The Elicker administration has launched a new effort to redesign six blocks of Goffe Street using a slate of “quick-build” traffic-calming and placemaking changes — with the goal of testing updates on the street before committing to more costly permanent construction. City officials and co nsultants kicked off the effort Wednesday evening with a community workshop at the Reginald Mayo School at 185 Goffe St. The meeting marked the start of a federal Safe Streets and Routes for All grant-funded project aimed at slowing traffic, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety, and creating more inviting public space along Goffe between Webster Street and Crescent Street. New Haven received a $400,000 federal award in 2023, matched by a city contribution through Economic Development, as part of the city’s broader Safe Routes for All mission to eliminate traffic injuries citywide, according to Haley Simpson, the city’s newly appointed transportation, traffic and parking department head. Simpson opened the workshop by stressing that the project is still in its earliest stages. She told attendees she was only on her third day in the role and asked that more technical questions be directed to the prior director as the new administration team gets fully up to speed. City staff and consultants said Goffe Street was selected because it is both heavily traveled and densely packed with community destinations, including homes, transit stops, schools, parks, historic buildings, and the old Goffe Street Armory, which is slated for a major redevelopment. The corridor was also identified in the city’s 2022 Safe Routes for All Active Transportation Plan as a priority for traffic safety and active transportation improvements. Consultants from Street Plans, an urban planning and design firm based in Brooklyn, New York, outlined how the city plans to move quickly. Project managers Mike Lydon and Dana Wall explained that the project will rely on a “quick-build” approach, using temporary or semi-temporary materials such as paint, planters, and flexible barriers. The goal, the consultants said, is speed paired with learning: installing treatments relatively fast, evaluating what improves safety, and adjusting what does not. “We want you to see this work as a first big step,” Lydon said. “It’s to test things out, see what we learn as a community, and then hopefully see that impact inform longer-term investments.” To gather community priorities, the team presented several potential interventions, emphasizing that none had been finalized and that the workshop was intended to solicit feedback. Residents were invited to use dot stickers to rank which ideas they most wanted to see tested. Those options included placemaking elements such as small plazas, seating, public art, and greening; transit improvements like raised bus boarding platforms that expand waiting space and allow buses to stop more efficiently; curb extensions to shorten crossings and slow turning vehicles; high-visibility crosswalks near schools and parks; centerline hardening to prevent tight, fast turns and improve pedestrian visibility; “right-sizing” wide intersections and excess asphalt to clarify vehicle movements; and midblock crossings with pedestrian refuge islands on long blocks. Street Plans representatives noted that the firm has worked with New Haven since 2017 on similar pilots, including intersection-focused quick-build projects and corridor striping changes in several neighborhoods. They described the Goffe Street project as an opportunity to expand beyond isolated fixes and better plan for the operational challenges that follow installation. The project covers roughly a half-mile stretch of Goffe Street, from Crescent to Webster, with a total budget not to exceed $500,000, including the city’s match. Most of the funding is expected to go toward materials and installation. The work is divided into three phases: public engagement and early design, design refinement and evaluation planning, and construction and installation. Design is expected to be finalized by late May, with monthly public check-ins before any on-street changes are built. Presenters also shared early analysis of crash patterns and street conditions along the corridor. Wall said a review of the last three years identified crash hotspots within the project segment, where officials counted roughly 40 crashes, as well as clusters near schools and around the armory. The corridor carries relatively high traffic volumes, they added, and design features such as slip lanes, long stretches without safe crossings, and wide expanses of asphalt can encourage speeding and leave pedestrians exposed. During the discussion period, residents raised recurring concerns about cyclist safety, maintenance, and how quick-build changes would function through New Haven winters. Resident Clara Biesel described confusion and danger for cyclists at intersections where bike lanes narrow or disappear, arguing that even partial protection at intersections would improve safety. “I bike on that all the time, and the ambiguity of when there’s a curb—like, am I supposed to go in? Am I supposed to go out?” Biesel said. “Cars don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” Beaver Hills Alder Gary Hogan raised operational issues observed on nearby quick-build projects, including leaves and debris collecting in bike lanes, snow blocking protected areas, and flexible delineators being knocked down by plows or storms. Simpson and the consultant team acknowledged that maintenance is often the most challenging aspect of quick-build projects and said the city has not yet finalized who will be responsible for clearing lanes, repairing barriers, or handling seasonal upkeep. They said a maintenance plan will be developed in a later phase of the project, with multiple city departments involved as designs move toward implementation. The meeting also surfaced physical limitations along parts of the corridor. Several residents noted that western sections of Goffe Street are too narrow for major reconfiguration, prompting the design team to suggest focusing there on intersection upgrades, transit stops, and pedestrian safety rather than full-width bike lanes. By the end of the workshop, organizers directed attendees back to the maps and dot-voting stations, urging residents to identify the most dangerous locations, flag missing crossings, and prioritize which interventions they want tested first. Written comments left at the workshop included “making it clear where bikes are supposed to go” and flagging heavy “crossing activity from the Armory to De Gale Field.” City officials and consultants said they will return each month with more refined designs and continue gathering feedback before any quick-build materials are installed on the street. Alder Gary Hogan and and Dana Wall. City TTP Director Haley Simpson. The post Safe-Streets “Quick Build”? 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