NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The city of New Haven has officially opened up its first 'peanut-shaped' roundabout in the Westville neighborhood. The newly-constructed road is now open to drivers, after around two months of work.
The 'peanut-shaped' roundabout is the first of its kind in New Haven, and in Connecticut, according to city leaders.
It sits at an intersection that neighbors have complained about for years, at the corner of Chapel Street and Yale Avenue, next to the Yale Bowl.
"Accidents, lots of accidents. Crazy driving," said Pat Syvertsen of New Haven.
Syvertsen has lived in the Westville neighborhood for more than four decades. She said that the intersection connecting is highly trafficked and even more dangerous.
"I was always very nervous about this intersection because you can't really see the cars and especially in the summer with the shadows and everything," Syvertsen said.
Those factors have lead to 50 crashes here over the last three years, many of them pretty serious.
"We can't have a cop at every intersection to help slow everyone down and this formulation actually works synergistically with the police department and the residents," said Lt. Elliot Rosa with the New Haven Police Department.
Rosa said he has witnessed several incidents at that intersection over the last couple of years and he's heard concerns from neighbors about the problem for just as long.
The unique design of the new roundabout tries to combat the problem of people speeding through the area, while working with the already existing infrastructure of the intersection.
"By using the peanut roundabout, it sort of behaves like two connected roundabouts. It actually allows you to enter one side or the other at the correct angle," said Giovanni Zinn, City Engineer for New Haven.
Zinn at his team at city hall started this plan about six years ago when neighbors spoke up about the problem. It's part of a larger plan to cut down on crashes and even deaths on the streets of new haven.
"We're looking at all of our major city-owned corridors through our corridors project, we're doing a lot of speed humps. We're almost up to 200 speed humps in the city, we'll have more," Zinn said.
And though infrastructure changes help, it's up to drivers to save lives.
"It's a matter of responsibility. If you're in a 4, 5, 6,000 pound vehicle, remember that it's your friends and neighbors that are out there right," Zinn said.
Those neighbors are hoping this peanut, makes a difference.
Syverston spent part of her Wednesday morning watching as cars went though, navigating the new roadway.
"Their very cautious, very cautious. And it would be nice if it stayed this way," Syverston said.
Zinn said they're working on making improvements to State Street, Quinnipiac Avenue, Valley Street, Sherman Parkway, and more.
Lindsey Kane is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at Lkane@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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