ConnDot Route 34-New Haven

This is where you cross Route 34 with no pedestrian crossing signals to guide you. A life or death situation every time. Due to be fixed eventually, but it would be nice if it happened sooner.

Cars coming out of Route 34 ramp routinely drive through red lights in the morning hours, despite the green light for cars coming up College and the walk signals at the pedestrian crossing. Cameras or police car to help ticket for such behavior would be extremely helpful!

We have been experiencing an exceedingly great number of quality of life issues and crime around 1 Union Ave and we would very much like the New Haven Police Department to be fix the issues before the summer months arrive. We noticed the police department continues to bill the tax payers, yet are not providing even the very basic services that a police department is expected to provide. Crime is out of control; people are constantly shooting people and being shot, violence in general is beyond scary, and all other gang crime and drug crimes are becoming far too common and committed in the open. Traffic violations are out of control; there are speeding cars everywhere, basic traffic rules are disregarded by almost everyone, and people committing more serious offenses like running red lights and stops signs occur at a frequency that is beyond appalling. Quality of life issues are out of control; the list is so long and everyone knows it.

Why don't you start by pulling people over for basic offenses like: no brake lights, headlights out, cracked windshields, missing plates, expired plates, tinted windows, loud mufflers, and loud music. If they have tinted windows, pull them over. If they then look suspicious, search the vehicle. If they have a loud muffler, pull them over. If they then look suspicious, search the vehicle. If they are playing loud music, pull them over. If they then look suspicious, search the vehicle. I guarantee the results of following these very basic procedures will be noticed by ALL the City of New Haven residents and its out of town visitors. The people who value life and want a decent quality of life will be very appreciative.

You say you cannot because you are undermanned/understaffed. Not true. You need to restructure your department. It is as simple as that. You also need to get your priorities straight. Why do we see countless officers all over town watching construction workers doing their jobs? Or, directing traffic like a flagman, at best? You say safety. Not true. Why not hire a real flagger who has been trained? Half the time these officers are sitting in their cars talking on their cell phones. Lately, we have seen not one cop at each construction site, but two, usually sitting around talking and not paying attention. All of these officers could, and SHOULD, be driving around pulling people over for the above mentioned quality of life and traffic offenses. Simple as that. Again, if they have tinted windows, pull them over. If they then look suspicious, search the vehicle. If they have a loud muffler, pull them over. If they then look suspicious, search the vehicle. If they are playing loud music, pull them over. If they then look suspicious, search the vehicle. The procedure is simple and effective and has years of use behind it to back up its effectiveness.

If you follow this simple plan that I have spelled out above (it doesn't require much brain matter), it is certain that this little town of 124,000 people can return to some degree of normalcy before the summer really gets going. I am sure there are many other New Haven residents out there that would agree with me.

Thank you for your time,

A New Haven Resident

This building is a landmark historical treasure and needs to be preserved.

Please add your comments, stories about the Shul, and reasons why you feel that it is significant on the comments here.

Please forward the issue to individuals you know who are interested.

The more people who "vote" to have this fixed, the more likely this building can be restored to its former glory as a community space for all -- instead of an abandoned building.

Excellent photographs of the Shul may be found here:

http://www.orchardstreetshul.org/photo.html

Due to the construction on Route 34, traffic gets backed up along South Frontage Road at York Street. Vehicles try to beat the red light and are stopped in the middle of the intersection (blocking the box) during the pedestrian crossing signals, causing pedestrians to weave around the vehicles to cross the street. Because there are three lanes of traffic stopped and some are trying to get out the intersection, they don't see pedestrians weaving around the adjacent cars as they cross. Some pedestrians try to cross against the light when vehicles are stopped thinking it is safe to cross when it clearly is not (photo attached). These condition are extremely dangerous for anyone who uses this intersection and needs to be addressed immediately.

Can you imagine what is going to happen to traffic when the DeStefano administration fills in RT 34 and closes all the exits except Church Street. Are they out of their minds? Remember when I-91 went from 4 lanes to one? You don't need to be a traffic engineer to see that that wasn't going to work. Where is the traffic going to go? Through traffic on 34 to Derby and beyond will now be mandated to go through downtown. The real danger is traffic backing up onto the new Q bridge,I-95 and I-91. The State has just reconfigured the interchange and now needs to make the 4 lanes down to 1 or 2 within a few hundred feet. Anyone else see this issue ???

Please post here if you have more information about the shooting. You may post information anonymously.

Also post if you have ideas on how to reduce violent crime in the neighborhood, especially on this block. Is more lighting needed? Dwight sees somewhat elevated violent crime rates when compared to the city as a whole.

News excerpt:

"NEW HAVEN – A 29-year-old man was shot to death early this morning on George Street in the Dwight neighborhood, police said. It was the city’s fourth homicide this year.

"Officers went to the rear of a home in the 500 block of George Street at about 3 a.m. and found the man, whom police did not identify, suffering from multiple gunshots wounds, police said in a statement released just before 11 a.m. today."

It's back. See photo. There will be a lawsuit here.can I opt my tax dollars out of the settlement?

Currently, there is no nighttime lighting on the bridge on College st. that connects the Yale Med campus to the downtown area. Besides the obvious concern for pedestrian safety/lack of visibility at night in an area notorious for aggressive drivers, people beg for money frequently in the area due to the high traffic volume. I am concerned that if nothing is done to properly light the area, there is an increased risk for people getting hit by traffic and/or for confrontations/assaults in a poorly lit area at night. As the days get shorter into winter, hundreds of people who walk that way home from work will be exposed to these increased risks. Construction for the "Downtown Crossing" project is scheduled to continue into 2016. With one of the goals of this project being increasing sustainable commuting practices - who is looking out for these commuters during the construction phase? I hope this issue is resolved proactively before someone gets seriously hurt.

I bicycle pretty much anywhere, but I have to admit that I feel pretty shook up whenever I ride on Boulevard. Paving a trail in West River Memorial Park alongside the road, combined with crosswalk improvements, would both make Boulevard a complete street and add significantly to New Haven’s greenway trail network.

The Boulevard is a major north-south thoroughfare within the city from I-95 to Whalley Avenue and beyond, but it is dangerous for all road users, including motorists, but especially cyclists and pedestrians due to high travel speeds and traffic volume. There is, however, ample room within the 48+ foot right-of-way to incorporate a two-way protected cycle track along the entire length of the Boulevard without significantly diminishing the car carrying capacity of the roadway. Doing so would calm traffic, vastly improve safety for all road users, and encourage alternative transportation options to driving for many commuters.

Should funding become available for this type of infrastructure, the Boulevard would be a worthwhile candidate since it traverses four city neighborhoods, several schools, and is a major roadway in need of traffic calming.

For more information on how a cycle track might work along the Boulevard, see below:
Complete Streets Request Form: https://newhavenurbanism.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/the-boulevard_cycle-track.pdf
Online article: http://newhavenurbanism.org/new-haven-urbanism/multimodal-transportation-planning/the-boulevard/