Jay Dockendorf Photo
As the city’s transit department prepares to present a “Complete Streets” plan to the Board of Aldermen, some 250 bicyclists pumped their pedals to the top of East Rock Park to demonstrate their support of safe riding
They joined a party put together Saturday by the city Department of Transportation, Traffic, and Parking with a $15,000 grant from insurance provider Aetna and $1,000 from Tweed New Haven Regional Airport. Organizers blocked streets leading to the summit, asking participants to bike or ride a shuttle to the top.
There a host of activities awaited. Dennis Wilson, a teacher at Elm City Prep, did his best to complete a scavenger hunt, which hid clues up and down the summit road. Around lunchtime Wilson took a break with a slice from Nini’s Pizza’s portable propane-powered oven to contemplate “Clue #4: Bicycles do best when their wheels are on the ground, but don’t keep your eyes there. Look up high!”
He left never having found the solution.
Nearby, Polly Sonic, Nicolas Ridiculous and other regulars of the New Haven Circus Collective spun hula-hoops for flocks of young children. There was a carousel, a ferris wheel on the edge of the cliff, a bike safety “rodeo,” a rock wall, a break dance performance by Hip Hop Dimensions, and opportunities to take a guided tour the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument.
Deputy Director for Traffic and Parking Jim Travers runs the Streets Smarts campaign at the city transit department.He organized the cycling celebration. In doing so, he had tried to book the most interactive performances for attendees. The goal, he said, was to “get children to move.”
Read more on the 2008 birth of Streets Smarts here.
This Thursday the Department will present a Complete Streets manual to the City Services & Environmental Policy Committee.
The manual aims at guiding city policy in order to make streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians and to “calm” car and truck traffic. The Board of Aldermen charged a task force with putting together the manual in the wake of two deaths of pedestrians, 11-year-old Gabrielle Lee and Yale graduate student Mila Rainof.
According to the manual, “Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street.” City traffic chief MIke Piscitelli said the policies reflected in the manual have already led to plans for mini-circle roundabouts at new streets that will form part of the rebuilding of the West Rock public housing projects.
“By following the manual we are able to do better streets up front” rather than just trying to fix past mistakes, he said. “The manual makes sure that every user is accommodated, particular the most vulnerable pedestrians, bicyclists, the elderly, and children.”
Perched in the city’s mobile bandstand at Saturday’s event, 104.1 WMRQ DJ Amy Grey was broadcasting live to listeners of her Glastonbury-based modern rock radio program. “The backdrop alone is just amazing,” she said, “but while they’re putting on entertainment for the kids, they’re also promoting safety. With the PSPs and whatever, gone are the days when kids just hop on their bikes and go! I think it’s great.”
Jay Dockendorf Photo
Children were not the only ones on the move. BMX bikers from Eastern Action Sports Teams (EAST) hurled their bikes through the 86-degree heat, high above ramps overlooking the hazy downtown skyline. It was the “kids-don’t‑try-this-at-home” portion of the celebration, said organizer Travers, and a message that Eastern Action’s owner Matt Still literally repeated several times.
Jim and Anthony Mazzetta, father and son, watched from the grass. After the demonstration, Anthony approached the professional bikers for their autographs. “It was great. I thought they were going to fall. It was giving me butterflies in my stomach,” he said. He and his dad are both BMX riders and worked together to assemble his bike themselves. Anthony would like to ride professionally one day.