Recent pedestrians deaths in New Britain shine light on roadway safety

Two pedestrian deaths within two months in the city of New Britain is shining a light on pedestrian safety.

In both cases, the victims were crossing the road when it was dark outside and were both hit by drivers.

In September, a woman was crossing West Main Street when she was hit by a police officer who authorities said was responding to a burglary.

This week, a second woman was hit and killed while crossing South Main Street by a speeding driver.

Police in New Britain said there have been 15 pedestrian-involved accidents in the city this year, and 40 last year. Since 2021, there have been six pedestrian fatalities.

“West Main Street and South Main Street - these incidents really underscore the need for the funding to continue our complete streets work through the city,” said Jack Benjamin, director of planning and development in the city of New Britain.

Benjamin said the city has been working to improve the safety of pedestrians for years through the "complete streets" initiative.

“Complete streets include road dieting, reducing the allocated travel lane for cars, while increasing sidewalk width while adding bike lanes, adding traffic calming measures, which are street trees and streetlight,” Benjamin said.

He said $50 million has been poured into it so far, and statewide, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) is supporting these efforts.

“Our complete streets directive means, from the start of every project, bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks, all that has to be incorporated into every project we do moving forward,” said Josh Morgan, spokesman for the DOT.

Morgan said roadway fatalities across the state continue to rise.

“The numbers in 2022 really jumped off the page in the amount of roadway fatalities. About 370 people were killed on CT roadways in 2022, the highest in more than three decades,” Morgan said. “We have about 275 to date now in CT, including about 45 pedestrians. So, the numbers are not great, they’re alarming.”

He said more and more drivers are distracted, speeding and impaired. With Daylight Saving Time approaching, the numbers are expected to continue to climb.

“Just because it’s 4 o’clock, it’s pitch black, but it’s really not late for many people so we see an increase in crashes, every year, this time of year. So we really want to stress to the drivers be aware of your surroundings, be aware that your route that you’ve been traveling for the last few months is gonna look a bit different in terms of sunrise, in terms of sunset," Morgan said.

He has this warning for drivers when they think about speeding down roads in the state.

“You have the seatbelts, you have the airbags, you have thousands of pounds of metal and steel around you to keep you safe if you crash,” Morgan said. “That person crossing the road in the crosswalk, they have nothing but the clothes and the jacket they’re wearing.”