The What

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of February 6.

Hope you're all staying warm after the cold spell this past weekend. (Photo by Kelly Prinz.)

Monday, February 6

“An alarming public health crisis.” That was how new Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto described the amount of traffic-related deaths on Connecticut roads.

“In 2022, there were 239 driver/passenger fatalities which is an increase of 41.5% over the last 5 years as well as 75 pedestrian fatalities which is an increase of 31% over the last 5 years,” Eucalitto said in testimony to the legislature’s Transportation Committee this week. “2022 has been the deadliest year on our roadways in decades.”

Our region of Connecticut has been hit with this as well. Using data from UConn’s Connecticut Crash Data Repository, we found that there were 11 fatal injuries suffered in 2022 and 13 in 2021. In 2022, 106 people suffered “suspected serious injuries” from the crashes, while 117 did in 2021.

Overall, the region had 12,941 total crashes reported to the UConn repository involving 25,292 vehicles and 30,826 people in 2022. In 2021, the six communities in southwest Connecticut saw 13,102 total crashes reported with 25,577 vehicles involved and 31,482 people impacted.

Learn more about how officials are hoping to address the public health crisis on the roads in Connecticut.

“This is a horrific crisis we are facing across Connecticut,” Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons told the committee. “We’ve seen an alarming rise in the number of pedestrian crashes and fatalities…Whether you live in a small town or big city, pedestrian safety is impacting all of us.”

The state legislature is considering recommendations to try and make the roads safer, including using automated traffic enforcement cameras, banning open containers in cars, and more. In a public hearing this week, more than a dozen members of our region voiced their thoughts on the Vision Zero initiative. Learn more about the efforts, why many members of our communities are supporting them, and how you can get involved.

Let’s see what else is happening around the region this week.

Stamford

The Board of Representatives will meet on Monday, February 6 at 8 p.m. and vote on a resolution calling on the state to make bus fares free permanently. Currently, the fares are free as a part of a pilot program until March 31, 2023. Stamford Representative Jonathan Jacobson, who co-sponsored the resolution emphasized that making bus fares free would “benefit our most financially vulnerable residents,” calling bus fares a regressive tax on lower income residents.

“I think that eliminating bus fares ultimately improves its efficiency and further, it puts money back into the pockets of those that need it most,” he said.The resolution previously received the unanimous support of the State and Commerce Committee.

Learn more about what’s in the resolution.

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The Stamford Vision Zero Task Force will meet on Tuesday, February 7 at 9:30 a.m. The task force’s work has taken on even more importance in light of two pedestrian deaths that occurred in the city in December.