West Hartford’s Town Council’s Community Planning & Economic Development Committee received the 2024 Vision Zero Annual Report on Feb. 19, 2025.

By Ronni Newton

Vision Zero is intended as a long-term strategy to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the roadways within a 10-year period, utilizing a holistic and multi-faceted approach targeting policies and practices, safe design, culture, and data, and this week the West Hartford Town Council’s Community Planning & Economic Development Committee (CPED) received the first annual report on the plan – which was adopted in February 2024 – with details about what has been done, and plans for the future.

“This does mark a significant milestone,” Town Manager Rick Ledwith said at the CPED meeting Wednesday morning of the delivery of the first annual report, which contained a mix of positive updates and sobering statistics. “I think while it reflects important projects,” he said, it’s also a reminder of work left to be done.

“We do need to work urgently,” Ledwith told We-Ha.com. He said 2024 was a bad year from a road safety standpoint, but the town is “absolutely focused” on quick-build projects as well as long-term planning. “We’re meeting every day to come up with short-term plans,” he said.

What were the findings?

Parker Sorenson, a civil engineer with the town who was formerly a consultant that helped draft the Vision Zero Action Plan and is now overseeing much of the implementation, said there were 115 projects completed in 2024, a collaborative effort and partnership between multiple town departments.

While there has certainly been progress in certain areas, “2024 was really a tough year for us in terms of crashes,” Sorenson said, with three pedestrian fatalities. In addition to fatalities, as part of Vision Zero the data analysis considers crashes with serious injuries, and based on preliminary information from the UConn Connecticut Crash Data Repository, there was a 50% increase in crashes involving serious injuries last year. [Editor’s Note: The report indicates a 41% increase, but that figure is being corrected in the posted document.] In 2023, there were no fatalities but 12 crashes with serious injuries in town, while in 2024 there were 21 that were either fatal or serious. Crashes resulting in minor injuries also rose between 2023 and 2024, from a reported 314 to 344 (9.6%) based on preliminary data.

Over the seven-year period from 2018 to 2024 that was studied, 2024 was the worst in terms of fatal and/or suspected serious injury to “vulnerable road users,” meaning those not inside a vehicle.

The report states that the statistics “underscore the critical importance of maintaining focus on Vision Zero priorities to prevent further harm.” Among the crashes identified as resulting in serious injuries that occurred in 2024, four involved pedestrians, two involved bicyclists, and 12 were motor vehicle-related.

The data analysis also involved looking at contributing factors, and of the 11 pedestrian fatalities that occurred in West Hartford between 2015 and 2024, nine of the 11 (82%) occurred night or at dusk, and 73% of those were in the months of November, December, or January. All three of the fatal pedestrian crashes in West Hartford in 2024 fell into both of those categories. National data compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration also reflects a higher rate of pedestrian deaths at dusk, in the dark, and during the months of the year with fewer daylight hours.

One of the actions taken quickly by the town was on Oakwood Avenue, where Patricia Brulotte was tragically struck by a vehicle crossing Oakwood Avenue at St. James Street and died as a result of her injuries in November 2024. Brighter lamps were  installed on Oakwood Avenue shortly after that incident, and make a dramatic difference in the visibility of the crosswalk at the intersection of Oakwood Avenue and St. James Street and that stretch of roadway.

The annual report included a study of areas of town where there were notable reductions or increases in crashes that resulted in injury.

There’s valuable data for the stretch of North Main Street where the road diet was implemented in 2021 – indicating a 59% decrease in injury crashes per year from 13.5/year in 2018-2019 to 5.5/year in 2023-2024. On Boulevard, between Riggs Avenue and Woodrow Street where diverters have been used to partially close intersections, there has been a 72% reduction in injury crashes since 2018-2019, and on Farmington Avenue between Stanley Street and Main Street, where the roadway has been narrowed since outdoor dining was first implemented during the pandemic, the average injury crashes per year since 2018-2019 has decreased from 4/year to 0.5/year.

There are five corridors where the data shows a marked increase in injury crashes, several of which are state roads, Sorenson said.

They include Albany Avenue from Woodbury Lane to Sequin Road (56% increase in injury crashes) – a stretch that includes the location where in January 2024, 80-year-old David Goldfarb  sustained fatal injuries when he was crossing Albany Avenue near Mohegan Drive. New Britain Avenue from Berkshire Road to South Road has seen an 83% increase in injury crashes, Trout Brook Drive from White Avenue to Warwick Street had a 45% increase in injury crashes, Oakwood Avenue from Westphal Street to Seymour Avenue had a 94% increase in injury crashes, and Boulevard from Wardwell Road to Garfield Road had a 119% increase in injury crashes.

The report indicates some of the measures that have been taken or are planned to mitigate the identified causes of the crashes, including reconfiguring lanes and adding markings and signage and improving lighting. Included in the cited stretch of Boulevard is the intersection with Wardwell Road, where a raised crosswalk has been added – a measure that town officials said has slowed traffic by 26%. In a speed study on Boulevard, Sorenson said there has been a 90% decrease in vehicles traveling over 40mph since the raised crosswalk has been installed.

Albany Avenue is a state road, but in collaboration with CTDOT the town conducted a Road Safety Audit in 2024 resulting in various recommendations, and among the immediate planned improvements are increased street lighting.

What has been done?

Earlier this month, Director of Community Development Duane Martin and Town Engineer Greg Sommer provided highlights of completed and future projects and a glossary of terms that are used in a discussion of Vision Zero and road safety.

During Wednesday’s presentation, Sorenson provided additional details of the 115 Vision Zero Action Plan projects completed in 2024.

Three new raised crosswalks, 11 new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs), 14 new crosswalks, 17 curves with new pavement markings, the state-installed road diet on New Britain Avenue east of South Street, 23 signals with improvements in accessibility or timing, 9.8 miles of edge lines widened from 4 inches to 6 inches, 5,000 reflective bands distributed, and sightline and lighting improvements were among the accomplishments highlighted in the report.

The complete list can be found in the PDF of the report below. The Vision Zero webpage on the Town of West Hartford website also includes the full report, and an interactive map.

What’s next?

There’s a long list of projects planned for 2025 – some of which should have immediate and significant impact such as automated traffic enforcement cameras which were authorized by the state in 2023.

The town has already received a $669,007 federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant for the speed management pilot program, which will begin this year. Cameras will be installed at 15 locations throughout town once the final plan is approved by CTDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

The Town Council must first approve an ordinance to permit Automated Traffic Safety Devices and establish the policy for citations and fines. Ledwith told CPED that the plan will include a 30-day warning period, after which citations will be issued and sent by mail to the registered owner of the vehicle within 30 days of the violation. In accordance with state statute, fines will likely be $50 for the first offense and $75 for subsequent offenses, and Ledwith said the town is permitted to add a processing fee of $15.

A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will likely be held on April 8, followed by a Council vote, and then the final plan will be submitted for approval.

West Hartford also received a nearly $3.2 million SS4A grant in 2024 for a “Vulnerable User Safety Program” that includes an 18-month automated red light camera enforcement program at eight intersections in town, as well as other quick-build and permanent safety improvements to sidewalks and roadways. Ledwith said he is being cautious about anything covered by that grant since its status, like many federal programs, has been put into limbo and is awaiting final approval from the Federal Highway Administration.

There’s also a lengthy list of projects, many of which fall into the quick-build category.

At least 15 more RRFBs will be installed in 2025, and that equipment has already been purchased, Martin and Sommer said.

Improvements to street lighting, the installation of Dynamic No Turn on Red Signage that is activated by pedestrians, rumble strips in the center of Bloomfield Avenue, and additional upgrades to curve signage and lane reconfiguration are among the planned projects, all of which are listed in the 2024 Vision Zero Annual Report.

Some bike lanes throughout town will be delineated with green paint, including the new lanes that will be part of the New Park Avenue update that will be implemented this year.

The specific locations of additional raised crosswalks – a proven safety measure – were not identified, but are in the plans for this construction season as well as the future. “We have identified 10 locations that we’re planning to do this year,” Ledwith told We-Ha.com, and they will be announced in the next few weeks following discussions with the engineering team. An additional 16 other locations are being discussed as future sites of raised crosswalks, he said.

“I just wanted to be crystal clear on this … we 100% support traffic calming. We look for opportunities,” Martin said at the CPED meeting. While traffic calming measures are not “one-size-fits-all,” the concept is very much supported by the town.

Education

Key to the success of Vision Zero is education, and that’s the focus of the Vision Zero Advisory Committee which is working on that aspect of the program this winter, Ledwith said.

Members of the community will be asked to take a Vision Zero Pledge, and will receive a decal that they can place on their car. The pledge, which is being finalized is “basically what we all should be doing,” in terms of obeying the rules of the road, not speeding, avoiding distractions, etc. The town has also ordered additional reflective armbands as well as reflective vests that will be distributed.

“Will be working on that during the next several weeks, getting that campaign out and working on that through the year,” Ledwith said of the education piece. “These are things we consider common sense, but folks clearly aren’t obeying throughout town.”

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