NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Major improvements are coming to Chapel Street in New Haven – an area leaders said is one of the city’s most dangerous corridors for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Officials announced Friday that the Elm City is investing $11 million of federal funding to improve safety along Chapel Street from State Street to Ella T. Grasso Boulevard.
“It does get congested here, and you do have to be careful,” said Chris Tack, who works in New Haven. “There’s a lot of people, a lot of cars.”
Alvin Bryant, who was visiting from Atlanta, said that “a stop sign in New Haven is not necessarily a stop sign.”
“A redlight is like, maybe, a yellow light [in New Haven],” he said.
Leaders said the $11 million is just part of a nationwide, $1 billion initiative to make streets safer.
Of the 350 cities and towns a part of the national initiative, officials said New Haven is receiving the most money.
“The reality is that places like New Haven are dangerous, and all too often, we lose members of our community because of dangerous driving,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said.
Armed Patrol wants New Haven residents to take safety into their own hands despite opposition Between 2019 and 2023, there were nearly 900 crashes along Chapel Street, including three fatalities and 18 serious injuries, according to the UCONN Connecticut Crash Data Repository.
“One moment you might be going along just fine and not paying attention, then at the next moment you could take someone’s life, and frankly ruin your own as well,” Elicker said.
Improvements along the 1.6-mile stretch include updating traffic signals and signs, raising crosswalks at certain intersection and installing new bikeways, as well as sidewalks and curb ramps.
“I hope that they can actually make some improvements,” said Rui Wang, of New Haven.
Leaders said, citywide, they are making progress and seeing a downward trend in traffic fatalities.
In 2020, 21 pedestrians were killed in New Haven. As of Sept. 6, 8 people have died in 2024. Leaders said that’s still too many.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and take two years to complete. Elicker hopes to start sooner than that.
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