Taylor Valentine, an experienced cyclist, points to the stitches he received after a green pick-up truck cut him off while cycling on Whalley Avenue. Valentine landed face-first on the pavement.
He told his story at a meeting this week of the Elm City Cycling traffic enforcement sub-committee. The accident took place at afternoon rush hour on Feb. 20 at the intersection with Winthrop Avenue. Valentine said he couldn’t identify the vehicle in any more detail, but he expects it might have a dent in it where it hit his bike, totaling it.
The police were helpful, Valentine (pictured) added. “They brought my seat bag with all my ID to me in the hospital. They took a statement… I don’t know what they did with it afterward.”
Members of the group at the Monday night meeting also expressed concern about a serious pedestrian/motor vehicle accident that occurred the next night on Chapel Street near Temple Street, sending the young woman victim to the hospital for more than a week. Details of that accident were unavailable at press time.
Cycling activists have continued to be frustrated by what they see as the police department’s and the city’s lack of urgency in confronting motorists who continually drive too fast, run red lights, turn right on red, and don’t stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, as required by state law. They also acknowledge that motorists aren’t always at fault — that cyclists and pedestrians are often cavalier about traffic laws themselves, sometimes running red lights when there’s no cross-traffic and traversing streets mid-block. (Click here and here for previous coverage and reader discussion on the subject, and here for a recent Advocate cover story.)
Cyclists said part of their frustration stems from the way New Haven officials dismiss creative solutions from other municipalities. For example, smaller cities and towns around New England place sawhorses in the middle of crosswalks, reminding motorists with a physical barrier and the wording of the law that they must stop for pedestrians who have stepped off the curb. New York City has implemented bike lanes that are separated both from motorized traffic and parked cars. Portland, Oregon, at the forefront of the issue, conducts monthly police crackdowns on unsafe driving. Click here for details of other cities’ efforts.
Fair Haven Alderwoman Erin Sturges-Pascal (pictured), who’s focused on traffic safety issues, said, “Our streets are designed for [driving] 50 miles an hour and are posted at 25, so it’s not fair to the drivers or police” to expect everyone to drive 25 miles per hour, although she’d certainly like to see that. She supports design changes,like roundabouts and bump-outs that narrow streets to force motorists to slow down. Like other ECC members, she supports “Complete Streets” legislation.
Hunter Smith (pictured above on the right with safety subcommittee chair Rob Rocke) said he’d been in touch with New Haven Police Captain Bryan Kearney, head of the patrol unit, who wants to meet with members of Elm City Cycling along with a couple of other officers who are interested in addressing the concerns of cyclists. That meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 10.
Responding to the police department’s cry that it’s understaffed and must give priority to more serious crimes, Rob Rocke wondered aloud, “Can we be of any use to them? We are the eyes the police say they don’t have. What can we do when we see somebody almost run us down?” Since the police can make arrests only when they see traffic violations with their own eyes, he kind of answered his own question: “Unfortunately, we’re not all deputized.”