The corner of State Street and Lafayette Boulevard is a magnet for Downtown traffic accidents. State Rep. Chris Rosario who lost a constituent in an intersection crash there three years ago has been pushing the State Department of Transportation to do something about it.
“I am very pleased the DOT responded in such a quick fashion concerning this dangerous corner in Bridgeport,” said Rosario in a statement. “One of my constituents lost their life and countless others have been injured at this intersection. I am confident these improvements will make things much safer for everyone who travels Downtown.”
The nexus includes the Connecticut Post building, the federal building, Housatonic Community College and office center 1000 Lafayette Boulevard. It has been the scene of two dozen accidents the past few years, according to the DOT.
Rosario says the project for improvements was put out to bid last month and calls for replacing and updating all the equipment including changing signal heads to 12″, adding back plates with retro-reflective strips, and better placement of the heads. The changes are designed to make the signal heads more conspicuous and prevent violations of the traffic control.
“I am confident that when this work is complete, everyone will be safer and traffic will move more smoothly,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker in a statement. The improvements are expected to be completed in 2017.
Mayra Cardona, 39, was killed in an accident in 2013.
The problem is BAD DRIVERS. So now we have put up huge signs with extra bright lights and road raid so we can get the attention of drivers away from their cellphones. I’ve become a commuter/pedestrian and it is UNBELIEVABLE how many people are on cellphones. I walk against traffic and I would say 30%-plus of drivers are on cellphones.
Couldn’t agree with you more. It amazes me how many of those bad drivers are police themselves.
Also, the RIGHT TURN AT RED has become a joke and may also be a cause in traffic accidents and fatalities. People do not make a FULL stop, look both ways and then turn. In most cases, drivers only slow down, look one way to see if any traffic is coming and then bust through the red light. As I said above, I have become more of a commuter/pedestrian but I have take extra special care crossing any streets because the quality of driving on our roads is so poor and is actually dangerous.
Not to diminish the fact this site is the location of a traffic death as well as too many accidents that have created expense and probably injury for too many, however, I wondered about the location of the Federal Courts and the CT Post (formerly a proud banner carrier of the Fourth Estate) that may intimidate drivers passing through that intersection as their mind is called to other subjects stimulated by the workday residents of our community. Fear, anger, flight or fright as well as handheld devices may share some of the blame for the frequency of interruptions by otherwise non-movable objects. Will new signage change outcomes? Time will tell.
The problem is Bridgeport roads carry too many bad drivers, people who do not follow the rules of operation in the driver’s manual. Honking horns, blocking intersections, speeding, not looking where they are going, etc. Since Bridgeport has limited law enforcement bang for the buck it will be some time before traffic laws are enforced more aggressively.