The City of New Haven is making changes to its downtown roads, turning one-ways into two-ways in an effort to cut down on crashes and make streets safer.
The latest street to transform is York Street, which is now two-way between South Frontage Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
In 2023, there were 19 crashes on this block, according to the city.
“Frankly, there's too many people in New Haven that violate our traffic laws, are running red lights and speeding,” said Mayor Justin Elicker.
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He said the next streets to be converted will be Church and Chapel streets.
“It's part of our overall goal of converting a lot of downtown streets from one way to two way,” Elicker said. “I think a lot of people think that one-way streets are actually safer, but two-way streets are actually much safer than one-way streets because typically it slows down traffic. Oddly, when things feel a little bit less safe for the driver, they slow down and are more cautious and more aware.”
Thursday, drivers were confused when turning onto York Street to find it was made into a two-way street.
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“Everyone knows it’s a one way, it’s been a one way for years,” said Cher Richmond, of Madison, who works at Yale. “I think it might be more dangerous. You’re not thinking sometimes. You have a routine, you follow it. If you’re not aware of it, you continue to do the same thing over and over.”
As Kayla Natal was walking into work on York Street, she encountered a driver on the opposite side of the yellow lines, heading in the wrong direction.
“There’s somebody going the wrong way already,” she said. “We’re just so used to it being a one way, and honestly, there’s just so many people walking, that I think having it a two way is just too much.”
Bicyclists like Matthew Dean Shaffer hope in the long run, the change will make the road safer. In the meantime, he’s taking extra precautions.
“I hope the intent is that it gets safer,” Shaffer said. “It seems if there is two cars in two directions that they’re gonna slow down if there’s cars coming the other way. To the extent that people have to get used to the new layout, it might take some time, so I’ll be extra cautious until then.”
