New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Alder Honda Smith and city engineer Giovanni Zinn joined residents of the West Hills and Amity neighborhoods to announce the start of construction on Valley Street on Tuesday morning.
“It’s a real improvement to the city,” said Mayor Elicker. “The majority of traffic-related incidents, people being injured or fatalities we see on major corridors throughout the city.”
Monya Staggers has been a New Haven resident for nearly 10 years. Staggers says that cars often “zoom” past on her street where children play often.
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“My main concern is the safety of the community, with the speed of the cars,” she said. “It’s summertime now. Kids like to go out and play. Roller skate, ride their bicycles.”
From 2019 to 2023, the Valley Street corridor saw 216 crashes, averaging 43 crashes a year.
“Along this road you can get a sense of how dangerous it is over the past five years,” said the mayor.
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Five of the crashes have involved pedestrians.
“You can just see from that data that there’s a real need for us to ensure that we’re doing additional enforcement and putting in infrastructure so people slow down,” he said.
Tuesday’s announcement let residents know that change is on the way. In approximately three months, the road will have speed bumps, raised crosswalks and intersections, repaired sidewalks, new speed tables and it will be repaved.
“I feel that it’s a brilliant idea for the community,” said Staggers. “Not just for the community, but for our safety. For seniors' safety, the children’s safety, the youth.”
The redesign will cost $2.2 million and is being funded by Connecticut’s Department of Transportation Local Transportation Improvement Program.
“These things are really expensive,” said Mayor Elicker. “But it’s worth it in the end, because our residents deserve to be safe.”
Similar projects and plans for future improvements are also being made across the city including at State Street, Quinnipiac Avenue, Grand Avenue, Howard Avenue and Whitney Avenue.
