Busy New Haven street in line for a makeover

Big changes coming to busy street in New Haven
Published: Jun. 8, 2023 at 5:23 PM EDT

NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) - A busy New Haven street that has seen hundreds of crashes over the past few years could be in line for a major makeover.

The Elm City is looking to revitalize and redesign Grand Avenue in the Fair Haven neighborhood.

It is just in the planning stages right now, but the idea is not to just make it safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, but also breathe some life into this commercial corridor.

“My thought always is if you make it look nicer and people causing problems, they’re slowly going to move away or not cause any more problems,” said Musa Ugurlu, business owner.

Ugurlu owns a cell phone store on Grand Avenue with plans to open a donut shop with coffee, smoothies and ice cream across the street.

It’s no surprise he’s all for a proposal that would change up Fair Haven’s main corridor from State Street all the way to Front Street.

“We’ve been trying to improve the sidewalks and the looks of Grand Avenue and hopefully we can get enough money from the state for the 8-10 feet high light poles, that will look nice, like some of the nice downtowns have it,” Ugurlu said.

The city is seeking a $6 million Community Challenge grant from the state and would add in $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan funding to revitalize and redesign a road that’s seen more than 1,500 crashes from 2019 to 2022.

“Anyone who’s ever traveled down Grand Avenue, knows just how bustling that corridor is, it is the heart of the Fair Haven and Wooster Square community,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.

The proposal includes a roundabout at Grand and Ferry, like those already in nearby neighborhoods.

A dedicated bike lane would be installed from Hamilton to Haven streets and an esplanade from Bright to Front streets.

There would also be new signage, lights, landscaping, trees, along with curb extensions and raised crosswalks to slow down cars.

“Number one it saves lives, number two, by really cleaning up that corridor it will attract more people to frequent the businesses, but also there’s some research that’s been done, when there is a cleaner area, people are more likely to keep it clean,” Elicker said.

Then there is a plan to turn a parking lot at Grand and Poplar into a community plaza, a place for public gatherings, summer festivals and music.

“In Fair Haven area, you know historically, it hasn’t had the resources the city should be putting into it and this is an opportunity to really inject some resources and energy into it,” said Elicker.

It’s something businesses owners like Ugurlu are banking on.

“If we improve our street, in front of our businesses, everything is going to get better,” Ugurlu said.

The city said it hopes to hear back from the state on the grant application sometime next month.

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