The next step is to paint a turn island to further encourage the RTO movement at this intersection. Pavement markings will be completed this summer.

The number of left turns in spite of the sign is very scary!! Can we please rethink the idea of making this a dead end and using the extra land for a small park?

With that red house on the corner up for sale - and realistically its not a good home for someone to live in anyway - it would be awesome if the city bought the property and installed a traffic circle! There is PLENTY of room and would really help keep traffic flowing and allowing all parties to do what they need to do.

It may be hard to instal a traffic circle on that grade. I also was a big proponent of traffic circles until I was informed that they were not all that I had thought they were.
The house that is for sale has been all but abandoned. It was on the market for 98K until 06/09/2010. It would be truly wonderful if it were made into a a Westville neighborhood center and a small park could be made of the lot plus any land that would be freed up by making this a dead end. I understood from Westville lore and my historic map of Westville that the house is the historic Dickerman home. Maybe some funds from historic preservation agencies could be organized to pay for this?
Any ideas from the community?

It wasnt abandoned...it was foreclosed. There was a sign on it last summer. Where I am from, there are several traffic circles, and that area is not too small - its a perfect location for one.

I do not think it wise to make a roadway of a historic home.

1) "The History of the Town of Hamden..," published 1886, Page 242 for a full account of the Dickerman family.

2) I have a map from the mid 1800's that labels what is now 300 West Elm as the residence of I S Dickerman.

And? Have you seen the house? If it was such a "historic home" and so important, then how did it end up in the mess it is today? The previous owners left the house in complete disarray. There are a lot of homes that are "historic" but this one is just NOW becoming of "importance"? Please.

I am all for history, love history and love old architecture. Its a shame that it took this to make it so "important"

I just got a post card from the realtor saying it has sold.

Anyone know to whom?

striping/painting per TT&P's plan is pending. this will reinforce the right turn only/no left turn from W. Elm to Forest. There is however a shortage of road paint worldwide according to TT&P Dir.

As I understand it the world wide shortage is due to a Dupont plant that makes methyl methacrylate, the adhesive, closing for upgrades and the stuff that makes the paint reflect light, titanium dioxide, being very scares. This shortage is predicted to last months.

Couldn't they use regular paint to tide us over until the real paint comes back on the market? Regular paint would last that long.

I hope the new owners will make 300 W Elm a home.

Does anyone remember the name of the reporter who was paying attention to this intersection (can't find him in my email)?

The striping is complete. What has resulted is an unintended consequence that INCREASES the danger. There is an optical illusion facing drivers southbound on Forest (coming from Fountain, in other words), that makes it look as if the correct way to make the left turn is BEFORE the striped triangle, head-on into westbound traffic on West Elm trying to turn right (legally) onto Forest.

Not only do about half of all automobile drivers make this mistake, but yesterday I saw a large, commercial waste-hauling truck and a schoolbus both make the same error. I was able to speak with the bus driver, and when she looked in her rearview mirror to see what she had done relative to the new striping, she was horrified (there were children on the bus at the time). My point is that the illusion works regardless of the elevation of the driver above the road surface.

This is a very dangerous situation. Mike Piscitelli is aware of it, as are Greg Dildine and Pat Dillon. However, it would be good to get some media coverage so that at least some drivers are forewarned until the situation is fixed with better markings or better signage.

Yes, unfortunately the southbound view on Forest looks like the lane is wide enough for 2 cars until the last second and you can't see the actual lane that's after the striped island due to a slight rise.

We should however be appreciative of the City's efforts and I believe they'll address this issue.

This is yet another example of the need to collaborate with CT DOT. CT DOT has not been that easy to collaborate with however. Also, their engineering ideas need to embrace the Complete Streets philosophy that many in cities like New Haven are embracing.

here's another pix

Simply paint an arrow right at the point of WElm to Forest to correct the illusion. Simple and cost effective.

E
I suggested this to TT&P but you beat me to photoshopping the arrow into my pix!

Thanks!

Greg:
;) I live by PSP7

TEMPORARY IMPROVEMENT

Apparently in response to our badgering, the city brought back a temporary (weighted traffic cone) KEEP RIGHT sign. Before they did this, I was observing approximately half of the people turning left from Forest going on the wrong side of the triangle.

This morning, three out of three people making the turn went the right way. Two of them were staring at the sign and clearly fighting their instincts, but they made the turn correctly (the third was someone who goes through the intersection several times a day and has gotten used to it).

When the same temporary sign was in place before, there were still people who got confused and went the wrong way ("no, the other right"). So I don't think the current temporary sign comes close to being a complete solution. But it's definitely an improvement.

Thanks, Mike, for getting something in place for the short term.

Mark, looking at the archives, most suggestions were for traffic circles. If we want ANYTHING on Forest done - even no turn signs - CT DOT takes the lead.
What has been tried so far is what the city alone can do.

CT DOT's rec was to make W. Elm 1-way FROM Forest!?!!?!?! They completely nixed a traffic light.

Good luck to anyone getting CT DOT to put in a traffic circle there?!!?!

New problem! There are cars that CONTINUE to park on the wrong side of the street on WElm! Usually its a white car parked there. This is done close to the intersection making it incredibly dangerous. Can we get the cops to patrol down every now and then and issue tickets!?

Ok, so I am a professional driver (delivery driver) and have a really clean record. I obey the laws, Im courteous, Im respectful of others who share the road. Even *I* made the mistake of going down the wrong way. The part where you are supposed to go down West Elm (turning from Forest heading towards West Haven) convinces you that you cant because of the way the lines are painted. It gives the illusion that its only for the drivers coming down the hill heading away from West Haven.

It should be either a "No Left Turn" onto West Elm or make it a one way down West Elm to Barnett.

Martin,

You're not the first professional driver to make that mistake, as I've noted.

However, the one-way solution is also a problem. It would mean that residents of the block between Forest and Barnett would always be forced to enter West Elm from Forest, in essence doubling the number of times they traverse that intersection and thus increasing the likelihood of an accident involving traffic proceeding straight on Forest.

So that's probably not going to improve the situation. I think better marking of the intersection to bar southbound traffic from taking the wrong lane and to eliminate the optical illusion that led you to do so is a more promising alternative.

I still proclaim a circle is the best answer. If they can do it on WPark, then we can do it here where its REALLY needed!