On Sunday, Connecticut Urbanists placed Ghost Shoes as memorials for pedestrians killed in the southwest area of the state. One of these was for a person who was run down on CT-127 in Bridgeport in January; on Sunday, another driver hit another pedestrian on CT-127, placing the man in critical condition.
When will they fix the road?
Last week, West Hartford’s town engineer went on record saying he didn’t think now was an appropriate time to redesign Trout Brook Drive between Asylum Avenue and Route-44. That was on March 1st. That same day, at Trout Brook Drive and Route-44, a bus and truck collided; the bus driver had significant injuries and needed to be extricated.
What exactly are they waiting for to fix a known problem area? Why let an incoming project that might not begin for months, years, dictate and delay safety improvements?
Across the state, there were at least three pedestrian sent to the hospital in critical condition last month after drivers hit them; it’s not known publicly if their conditions have improved or not. One of these serious crashes happened in Vernon on February 11, 2023 around 4:45 PM — daylight. The driver of a BMW 3 Series (sports sedan) struck a man in his 50s on Route 30, close to the intersection with Route 31. This is near a fast doughnut business, grocery store, and various other places a person would want to walk to but would have trouble accessing due to missing sidewalks and general car-centered design. There’s an elementary school nearby, though that section of road at least has a sidewalk. One of the few bus stops in this public transit desert is nearby, but good luck getting to it. I’m familiar with this area, having grown up nearby, and it explains a lot about why I sought to live somewhere more walkable. On February 19, 2023, a driver struck a woman walking on Route 5 (1840 Berlin Turnpike) in Wethersfield around 8 PM. While there is a newly painted crosswalk with pedestrian signal here, it’s kind of a joke as nothing has been done to actually slow down vehicles. Someone trying to cross would have to walk across six lanes of traffic where the speed limit is 50 MPH. There are no sidewalks. Somebody, make this make sense. On February 26, 2023 multiple drivers managed to not anticipate pedestrians in an area of New Haven where there are always people trying to cross the street due to the number of shops and restaurants, along with proximity to campus. The driver of a Toyota Sequoia and the driver of a Chevrolet Silverado hit a Yale student at the Elm and York intersection in New Haven around 1:34 AM. It’s common for drivers to barrel down one-way Elm Street in an attempt to beat the light.
In February, drivers killed six people who were walking on Connecticut’s roadways.
Two of these preventable deaths happened on the first day of the month.
In New Haven, a driver struck and killed a still publicly unidentified male who was reportedly found by a passerby around 3 AM. The victim was unconscious and bleeding; he was pronounced dead at the hospital. The driver did not remain on scene nor notify emergency services. Sherman Parkway has sidewalk on the east but not west side of the street. There are painted bike lanes. This is near several schools and a police academy. The posted speed limit appears to be 25 MPH. To cross Sherman Parkway, the nearest marked crosswalk is 0.3 mile (five minute walk) or 0.4 mile (seven minute walk). All side street crossings are marked in this area. There was a fatal dirt bike crash within one block, in 2018. There was a fatal car crash, within one block, in 2021.
Then, at 11:36 PM, 58-year old Clarence Harkless of New Britain was found unresponsive on Meriden’s Lewis Avenue by the MidState Medical Center entrance. This is near the I-691 exit ramp and down the block from the Meriden Mall. Police report that the driver of a white SUV struck and killed Harkless. The motorist reportedly pulled over on Lewis Ave while a passenger got out to look around the vehicle. The passenger re-entered the vehicle and they continued on their way, as if they had not just hit a person. This deadly collision occurred on Lewis Avenue, which is a multi-lane road — four lanes on one side of this intersection and five lanes on the other. It appears that not every leg of the intersection has a marked crosswalk. The posted speed limit is 25 MPH but the road is designed to accommodate much higher speeds, particularly later in the evening when less congestion makes higher speeds easier to achieve. The only median in the intersection is at the end of the highway ramp, near the slip lane for vehicles turning right off of I-691. Early in the investigation, police believe the victim was struck by a vehicle northbound, on the hospital side of the road, rather than where the exit is located.
On February 15, 2023, there were two more fatal collisions with pedestrians in Connecticut.
Around 4:30 PM, in daylight, the driver of a 2018 Acura ILX (compact car) struck and killed Alma Willis, 74, on Connecticut Route 130 at Broad Street in Bridgeport. News reports have not indicated how a driver managed to hit someone in an intersection where there is a painted crosswalk and pedestrian light.
A driver struck and killed a still not publicly identified pedestrian on Connecticut Route 113 near Garden Street East in Stratford. This apparently happened at night. There was sparse media coverage of it. Route 113 is a four-lane road with no marked crosswalk in this area, where there are bus stops on either side of the street. At the nearby traffic light to the north, there is also no marked crosswalk and no pedestrian signal, despite the presence of a strip mall. The speed limit appears to be 30 MPH.
On February 19, 2023, Yaseri Cortes, 20, from Springfield Massachusetts died of vehicular violence. This happened around 10:25 PM, north of exit 48 on the southbound side of I-91 in Enfield. A driver struck her with a vehicle. News reports have both described her as “walking in the center lane” and “right in front of the driver’s vehicle.” The motorist chose to leave without providing aid to the victim or taking responsibility. The pedestrian died from these injuries. News outlets have not managed to release a description of the assailant’s murder weapon, despite their confidence in knowing where the victim was when she was hit.
On February 26, 2023, a person was killed on I-91 South between exits 2 and 3 in New Haven after he was struck by the driver of a Honda Pilot EXL (SUV), driver of a Mini Cooper, and driver of a Toyota Corolla (sedan). This happened around 9:50 PM.
None of these individuals needed to die. Several people did not need to incur life-threatening injuries. But this is what happens when those with the power to renovate streets delay because of incoming potential developments, because of faux environmental concerns, because they don’t want people whimpering about losing free places to store their cars in public, because they simply don’t want to be bothered. If they wanted to, they would make streets much safer so that someone’s split second bad decision — whether that’s the driver, pedestrian, or both — does not have deadly or life-altering results.
