NEW HAVEN, Conn. — NEW HAVEN - Pedestrian fatalities in New Haven have become a big concern for residents and city officials. This because 12 people have been killed crossing New Haven streets in less than 14 months.
With nine pedestrians killed last year and three so far this year, many city residents are calling for improvements and the Mayor says the wheels are already in motion.
“This is actually one of the reasons that I originally got involved in politics in the city is that there is a lot of dangerous driving and I’ve biked around the city a lot,” said Mayor Justin Elicker (D-New Haven).
Elicker says police will be stepping up traffic enforcement and other measures are being considered.
“The other thing is to install more infrastructure that calms traffic,” he said. “That’s speed humps. And, that’s also things like bump outs and different road configurations to slow traffic down.”
Over the past month, three pedestrians have been struck and killed crossing New Haven streets, all at night, including Monday in front of the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, along Columbus Avenue, where police were still investigating today. According to information about the accidents from police, none of the three most recent victims used a crosswalk.
“People definitely need to use the crosswalks because crosswalks are going to prepare, they prepare a driver that there could be a potential person, human being, crossing the road,” said William Morales, who had just crossed the street in front of the Hill Health Center.
“I also think that people should wear like at least a bright color at night so cars could see them,” said Ana Rosario, who grew up in New Haven.
New Haven Police say 115 pedestrians were struck by vehicles in the city two years ago. And, last year, that number skyrocketed to 186.
“Speed bumps are always going to be the right thing to do,” Morales said. “Especially if there’s been known issues in the past. You know, we want to prevent something. People are going to stop speeding.”
Elicker says those, who did not use crosswalks, should not be blamed for the accidents. He says drivers need to slow down and not run red lights.