Lawrence Street Plaza in New Haven addresses pedestrian safety in unique way

A new way to address pedestrian safety. Part of a street in New Haven has been turned into a plaza. It’s a pilot project aimed at slowing down drivers and creating a new public space.

“It creates a certain stress level to know that people are zipping through so fast in the neighborhood,” Jess Jones, of New Haven, said.

She has lived in the East Rock neighborhood for about three years, seeing cars speed in the area.

“I have seen people really speeding around the corner and blowing through crosswalks. Not taking the time at the stop sign,” Jones said.

The area of concern is the intersection of State and Lawrence streets, according to Alder Caroline Tanbee Smith.

“Cars usually just take that really fast right onto Lawrence Street and speed down and the next stop sign isn’t until Nicoll and Lawrence,” Smith said.

She said neighbors have raised concerns, worried about people getting hit. With help from the city, they launched a pilot project to have a tiny part of Lawrence Street turn into a plaza, closing it to car traffic for the entire month.

The goal? Getting drivers to slow down by taking Mechanic Street and creating new public spaces.

“When neighbors know each other, know each other’s names, when they see each other and recognize each other in the street, that has an impact on broader public safety,” Smith said.

Douglas Coffin, who owns the pizza restaurant Next Door, said he likes the idea.

“It’s been great to see people sitting out here all during the day and enjoying the sunshine, and people bring their laptops down and grabbing some food from somewhere,” Coffin said.

Smith said the plaza will be evaluated at the end of the month to see if it’s viable. Jones said she hopes to see spaces like these in other parts of New Haven.

“Everybody deserves to live in a safe and beautiful place,” she said.

Smith said the evaluation will include both traffic data gathered from nearby cameras, surveys and feedback from neighbors.