The CT Post reports that in Fairfield County pedestrians that are older than 60 have a risk that is three times greater of being struck and/or killed by a car than younger Connecticut residents. These statistics come from a new analysis of federal highway accident data. 

According to the article, the analysis found that 31 of the 75 pedestrians in 14 of Fairfield County's cities and towns from 2003 to 2012 were people over the age of 60. 

Read the full article here. 

Bike Walk CT's Executive Director, Kelly Kennedy, was quoted in TriState Transportation Campaign's news release today reporting that Connecticut people aged 60 years and older suffer disproportionately high pedestrian fatality rates.

TriState's new report, Older Pedestrians at Risk: A Ten Year Survey and Look 
Ahead, found that 123 pedestrians aged 60 years and older were killed on Connecticut roads from 2003 through 2012.  Though comprising only 19 percent of the State’s population, this age group accounted for 35 percent of the total pedestrian fatalities in these 10 years. 

“Connecticut’s complete streets law requires municipalities to consider all users in road design and maintenance projects, but few are,” said Kelly Kennedy, Executive Director of Bike Walk Connecticut.   “Cities, towns and counties across the state must be proactive in ensuring that road and bridge projects include pedestrian and bicyclist components like sidewalks and bike lanes,” she added. 

Tri-State recommends that: 

1. ConnDOT should create and fund Safe Routes for Seniors and Safe Routes to Transit programs that implement pedestrian safety improvements in areas with high concentrations of seniors and near transit stops. 
   
2. ConnDOT should redesign Connecticut’s Highway Design Manual, the state’s standard road design reference book, to address the goals and policies of the state’s complete streets law.
   
3. Municipalities should enact complete streets ordinances that require all transportation projects to consider the needs of pedestrians of all ages and abilities. 
   
4. ConnDOT should adopt the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ (NACTO) Urban Street Design Guidelines. The guidelines provide technical standards that departments of transportation can use to create streets that safely accommodate all road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders. The Federal Highway Administration, thirty-seven cities, including New York City, and six states have adopted NACTO standards.
   
5. Communities across the state should pursue transit oriented development (TOD), which ensures that housing, shops and offices are in proximity to existing bus and rail routes.
   

 Read the TriState Press Release.  Read the full TriState report.

Connecticut News 12 reports that Stamford police and city officials met on Wednesday to discuss how to make the city safer for pedestrians. 

Ideas that were discussed during the meeting included promoting pedestrian safety education in Stamford schools and increasing tickets for drivers who do not give pedestrians the right of way and jaywalkers. 

Read the full story here. 

WTNH 8 reports that Whitney Avenue will close at Audubon Street in New Haven from July 21 to 24. The closure is for traffic-calming improvements, including a crosswalk, a curb extension and intersection markings.

The closing starts at 7 p.m. July 21 and will end at 4 p.m. on July 24.

The city is making the changes to reduce vehicle speeds at the intersection and make it safer for pedestrians. 

The full list of detours due to the closure are here. 

A public meeting will be held in South Windsor on Friday, June 27 at 8 a.m. to discuss the development of South Windsor Center. 

According to the town, the Planning & Zoning Commission is looking for ways to encourage the evolution of the Town Center into a walkable, pedestrian-friendly place with a variety of uses. 

The meeting will be held at the Council Chambers of the South Windsor Town Hall. The public is invited to join in the discussion. For more information, visit southwindsor.org.

The Norwalk Bike/Walk Task Force will be working to make streets in sidewalks safer throughout the city.

According to The Hour, Norwalk Mayor Harry W. Rilling announced the formation of the task force last week. 

The task force will look into creating safer routes for citizens to get to school, work and shopping places. The group will also work to implement plans and studies that are already in place in Norwalk. 

Read the full article here. 

Business and property owners, residents and town officials attended a walking tour in Collinsville on April 1. According to the Hartford Courant, the purpose of the "tour" was to discuss making Collinsville more accessible for cyclists and discuss where improvements could be made. 

Suggestions included finding ways to make it easier for pedestrians to cross the intersection of Main and Bridge Streets. Another idea was making it safer for cyclists to turn left off Route 179 onto River Street. Business owners said they would like to focus on sidewalks. 

Read the full article here. 

The Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously last week to adopt the Complete Streets Master Plan as part of the city's Plan of Conservation and Development. 

According to an article in the Hartford Courant, recommendations in the plan including the addition of bicycle lanes, developing trails and making areas near schools safer for pedestrians. 

Read the full article in the Courant here. 

Car drivers are not the only legal users of Connecticut's roads: Walkers, bicyclists, horse riders, tractor operators and utility crews, among others, have a right to use the roads as well. Most drivers know this; some do not.

To get their attention, advocates for "vulnerable users" of the roadways are supporting a bill in the General Assembly that would create a fine of up to $1,000 for reckless drivers who injure or kill pedestrians, bicyclists or others who are lawfully and responsibly using a public way.

The bill should pass.

Why such a law?  The human body is no match for 3,000 pounds of speeding steel. What might be a fender bender for a car is . . . Read the full editorial here. 

Hamlethub reports that the City of Norwalk has proposed a project that will add ADA compliant sidewalks and curb ramps on Highland Ave. from Witch Ln. to Knollwood Rd. Additionally, pedestrian crossing beacons will be installed on Highland Ave. at Roton Middle School and at Knollwood Rd. 

The city will hold an informational meeting on the project on March 26, 2014 at 7 p.m. at the Roton Middle School, 201 Highland Ave., Norwalk. 

Click here to read the full article in the HamletHub.