The Waite Street bridge over Lake Whitney has been identified by Hamden as needing to be replaced. The current blueprints call for a 30-ft wide “jersey barrier” type bridge. The new bridge will increase the load bearing capacity from 11 tons to 40 tons, accommodating large trucks such as cement trucks and tractor trailers. Additionally, the new bridge will be 10 feet wider than the current bridge, giving it a ‘wide open’ feel which is likely to increase motorist speeds on the bridge.
Despite reassurance by the Town of Hamden that this project is moving very slowly, we have learned from sources at the CT DOT that the project is only awaiting a final permit, and bidding is scheduled for August.
We are a group of concerned neighbors who feel that the current plans for the bridge are wrong-minded and ill-conceived. We are seeking to delay going forward with the project as currently conceived until concerns about the new bridge have been addressed. We are concerned that the current design will lead to heavier traffic, larger vehicles, and higher speeds along Lake Whitney, increasing problems with:
- Safety: numerous accidents already occur on the Whitney Ave-Waite St. intersection, and dozens of cars have gone off the road and into the lake on Waite St. This project is not creating solutions to the current situation, but instead will exacerbate safety issues for local children, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.
- Environment: Lake Whitney and the Waite Street area are home to multitudes of birds, fish, turtles, and other wildlife. A project on this scale will surely disturb the flora and fauna and change the natural balance of the environment, both as a result of the major construction process, and the increased traffic, pollution, and noise.
- Community Enjoyment: The Waite Street area of Lake Whitney is a gem of natural beauty enjoyed by the community. Turning Waite Street into a major thoroughfare will destroy this bucolic setting, and effectively close it to bird watchers, walkers, joggers, and cyclists.
We choose to live in this area because we value the quality of life in this community. We treasure the natural beauty around us. Please join us in our efforts to preserve the beauty and quality of life in our neighborhood.
5 comments:
We owe it to ourselves to do whatever we can to stop this project as it is planned.
Thank you anonymous, succinctly and to the point! By the amount of action and buzz in the air, there is no doubt that we are all doing the right thing. Thanks for your support.
Thank you for the update. Has anyone ever considered adding speed bumps to discourage fast traffic and shortcuts?? I know it works in Greenwich CT in a residential neighborhood that approaches downtown.
Hey Vida,
Thank you for your support. Well, we just went through the first step today. Next indeed there will be discussions about safety, repairing the bridge and etc. We will ask the community to come up with ideas, so please follow up and share your thoughts with us.
To clarify a couple of issue with this post.
I have been a firefighter in Hamden for 8yrs. and a Waite neighbor hood resident for 4yrs.
There has not been a car into the lake for all my time employed in Hamden.
There currently is NOT a sidewalk surrounding Waite St. or Mather St., coupled with the narrow roadway already, posing existing dangers to those who chose to walk/run alongside that roadway.
The current traffic along Waite St. is of medium sized delivery vehicles and residential traffic to and from local business. Due to the angle and size of intersections at Whitney/Waite and Waite/Mather it makes it nearly impossible for tractor trail vehicles to turn onto, nor practical for any necessary access to Dixwell or Whitney, should the bridge and roadway be improved.
The current condition of the bridge discontinues access of the fire department apparatus and lengthens call response times due to the detours involved.
I my opinion the bridge should be updated, roadways improved not necessarily widened, and the addition of a sidewalk for pedestrian traffic implimented. To ensure limiting traffic, a roundabout at Waite/Mather and traffic slowing islands dividing the center roadway in certain areas that stop larger tractor trailers would be a much better solution.
Finding compromise and reaching for improvement is a far better option and outcome instead of totally barring a project and settling for the deteriorated conditons already.
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