Stamford Officials Outline Plans To Increase Roadway Safety

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford officials on Tuesday as part of the newly-formed Vision Zero Task Force outlined initiatives they hope will increase roadway safety around the city.

The Vision Zero Task Force is made up of technical advisors, transportation and engineering officials, as well as public safety officials and community advocates. Meetings are held monthly.

In September, Mayor Caroline Simmons signed an executive order and launched a Vision Zero initiative with a goal of eliminating fatalities and severe injuries on Stamford's roadways by 2032.

Vision Zero was first implemented in Sweden in the 1990's, and it swept across Europe and is now a popular strategy in major American cities.

In September, Director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare for Stamford, Lou DeRubeis, who is a member of the Vision Zero Task Force, said that from Jan. 1, 2017, through Aug, 31, 2022, there were 22,622 total crashes reported within Stamford, with 459 involving a pedestrian.

In 2022, there were five pedestrian fatalities.

"We had a really terrible year last year across the state for pedestrian deaths. It was one of the deadliest years," Simmons said during the task force's monthly meeting Tuesday. "In Stamford, we had five pedestrian fatalities — all of them were on state roads, which is unacceptable to me as mayor and all of us on this task force."

Simmons said the city has been working actively with the CT Department of Transportation to address the problem. She said a speeding sign was installed on Washington Boulevard, which has had one of the highest amounts of pedestrian fatalities.

In November, two pedestrians were killed while crossing Washington Boulevard at Main Street. Charges have yet to be filed against the driver — 24-year-old Michael Talbot, of Greenwich.

DeRubeis said Tuesday the investigation remains ongoing.

"Hopefully some progress comes out of that in the next couple of weeks," he said.

Simmons also said the city is working on securing a road safety audit, and implementing additional safety measures such as raised crosswalks on state roads.

Federal funding and grant opportunities will play a big role in the city's plan to increase roadway safety. Simmons mentioned the city applied for a Safe Streets For All grant for the Strawberry Hill corridor, and hopes to receive money through congressional earmarks.

Luke Buttenwieser from the Stamford Transportation, Traffic & Parking Department said the city is working on coming up with 20 locations for temporary safety pilot projects in the spring and summer.

Similar to the project at Greyrock and Forest streets from last year, the city would narrow travel lanes and add bumpouts with delineators and paint to 20 selected locations around the city that are trafficked heavily by pedestrians, such as train stations, schols, parks, retail environments, and areas that have a lot of pedestrian-related crashes.

The city is also taking resident complaints and feedback into consideration, Buttenwieser said.

"We're confident that these can help initiate quick updates to our pedestrian safety network, that could also then lead into the future and more concrete measures; concrete as in the literal and physical sense of build-out as funding kind of develops and comes this way," Buttenwieser said.

Officials hope to finalize a list of the 20 locations in the coming weeks. Buttenwieser said details on the pilot program will be posted on the city's website.

Another key initiative the city is considering involves centerline hardening, or left turn calming. Buttenwieser said the New York City Department of Transportation has had success with their centerline hardening program.

Essentially, mini speed humps would be installed on the centerline which would slow cars down and force them to make a much more deliberate left turn, Buttenwieser said.

More information on Stamford's Vision Zero campaign can be found on the city's website.