Hausladen Testifies For Safer Streets

On Wednesday, New Haven Director of Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking Doug Hausladen testified at a hearing of the state legislature’s Transportation Committee on three bills that have ramifications for the city.

The first, a House bill introduced by State Rep. Roland Lemar and other members of the New Haven delegation, would modify guidelines for urban street designs ​“to improve the safety, economic life and vibrancy of urban streets.” Specifically, that means new uses of parking spots, rules for one-way intersections, lower speed limits, and handicap accessibility concerns.

The second, a Senate bill proposed by Stanford State Sen. Carlo Leone, would increase the fees remitted to municipalities — as in, directly to New Haven — for moving (i.e. driving) violations like running stop signs. 

The third is intended to increase safety at pedestrian crosswalks.

Following are his testimonies. 

Proposed H.B. 6966: An Act Modifying Guidelines for Urban Street Design

Dear Co‐Chairs Lemar, Cassano, and Logan and the Planning and Development Committee,

My name is Doug Hausladen and I serve as the Director of the Transportation, Traffic & Parking department for Mayor Harp in the City of New Haven. In New Haven we have a good problem to solve: too many people want to be in New Haven. The past two decades of revitalization in
downtown and our neighborhood business districts has resulted in a lot of users trying to occupy the same public rights of way. At the same time, New Haven and the nation has seen a growing number of crashes. More can be done to mitigate these public health hazards and to
promote active transportation among our residents in Connecticut. 

In contrast to the State of Connecticut at large, over twelve percent of our residents walk to work, three percent bike to work, and almost half do not drive themselves to work. We rank in the top five in medium‐sized cities for walking to work nationwide; this is an incredible feat considering we have a long way to go in providing up to date infrastructure with our handicap ramps and pedestrian signals. In order to meet the growing demand for active transportation, we need more flexible design standards to help unleash the potential of our streets to be used as more than simply a roadway.

This bill will enable our community the ability to design for itself, rather than design to an outdated manual made for vehicle‐centered design.
Our Department of Transportation agrees that we need to update our design manuals. Commissioner Redeker has recently led efforts to update our foliage manuals and led the charge to increase shoulder widths for future accommodation of bicycle markings on state highways. Urban Streets are much more complicated and dynamic; they require a more flexible approach which we have proudly piloted in New Haven with the use of ​“Terrasses” (a dining deck that seats 10 people inside of a parking space in the heart of downtown). We are only scratching the surface of our possibilities in New Haven with street design, however others across the nation are leading the way as Connecticut looks longingly through our windshield as we are left behind.

I look forward to working with our legislators and the Commissioner’s office on flushing out this bill. Focusing on safety we need to work together to create new standards for high pedestrian areas like Historic Chapel Street and Grand Avenue in New Haven. We need to make more room for parking of alternative vehicles like smart cars, scooters, and e‐bikes. We need to make room for low speed vehicles that are networked. We
need to adjust parking statutes that limit parking on one‐way streets unnecessarily. 

In 2015 we identified issues with statutes that prevented best‐in‐class street design for the cyclist. We ask you to consider working together again to change our statutes to favor more urban design standards: shared streets, slow streets, and open streets. Streets are the greatest asset in a community and they deserve to be safe and shared by all for the greatest good. 

Proposed S.B. No. 655: An Act Increasing Fees Remitted to Municipalities for Moving Violations 

The City of New Haven is requesting that municipalities receive a reasonable increase in the revenue sharing derived from infractions and violations issued by the New Haven Police Department for moving violations within the jurisdiction. As presently configured, municipalities, including the City of New Haven, receive a tiny fraction of each moving violation citation issued. The remainder is retained by the State of Connecticut for processing the
violation.

The high costs associated with maintaining a professionally trained and equipped police force of sufficient size to police the City of New Haven combined with the high costs of enforcement and low revenue yield forces municipalities such as New Haven into a position where enforcing motor vehicle moving violations is cost prohibitive, even with its potential for increases in safety. Currently in the Governor’s Budget there are conversations regarding costs relating to work performed by State Troopers on behalf of towns; the high cost of policing needs to be shared in cost and revenues by levels of government that benefit from having our public safety teams working for the best outcomes of all residents in Connecticut.

Permitting municipalities including the City of New Haven to retain a greater share of each moving violation citation issued will significantly reduce the heavy fiscal impact associated with motor vehicle enforcement, and will greatly increase safety by ensuring that enforcing motor vehicle infractions is cost effective. 

Proposed H.B. No. 6274: An Act Concerning Pedestrian Safety at Crosswalks

The City of New Haven supports the passage of Proposed Bill 6274 ​“An Act Concerning Pedestrian Safety at Crosswalks.” The Bill clarifies that vehicles must stop – not merely yield – for pedestrians as they approach a cross walk will greatly increase pedestrian safety.

Stating definitively that a motor vehicle must stop for pedestrians will clarify the status of pedestrians as ​‘vulnerable users’ vis a vis vehicles and will improve safety to our most vulnerable. A policy and statute change like this signals that our state is serious about Complete Streets and the prioritization of all users, not simply drivers. In New Haven, one in eight of our residents walk to work. We can and must do more to protect our most vulnerable populations.

Winters are particularly problematic when in‐road pedestrian sign are removed for months to allow for snow removal. When pedestrians and drivers are confused about when a driver is required to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, drivers are emboldened to refuse to stop and
pedestrians are more reluctant to exercise their legal rights of way to cross the street. Proposed Bill 6274 will clarify that all vehicles must stop for pedestrians as they approach a crosswalk and not only after a pedestrian has made himself or herself vulnerable by entering the roadway.

Every state, including Connecticut, has legislation that gives provides the pedestrians with some form of right of way to cross the street in a crosswalk. The biggest concern for pedestrians, the most vulnerable user of our streets, is how to make approaching traffic stop without physically
having to enter the dangerous area of the roadway. The most likely location for a pedestrian to be injured or killed is at a crossing. By changing the law, we will signal to drivers that they must provide for safe crossing for the human being simply trying to cross the streets. With increases
in pedestrian fatalities nationwide, it is time to prioritize our residents over vehicles and force cars to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. Anything less would be insufficient to fulfilling the mission of our state’s Complete Streets law.

Following is a status report on bills of particular interest to New Haven before the state legislature this session:

The 2017 Agenda