Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons have been installed at multiple crosswalks in West Hartford.
A pedestrian uses the RRFB before crossing Tunxis Road at Spring Lane. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
By Ronni Newton
Elements of West Hartford’s Vision Zero Action Plan are in various stages of implementation throughout town, including the installation new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) combined with high-intensity signage at 10 crosswalks – many of which will be busier than ever as students return school on Aug. 28.
RRFB at the crosswalk at Sedgwick Road and Westminster Boulevard / Lemay Street, a popular crossing for walkers to Sedgwick Middle School and Duffy Elementary School. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
The West Hartford Town Council adopted the Vision Zero Action Plan on Feb. 27, 2024 – becoming the first municipality in the state to reach the significant milestone toward the goal of eliminating fatalities and severe injuries on West Hartford streets by 2033. The Action Plan, Town Manager Rick Ledwith said as the Council prepared to vote on its adoption, “focuses on making data driven decisions, redesigning our streets for our most vulnerable users, centering equity in all of our decisions, and engaging our entire community and focusing on accountability.”
Some of the goals of Vision Zero take a long-term holistic approach, but the Action Plan also includes a list of roughly 70 projects able to be implemented immediately or within the first year, the majority of which are related to crash response, speeding, and bicycle or pedestrian issues. Among the projects that have already been implemented are the installation of the 10 new RRFBs along with highly visible signage, a number of which are at crosswalks that receive heavy use by students walking to Duffy Elementary School and Sedgwick Middle School.
RRFB has been installed at the crosswalk at Sedgwick Road and Wardwell Road. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
The new RRFBs have been installed at the following crosswalks:
- Boulevard at Wardwell Road
- Boulevard at Lemay Street
- Sedgwick Road at Wardwell Road
- Sedgwick Road at Lemay Street/Westminster Boulevard
- Tunxis Road at Spring Lane
- Fern Street at Walbridge Road
- Quaker Lane South at Seymour Avenue
- Buena Vista at Cornerstone Pool/Veterans Memorial Ice Rink
- Mountain Road at Glenwood Road
- Fern Street at Steele Road/Edmund Place
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has provided the following information about RRFBs.
RRFB införmation sheet. Courtesy of West Hartford Engineering Division
The town’s first raised crosswalk will also be installed at one of the busy crosswalks that already has a new RRFB – on the east side of the intersection of Boulevard with Wardwell Road. The raised crosswalk will be similar to a speed hump, and will have a flat section in the middle with ramps on each end. According to the Engineering Division, “raised crosswalks increase pedestrian visibility and likelihood of driver yield compliance.”
Markings at the intersection of Boulevard and Wardwell Road indicate where the raised crosswalk will be installed. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
“We were hoping to get it in before the start of the school year, but because of all the rain it will more likely be sometime in September,” Town Engineer Greg Sommer told We-Ha.com. Paving and road painting projects throughout town have been delayed by recent rainstorms, but the field markings for the crosswalk are already in place, and the signage on Boulevard – which is accompanied by orange flags – is ready to be uncovered as soon as the crosswalk is installed.
As soon as the raised crosswalk on Boulevard and Lemay is installed, this notification sign will be uncovered. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
A refresh of reflective pavement markings throughout town has been completed in accordance with the Vision Zero Action Plan, and the town’s Engineering Division also noted that new 6-inch-wide edge line pavement markings. have been installed on Trout Brook Drive (between Boulevard and Asylum Avenue) as well as on Mountain Road (from Fern Street to Still Road).
Vision Zero Action Plan items that have been implemented or are in progress include new edge line pavement markings and retroreflective traffic signal backplates. Courtesy of Town of West Hartford
Other Vision Zero Action Plan projects which are underway and/or scheduled to be completed before the end of 2024, according to Sommer, include the installation of new accessible pedestrian signal equipment, installation of retroreflective traffic signal backplates, and road safety audits of Albany Avenue, Sedgwick Road, Prospect Avenue, and New Park Avenue.
Safety improvements on Park Road and New Park Avenue are scheduled to begin in 2025.
In May, the town learned that the state had allocated $1 million of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to West Hartford for implementation of the Vision Zero Action Plan.
The overall goal of West Hartford’s Vision Zero Action Plan is “eliminating fatalities and severe injuries on West Hartford streets by 2033” –10 years from the commencement of the process, which began shortly after multiple deadly crashes in 2022. The town has hired Parker Sorenson, who served as one of the consultants in the development of the Vision Zero Action Plan, to oversee the implementation of the program.
RRFB has been installed at the crosswalk at Boulevard and Wardwell Road. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
RRFB has been installed at the crosswalk at Boulevard and Wardwell Road. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
RRFB has been installed at the crosswalk at Boulevard and Wardwell Road. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
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