To Town of West Hartford Mayor Cantor and Town Manager Ledwith
Bike West Hartford letter on task force for traffic & pedestrian safety
January 3, 2023
We welcome the Town of West Hartford’s recent decision to start a task force on traffic and pedestrian safety. The problem requires a holistic solution, and in addition to enforcement and education, we need town accountability and improved engineering to create safer streets for all.
1) The Town should set a timetable to achieve the goal of zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries (aka #VisionZero), and use crash data to prioritize actionable steps.
Federal grants (Safe Streets and Roads for All, SS4A) expect these action plan components.
We designed this West Hartford Crash Map, based on reports to UConn Crash Data Repository, to identify areas with the highest number of motor vehicle crashes causing injuries or deaths.
2) Install trial traffic-calming infrastructure in high-crash areas, based on best practices.
Adopt speed reduction designs by NACTO Urban Street Design Guide and NYC DOT, such as:
Mini Roundabout (NYC DOT, Staten Island) and Raised Crosswalk (CTDOT, New Haven)
3) Expand contract for Stantec to redesign safer streets for entire West Hartford Center
The Town has already paid Stantec, which holistically researched the entire WH Center Study Area, but only funded them to design engineering for a section of Farmington Ave and LaSalle Road. A more efficient use of funds & time is to expand Stantec’s contract to redesign the entire area.
4) Overall, the Town needs to empower citizens and value our input and participation in the planning process.
Contact our board members:
Mary Donegan, Jack Dougherty, Jen Fleet Ethan Frankel, Tracy Frankel, and Jim Head
Web: BikeWestHartford.org Email: BikeWestHartfordInc@gmail.com #WeHaCanDoBetter
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