones at the East Haven Beach crossings) and "temporary" curb extensions.

In fact, many other cities already do this. If a project like this is not able to be funded for 10 years, temporary measures are used for the intervening years.

I don't believe that flashing lights are low cost solutions. One was investigated for the Audubon Arts district and came to $150,000. Just hanging a light with no activation mechanism would be cheaper, but I'm not sure it would be less expensive than 10 or 20 temporary curb extensions.

Endlessly talking about the problem or asking for a cop to be stationed here 24/7 is not a realistic solution in the long term. Instead we need a smarter, but still urgent, policy plan to turn what is currently a detriment to the area into a Complete Street that contributes to the vitality, safety and health of this neighborhood.