Holiday Horror To Hope: WeHa's Plan To Make Roads Safer

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Wednesday's forum on West Hartford's draft of its Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic/pedestrian deaths and injuries was a sea of flow charts, Venn diagrams and outlines.

However, the crux of the town's commitment to tackling the problem of people being killed or injured in town was made clear by West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith at the start of the forum, which is available for public viewing via YouTube.

Speaking before a sizable crowd of residents and officials at the Noah Webster Library Wednesday night, Ledwith explained, clearly, why the town needs to adopt this course of action.

Christmas Horror

It was Christmas Day 2022 and West Hartford was already mourning the recent loss of two pedestrians struck by vehicles on town roads in the days leading up to the holiday.

Then, things got worse in West Hartford the morning of the holiday, Ledwith recalled.

A violent, head-on crash that morning took the lives of three Hartford residents, making for a solemn holiday in the local community.

"I remember it was Christmas and we had a head-on collision on Simsbury Road and, speaking with the mayor on Christmas Day after that accident, the mayor (said) 'This has to stop. This has to end,'" Ledwith continued.

For West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor, what happened a year ago was a watershed moment regarding how the town tackles the problem, which had been steadily growing for five years prior.

"It was a very, very tragic, end of the year last year," Cantor said at the forum. "We all know road safety is a primary concern. It's one of the primary calls that we get.

"And then, when you are impacted by such tragedy, when there's a tragedy, especially on Christmas Day, it really is so heart-breaking," Cantor continued. "There is such an impact on everybody in the community."

She credited responders for professionally handling the tragedies but added she didn't want them or anyone else to have to endure another wave of such horror in West Hartford.

The response

This is where the Vision Zero plan, which originated in Europe in the 1990s, comes in.

Earlier this year, the West Hartford Town Council approved participation in the Vision Zero movement, which commits the town to do whatever is necessary to eliminate injuries and deaths on local roadways.

"It's our commitment to a plan that will ensure that we have zero deaths and zero serious injuries as a result of traffic crashes within 10 years," explained Ledwith at Wednesday's forum.

Specifically, the town’s Vision Zero initiative supports the following five principles:

• Deaths and serious injuries caused by traffic crashes are preventable.

• Human life and health should be prioritized in all transportation systems and in all aspects of transportation planning and design.

• Human error is inevitable and transportation systems should be forgiving.

• Transportation planning should focus on system-level changes to influence all individual’s behavior.

• Speed is a highly important factor in crash severity.

How does West Hartford get there?

As explained by a team of consultants hired by the town and volunteers serving on a Vision Zero committee, it will take plenty of work.

Namely: Enacting policies promoting safety in roadways; redesigning streets to improve safety; creating a culture of roadway safety in town; and improving data collection and analysis of where West Hartford is dangerous.

Already, West Hartford police are planning to purchase and install cameras to catch speeders and dangerous drivers in action, possibly resulting in tickets for the motorists.

Local officials, however, hope it will deter drivers from dangerous practices to begin with.

One interesting point raised Wednesday is that 56 percent of fatal crashes in West Hartford happened on just 9 percent of roadways in town, increasing over five years.

What's next

For now, Cantor explained, the town's Vision Zero committee will submit a draft report to a council subcommittee next month.

That committee will then finalize a plan to go before the full council, possibly in February or March.

If the council OKs that, then West Hartford can get to work on making roadways and sidewalks safer.

And, as Ledwith explained Wednesday, the hope is for a 2033 (or earlier) without any serious injuries or deaths on West Hartford roads.

Said Cantor: "Vision Zero has a proven record."

From Dec. 3: 'WeHa's Roadway Safety Plan Topic Of Dec. 6 Forum'

From Dec. 25, 2022: 'WHPD: Three Hartford Residents Were West Hartford Crash Victims'

For more information on the Vision Zero movement in West Hartford, click on this link.

For more information on the worldwide Vision Zero movement, click on this link.