Gripe Vine Readers:
I received a number of comments on a recent reader’s letter to Gripe Vine in which she complained vehemently of the risk of trying to cross Captain Thomas Blvd. a very busy street.
Here are a few letters offering additional complaints and possible solutions to the reader’s safety concern on Captain Thomas Blvd.
Dear Eleanore Turkington:
I agree 100 percent. West Haven needs to develop a culture of respect for pedestrians. Few cars ever slow down, and it makes walking unpleasant and even dangerous. We need more crosswalks and sidewalks, too!
Slow Down
Dear Eleanore Turkington:
Can the city invest and place signs to remind drivers they need to yield to pedestrians are at crosswalks? On any given day, I can count 7-15 cars that do not even slow down when I am at the crosswalk, heck they barely slow down for STOP signs. It is getting downright dangerous to walk around this town.
I watched as my son and his friends waited at a cross walk to get to the bus stop and honestly, no one stopped to allow them to cross. People seem to have forgotten common courtesy along with blatant disregard of state laws. Please increase patrols near bus stops at least!
Worried Parent
Dear Eleanore Turkington:
There needs to be a bigger campaign to make West Haven streets SAFER. The organization Street Smarts is a great place for our officials to start.
Parts of Campbell Avenue (corners of Park and corner of Noble) need these signs or Stop Signs. There isn’t even a crosswalk on Noble. Foot traffic is typically ignored or given very little attention in our car culture. We drive around the corner for food and most of the time in a rush. Those residents who walk or bike for recreation or run errands have to fend for themselves with no help from the Police Department with signage, crosswalks or bike lanes. More needs to be done!
Paint and signs don’t cost much. I would like to see some kind of Safe Street committee that works on small pockets of neighborhoods to promote more foot traffic and slow down drivers. Anyone interested?
Help
Dear Help:
Your suggestions and comments are thought provoking. Gripe Vine Readers, is there anyone out there interested in organizing a Safe Street Committee? Sounds like a plan!
Dear Eleanore Turkington:
Last year they put those signs up in the middle of the crosswalk and they make an enormous difference in the behavior of motorists.
Early this summer I called the police department and asked to please put those signs back up. The tiny signs on the side of the road are either not seen or just ignored, and because there is absolutely no proactive presence in this area, speeding is rampant, which aggravates the situation. I have frequently been honked at and yelled at for being in the crosswalk and causing a driver to God forbid, slow down.
A Hesitant Walker
Dear Eleanore Turkington:
This issue is not getting better, no police, and no signs. I will begin to post photos of cars as they do not stop for people in a crosswalk. We need the signs in the middle of crosswalks, please!
Not Camera Shy
Dear Not Camera Shy:
Send those photos to me. I will be happy to publish them.
Dear Eleanore Turkington:
In reference to the trouble at the crosswalk on Captain Thomas Boulevard, there are yield signs to aid pedestrians in use all over our next door city for over ten years now. Currently, they are utilized in the hospital and Long Wharf areas.
There is also a speed sentry type which monitors and displays vehicle speed limits. Possibly someone could lead our safety awareness program and show them these inexpensive and effective measures that have been in use for years in more safety active towns. Upon past dealings with traffic problems in this similar issue, I gleefully hope you get better results.
A Pessimist
You can email your gripes, comments and issues to me at [email protected] or mail them to Gripe Vine c/o West Haven Voice, 666 Savin Ave. You can also use our online form by clicking here. Please be sure to include your name, address and phone number. All comments are kept in strict confidence with me.