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Tri-State, AARP, City of Bridgeport Walk for a Better East Main Street

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch (at right) walks with Connecticut AARP State Director Nora Duncan observing conditions on East Main Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Walking behind them are AARP volunteer Mike Klein, Bridgeport City Councilwoman Lydia Martinez, and Bridgeport Director of Social Services Iris Molina.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch (at right) observes conditions on East Main Street with with Connecticut AARP State Director Nora Duncan. Walking behind them are (from right) AARP volunteer Mike Klein, Bridgeport City Councilwoman Lydia Martinez, and Bridgeport Director of Social Services Iris Molina. | Photo: TSTC

Yesterday, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, City Councilwoman Lydia Martinez, and Director of Social Services Iris Molina joined AARP volunteers and Tri-State Transportation Campaign staff to examine pedestrian conditions on a half-mile stretch of East Main Street between Crescent Avenue and Stillman Avenue.

Volunteers used an AARP-provided survey to note intersection and sidewalk conditions, driver behavior, the comfort and appeal of the corridor and any safety issues they encountered. The corridor includes the East Side Senior Center and a planned senior center on Barnum Avenue, as well as a Greater Bridgeport Transit bus route (Route 9) and several small businesses. It is also just north of the planned Steel Point redevelopment project.

Before joining volunteers to walk part of the corridor, Mayor Finch told them the City “would like to have fewer cars” on the streets and create an atmosphere where “you can park your car in a lot or park your car on the street and walk.” He expressed hope that Bridgeport could experiment with inexpensive, quick traffic calming measures that would make it safer to cross the street, as has been done in other cities. Finch also touted BConnected [B stands for Bridgeport], a smartphone application that residents can use to report problems to the city. (Service requests can also be entered from a computer.) TSTC staff reported several concerns via the app during the course of the audit.

Volunteers had no trouble identifying areas that needed improvement, including faded crosswalks, not enough places to cross East Main Street, and a lack of amenities like benches and bus shelters. The roads and sidewalks flanking the viaduct that carries the New Haven Line over East Main was a particularly problematic area.

Pedestrian conditions near the viaduct which carries the New Haven Line over E. Main St are particularly poor.
Pedestrian conditions near the viaduct which carries the New Haven Line over E. Main St are in particular need of improvements. Volunteers cited a lack of crosswalks and pedestrian signals, poor sidewalk conditions under the viaduct, and a lack of lighting. | Photo: TSTC

Volunteers described their findings at a wrap-up session at the City’s Department of Health and Social Services building. AARP and Tri-State will compile the findings of the walk into a report, which will be shared with the City and used as an outreach tool to build local support for better walking conditions.

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[…] ranking sixth nationwide, with a 1.2 percent share increase in biking. Institutional support among municipalities in Fairfield and Westchester Counties have made creating more walkable and bikeable communities a […]

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[…] support Bridgeport’s efforts. Earlier this year, Tri-State teamed up with AARP to organize a pedestrian safety audit on East Main Street and have continued to support improvements that would make the road safer for […]

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[…] to the general public. Some include Bridgeport, Connecticut’s smart phone app, BConnected, which Tri-State used during a walking audit last year; Blockee, a web-app that allows you to “pimp” your […]

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[…] blush, the two efforts appear to have a lot in common. Mayor Finch — who participated in a walking audit with Tri-State in 2013 — described Bridgeport’s campaign as a “multipronged approach” focused on […]

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