Thank you all members of the community who came to memorialize Patricia Brulotte last night. Under difficult circumstances, it was uplifting to see so much support from neighbors and friends. We’d like to especially thank Patty’s friends who spoke, as well as town leaders who came to the event.
Though details of the accident remain under investigation, it was immediately obvious to most of us that this intersection is far too dark. There are many apartment complexes nearby, a Kennedy Park, a package store, and beloved Harvey’s Cafe. There was quite a lot of foot traffic despite the difficult conditions. The intersection at St. James and Oakwood had noticeably wide curb radii. It appeared that vehicles could take the turns quickly without adequate visibility of pedestrians in the intersection. Also, multiple pedestrians were noted to cross from Kennedy Park to Harvey’s, which is both poorly lit and does not contain a crosswalk.
In the coming days, we hope to obtain more information of the root causes of Patty’s tragic death. In the meantime, two clear improvements could include improving lighting and adding curb bump-outs.
We are blessed to have such a connected, engaged, and resilient community, and we appreciate everyone’s support through this tragedy.
Flexpost- and paint-delineated curb bump-outs, seen here on Capitol Ave in Hartford, dramatically slow vehicle turning speeds, “daylight” intersections by making pedestrians more visible, and decrease pedestrian crossing distances.