You’re right. The city will fix that immediately.

I think the delineators that were included in the original plan were essential to creating more of a visual barrier between the parking spots and the bike lane, and I'm very disappointed that in leaving them out some neighbors' aesthetic concerns were valued over the broader community's safety.

I appreciate the intent of the striping, but the floating parking lane feels more dangerous to me than what was there before. If the goal is to slow traffic, put a divider in the middle of the road to reduce lane width. But floating parking spaces forces parents to have their kids exit into a road on either side. Also, it would be really easy for driving cars to rear-end parked cars, not expecting parked cars in the middle of the paved area. I feel like this is not a wait-and-see situation -- this makes me seriously nervous, and requires a re-evaluation and restriping now.

Thanks for your comments on this new configuration on Yale Avenue. Yesterday and today, during the morning drop off period, I stood on Yale Avenue right near Edgewood School, and I must say that the floating parking lane worked well. What didn't work yesterday was the buffer lane directly across from the school and the lack of no parking signs in front of the houses just up Yale from the school. Today went better because City staff put a bunch of cones in the buffer zone I mentioned and a no parking signs were posted in front of those houses. I am asking City staff to continue to have people in place to help guide members of the school community on where they should and should not park. But, my observation is that many people parked in that floating parking lane and without incident.

I will also add that certain other elements of the Yale Avenue reconfiguration have not yet been implemented, including some important signage as well as a raised crossing next to the school and multiple speed humps along the length of Yale Avenue between Edgewood School and West Rock Avenue. I think those additional elements will make a big difference

Thank you for the comments, Alder Marchand. I'm glad city staff is present to help. And I'm glad that the floating parking lane has operated without incident. But I am fearful that there WILL be an incident because of the floating parking spots. As a driver on that road, they feel completely out of place. I do not feel comfortable parking there at all.

I agree with Adam's comment that the additional elements still not installed will help make a difference. I would like to see a white line painted on the house side of the street so those of us that parallel park along the house side have a visual cue when we're parking. I would prefer the delineators NOT be installed as I foresee them being a continued maintenance problem and with the snow plows doing a good job in the winter.

It's going to take a while for people to become comfortable parking so far away from the curb. Also, it's going to take even longer for some folks to even realize what those pavement markings actually mean.

We all learned to park as close to the curb as possible, but now it's different. I never would have known what those pavement markings meant if I didn't read issues on SeeClickFix.

Look at this picture from Crescent Street. Without the delineators, our Parking Enforcement Officers are going to be quite busy.

After the bike lanes are blocked every day for several months, people will be asking for the delineators to be installed.

Yikes to the photo. The bike and parking lanes are heavily stenciled on Yale Ave. Not sure if the lanes on Crescent are stenciled

Hi Tom,

Yup, it's all stenciled, but the locations of the markings for parking spaces are counterintuitive to what we've gotten used to. Eventually, folks will get used to it, if they park there often enough.

Unfortunately, that won't be the case for people who have never seen parking spaces far from the curb.

Tom & Tommy, thanks for adding to the conversation. The thing that makes this all the more worrisome is that this is all right across the street from Edgewood School. It can be a bit of zoo at pickup and drop-off times - I'm really worried some kid is going to get hit.

People parking in the cycle track is the one problem we don't have in the area. This may be happening on Crescent, but it is not happening on Yale. The situation around the Edgewood school is, however, extremely chaotic and dangerous due to three factors. First, the reconfiguration for the cycle track has forced cars and buses to compete for room in a smaller space, creating more congestion. Second, the traffic pattern has been changed, but pavement markings and signage are still missing. Buses, cars, and pedestrians simply don't know where they are supposed to go. Third, the interrupted construction on Edgewood Ave, for the other cycle track, has created further confusion and has driven even more cars onto Yale, where school congestion was already severe. I hope that the prompt completion of the project, along with enforcement, will alleviate some of the issues. Right now, the situation is extremely frustrating and hazardous for all users. I hope and pray that nobody gets hurt.

I have reached out to City staff from Engineering, TT&P, and the NHPD about this situation. I agree with Guest that the reconfiguration of Yale Avenue is incomplete, and the missing elements are important parts of increasing safety in the area. I have asked for the unfinished work to be expedited and for enforcement personnel to be on hand in the coming days to help increase compliance with the parking and traffic regulations in the area. Some members of the Edgewood School community clearly need some help understanding how the new parking and street situations are supposed to function.

It is only a matter of time before someone sideswipes a car parked in the floating spaces. They make no sense. Why not keep the parking on the non- park side of the street and shift the lanes closer to bike lanes and put up the delineators? This way is not a solution just created new problems.

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I was initially concerned but recollected seeing similar stripping in Richmond Virginia that placed parking spots further into the street. It was actually working. The other costllier solution would be to physically move the curb inward to separate the bike lane.

If anyone is interested, here are the reports of a very similar issue on Crescent Street:

https://seeclickfix.com/issues/10804859

https://seeclickfix.com/issues/10924306

I hope this information helps.

The City worked on this solution for 7 years. You would think they'd find a way to make sure it was completed before the new school year started.

I just drove north on Yale Ave. and offer these two comments.

1. The north bound lane between Edgewood and W Rock is narrow. Could stand to be wider. Maybe Shift the center line west a foot.

2. Driving north on Yale approaching the intersection before Edgewood should be striped to prepare drivers of the lane changes ahead.

In planning these changes the City should have put the needs of the students and Yale Ave residents front and center. Yale Ave is used as a short cut for out-of-town drivers going to/from home/work to get to/from RT 34/Ella T and Whalley/Fountain. A solution that serves the needs of New Haven residents/students would be to reduce significantly the traffic on Yale Ave by

1. Making Yale Ave a one-way starting from West Elm traveling toward Edgewood. Force drivers on Yale approaching Edgewood to turn right or left onto Edgewood.
2. Making Yale Ave a one-way starting from West Elm traveling toward West Rock. Force drivers approaching Yale Ave from the North to turn right or left on West Rock, or use Alden, Central or McKinley

1 and 2 would eliminate the cost (and noise) from installing speed humps, and the savings could go toward streetscape improvements to protect the bike lanes.

Also, not sure why the city needs SO MUCH parking on the park side of Yale. Residents have driveways.

And the argument that one-ways increase speed isn’t true when the streets are short (one or two blocks) and end at stop signs/stop lights.

Hello Our New Haven,

You have really good points, but you should have attended the meetings with our city's officials over the past few years ago.

Unfortunately, this is a common problem. Our city spends several years formulating plans to improve our city, and they incorporate the residents' wishes into those plans.

Then, they spend a lot of money putting those plans into action.

Then, the folks who chose not to have any involvement in those plans speak out when it's too late.

Please stay updated on all future plans for our city. That way, you can submit your input before any plans are finalized.

I hope this information helps.

Hello Tommy - I did attend the meetings and did submit my ideas before the plan was made final. I also suggested they apply to the State to make this a School Zone. Doug Hausladen said during the Zoom call he would apply, but it was not incorporated into the final plan, unfortunately.

I also want to acknowledge that lots of people put lots of work into this and we can't expect the city to accept everyone's opinions. In the end it needs to work for the people who live on that street. I live a few blocks away so my voice is less important, as it should be.

Our traffic engineer reviewed this request with the city engineer and identified that markings were installed consistent with a plan developed and approved by consensus of the community.
As this is not a pavement marking request we are closing this issue.

This is a sad reminder that perhaps we should leave traffic control configurations to qualified traffic engineers, rather than succumbing to the wishes of unqualified residents whose knowledge of traffic control is mediocre at best.

Now, we have cars parked 10 feet from the curb. I already feel sorry for the people whose cars are going to get smashed while parked there.

Please don't close out the issue. We're still waiting for the white line separating the drive lane from the parking on the house side of the street to get painted.