New technology makes Connecticut crosswalks safer - Danbury News Times

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The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

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The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

Image 3 of 6

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

Image 4 of 6

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

Image 5 of 6

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

Image 6 of 6

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

The city has been installing new crosswalks downtown with enhanced digital lighting. Crosswalk across Main Street at Center Street. Monday, November 20, 2017, in Danbury, Conn.

Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

New technology makes Connecticut crosswalks safer

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DANBURY - Worried about an increase in pedestrian accidents around the country, Connecticut transportation officials are installing new signals to help alert motorists to the presence of crosswalks.

“Safety is our No. 1 priority,” said Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The department has already installed new signals with flashing lights at high-risk locations in municipalities across the state, including 10 in the DOT region that includes Danbury. The pedestrian-activated lights were most recently installed on Main Street near St Peter’s Church.

The signals, referred to as rectangular rapid flashing beacons, have been shown to have a high success rate, with as many as 90 percent of motorists yielding to pedestrians.

“The high-intensity flash sequence of the lights are very effective at alerting drivers to the presence of a person in the crosswalk.,” said Mark Carlino, head of the state DOT’s traffic division. “ It’s a proven counter-measure and we are excited that municipalities are endorsing them.”

Carlino said safety experts have seen a nationwide rise in accidents involving pedestrians in recent years, owing in part to distracting driving.

“Distracting driving and even distracted walking may be one of the major factors for the increase, so the emphasis is on making crosswalks more visible to both drivers and pedestrians,” he said. “We want motorists to yield to pedestrians, but we also want pedestrians to use the designated crossing locations.”

The lights were earlier installed on White Street near Western Connecticut University, where several pedestrians have been hit in recent years.

Nineteen-year-old Dong Lin was struck and killed on Nov. 22, 2011, while crossing White Street near Western’s White Hall. The driver, who fled after striking Lin, was eventually caught and sentenced to six months in prison on a charge of evading responsibility.

In August 2013, a 54-year-old Danbury man was struck while crossing White Street, and a New Milford man was struck nearby October 2015. Both men suffered minor injuries in the accidents.

Carlino noted that town officials will often request the new signals, which are installed by DOT crews but paid for by the individual municipality.

“These lights are usually put in at high-risk crosswalks at the request of the town or a private entity such as an employer,” he said.

Mayor Mark Boughton praised the new technology and said the city would look at installing more in the future.

“We are very interested to see how it works and we will look to plan for more of these in the future, possibly through grant funding, to continue to enhance the safety of crosswalks in the downtown,” he said.

Connecticut transportation officials have also undertaken an effort to improve signs at all “mid-block” crosswalks on state-owned roadways.

“We are in the process of resigning all of these locations in the state with advanced signage and road markings before the crosswalk to alert drivers,” Carlino said. “It includes new markings on the road including a series of white triangles that show the motorist where to stop.”

The department is also designing new crosswalks for crosswalks in locally owned streets if the town requests it.

“There has been a really strong effort in our department in recent years to improve pedestrian safety,” Carlino said. “We are more than happy to work with any municipality to improve pedestrian safety in their town.”

dperrefort@newstimes.com

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