Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Complete Streets topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances $11.4M US DOT SS4A award for Chapel Street safety work amid debate over two-way conversion
Summary
City staff said a $11.4M SS4A award would fund multi-year safety and accessibility work on Chapel Street; the grant requires a $2.7M city match. Alders and residents debated whether accepting the funds effectively commits the city to converting Chapel Street from one-way to two-way traffic; staff said conversion is part of the submitted project but final design and community engagement remain to be completed.
City Transportation, Traffic & Parking director Haley Simpson told the committee April 16 that New Haven has been selected as a recipient of $11,400,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program to support a multi-year Chapel Street corridor safety project.
Simpson described the grant as a five-year award for design and implementation of corridor improvements whose goals include reducing deaths and injuries from motor vehicles, improving accessibility for people with disabilities and making walking, bicycling and public transit safer and easier to use. "The overall goals for this $11 million grant is to eliminate deaths and injuries caused by motor vehicles, making transportation fully accessible to people with disabilities," Simpson said.
Committee members asked pointed questions about scope and commitment. Several alders and public commenters raised concerns that accepting the federal award could be interpreted as committing to a full one-way-to-two-way conversion of Chapel Street corridor-wide. Director Simpson acknowledged that the project application included street conversions in its broader scope but emphasized that final design and public engagement remain to be completed and that staff would continue community outreach. "That is part of the project for the grant," Simpson said when asked whether two-way conversion was included in the submitted project materials.
A public commenter and other alders also raised ADA and surfacing concerns, with one commenter noting prior projects had not spent the full 20% accessibility share he expected and expressing doubt that current funding would address difficult surfaces such as bluestone sidewalks. The grant requires a city match that Simpson said would be bonded and cited a $2.7 million local match. Committee members discussed whether to discharge the item for expedited board action or treat it as a first reading to allow two weeks for additional review; the chair directed staff to follow the normal first-reading/second-reading schedule, giving the board two weeks for follow-up questions before final board action.
The committee voted to move the SS4A item as a first reading. If the Board of Alders subsequently authorizes acceptance and signs the agreement, staff plan to proceed with public engagement, final design and phased construction subject to HUD/US DOT reporting and match commitments.
