To get to a Monday press conference announcing the creation of new crosswalks, Mayor John DeStefano had to jaywalk across Whitney Avenue.
DeStefano’s arrival at the press event, at the corner of Whitney Avenue and Audubon Street, exemplified the problem with the intersection: Pedestrians don’t have a safe way to cross Whitney.
Moments later, DeStefano helped unveil the solution: plans for an overhauled intersection with special paving, new trees and lights, a new sidewalk seating area, curb “bump-outs,” and a great big seal advertising the Audubon Arts District.
All that will come to pass by the end of the year, said city traffic tsar Jim Travers. The work will cost $320,000, of which Yale University is kicking in $150,000.
The intersection of Audubon and Whitney has long been the source of complaints by pedestrians. The crossroads seems like a natural place for people to cross from Audubon to the west side of Whitney, but it’s also a dangerous place to do so. That’s because the northbound traffic on Whitney is coming up over a hump created by crossing the Farmington Canal. Driver can’t see the spot where people cross until they’re almost upon it.
Problems at the crossroads inspired the creation of a guerrilla crosswalk in 2011, spraypainted in the middle of the night by vigilante pedestrian advocates.
That same year, downtown’s Doug Hausladen (pictured) and Erin Gustafson submitted a “Complete Streets” application to make the temporary guerilla sidewalk into a permanent, city-sponsored reality.
Hausladen, now an alderman, arrived early for Monday’s press conference. He ate his lunch at one of several tables set up for the occasion, in parking spaces on Whitney Avenue. Four to five spaces will be converted into a granite-paved outdoor seating area as part of the intersection overhaul.
Thomas MacMillan Photo
DeStefano, Travers, & Hausladen unveil a new plan.
Travers announced the full list of planned changes. The entire intersection will be raised to the current curb height, creating a “speed table” like the one on Edwards Street in East Rock. The intersection will have three crosswalks, each made of a thermal plastic material that looks like brickwork. The entire intersection will be coated with the same material, in a tan color. The blue circular seal of the Audubon Arts District will appear in the center of the intersection.
The crosswalks will extend between curb “bump-outs,” significantly shortening the distance pedestrians have to walk to cross the street. The intersection will have new trees, bollards, LED lights, and flashing, pedestrian-activated crosswalk lights.
“This is about reordering priorities on our streets,” said Hausladen.
“This is new. This is a big deal,” Hausladen said of Yale paying for half the project. He compared it to improvements years ago to the streetscape on Broadway.
“Thank you so much. We’re so excited,” Erin Gustafson said to Travers. “I only envisioned a crosswalk. They took it much further.”