Safety Committee Activity Recap
With all the recent interest in downtown pedestrian safety I thought this would be a good time to recap what your Safety Committee has been up to the last few years.
But first a quick note about what the committee even is and how we work, because I’ve had a few folks ask: We are three members of Village Council (me, Angie DeBernardo, and Andrew Rockey) that meet on an as-needed basis to discuss safety-related topics that arise and make recommendations to Council and the village administration. We rely on input from the Village Engineer as well as the community, and our own research and experience.
When I joined the committee and was elected chair in 2023 we began to look at possible improvements to downtown crosswalks in response to persistent complaints from residents about feeling unsafe, nearly being hit, etc. With the Main Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project on the horizon, I felt like this was the ideal time to create a plan that could be put into action as the town was put back together once construction was complete.
However, I’m also a big believer in incremental change and I didn’t want to wait three years to do anything so in early 2023 I raised the possibility of using large planters to improve visibility and safety at the mid-block crosswalks, which could be installed on a temporary basis to demonstrate their effectiveness before committing to a more permanent solution. We met several more times throughout 2023 and even had drawings and product recommendations from the engineering firm, but the village never took any action.
During that summer we added the crosswalks at North Main & Bell Streets to our list, but when two women were struck while crossing at Main and Washington – in the crosswalk and with the walk signal – I felt it appropriate to expand the scope of our inquiry to all crosswalks in the Central Shopping Business District. This work culminated in a list of Requests for CT Consultants (the village engineering firm) that was unanimously approved by Council in November of 2023
The first half of 2024 was pretty quiet while the engineers worked on their response. In June vehicular traffic counts were updated to better understand the volume of cars passing through town. In July we received a Trafic & Safety Study Update that included a high-level overview of a variety of options like improved crosswalk markings, additional signage, and curb extensions, as well as more ambitious changes like making Main Street one lane in each direction or keeping Bell Street closed to vehicle traffic.
It wasn’t until December that we received the full 26-page Downtown Traffic And Safety Study. It includes too much information for me to summarize here, but if you’re interested in improvements to downtown I encourage you to download it and read the whole thing. The range of options include everything from quick, inexpensive (and proven effective) changes like using high-visibility crosswalk markings to pricey, longer-term (and probably overdue) infrastructure like new traffic signals. We’ve met several times in late 2024 and early 2025 to review the findings section-by-section.
Which brings me to today. We’re coming up on two deadlines this spring: one for the annual re-striping of lanes and crosswalks and a second for decisions to be made regarding any changes to downtown that will be part of the post-bridge paving program in early 2026.
I’ve been advocating for all downtown crosswalks* to be striped using the high-visibility “Continental” pattern (picture the Abbey Road album cover) as a relatively fast, inexpensive countermeasure shown to be effective. “A rigorous FHWA field visibility study found that HVCs are indeed more visible: drivers detect continental markings at a midblock crossing about ‘twice the distance upstream as the transverse markings during daytime conditions’” and “a limited body of research shows driver yielding improvement benefits associated with their use compared to unmarked crosswalks or a basic design.” (FHWA Crosswalk Marking Selection Guide).
I recently learned, however, that the specifications for the painting project bid includes no meaningful changes to any crosswalk markings, only slightly wider transverse stripes (perpendicular to the traffic lanes) at the mid-blocks. When I asked why, the village Chief Administrative Officer told me that they were unwilling to paint the mid-block crosswalk bricks and didn’t believe there was any benefit to using high-visibility markings in the signalized intersections. So aesthetics and ignorance rule the day.
At the meeting on Monday I’d like the committee to make a decision about curb extensions / mid-block narrowing for the mid-block crosswalks. I’ve heard from the village several times over the last few months that engineering plans were being drawn up and asked that they be shared with committee members in advance of our meeting, but have yet to receive those.
I intended to write a brief summary but this ended up getting pretty long, so thanks for making it all the way through. If you can I encourage you to join us on Monday but if not please get in touch with any comments or questions. And stay safe out there!
* Downtown crosswalks meaning those at Orange & West Street, Orange & Main Street, Main & River Street, Main & Bell Street, Main & Washington Street, Franklin & Washington Street, and the mid-block crosswalks to Triangle Park.