By David Whitney
Paul Manafort Drive is less than a mile long but lately its safety has been under scrutiny due to recent activity that’s left campus police busy.
The road that runs along the south side of CCSU has seen its share of speeders over the years, but when taking a closer look, the numbers might reveal a different story.
According to the CCSU police department there has been 102 infractions and citations, 16 accidents and 39 arrests on Paul Manafort Drive over the past year.
Although the campus police say that the road carries far less traffic on it daily than Ella Grasso Boulevard, another stretch of road commonly used by CCSU commuters and passers-by, recent incidents including two pedestrians being struck by vehicles in the last four months have now brought on more concern.
According to the campus police there were around 96 accidents recorded around the campus in 2010. Paul Manafort Drive accounted for 17% of these reported accidents, a number that according to the police isn’t out of control.
Vivian Martin, a journalism professor at CCSU, was one of those hit by a vehicle.
The incident occurred around 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 2 of last year on Paul Manafort Drive while Martin, who wasn’t walking alone, trailed a few students crossing the road towards the Paul Manafort parking lot.
She says the memory is still vivid in her mind, and whenever she thinks about that day, it’s “darkening.”
“I saw the car coming and was like, ‘My god, this car is going to hit me,” said Martin.
Martin suffered a shattered tibia and came away with several cuts and bruises. She had to miss some class time but was back in the classroom for the beginning of the spring 2011 semester.
Martin was persistent in saying that all pedestrians and drivers need to be careful. She also wished for more officers to patrol the area, but in fairness said that she has seen campus police near the road.
“The road sign says Manafort Drive, not Manafort Speedway,” said Martin.
Along with many others who travel the road regularly, Martin was unsure why people like to speed so much on the road.
“Maybe it’s the curve of the road and how it wraps around James Hall,” Martin said.
Kimberly Tyrseck, 23, was struck and critically injured on the road in February and continues to recover from the incident. Her current condition was unavailable.
Several individuals have taken notice of seeing students along with other locals jaywalk across the road while neglecting to pay attention to safety signs and crosswalk signals.
“I think a lot of people that drive off of Stanley [Street] and onto Manafort have tunnel vision and they just go,” said communication major Rick Olmstead. “I think people would slow down if they saw a cop more often. People notice police cars.”
Lt. Chris Cervoni, a veteran of the CCSU police department, said that he and every officer on campus do all they can with the funding they’re provided with.
“We can’t have an officer there all the time,” said Cervoni.
Cervoni also said that since the police department moved to their current location right off of Paul Manafort Drive three years ago the number of illegal activity has decreased.
The police say they “go on numbers” and if problems persist somewhere else on campus, then they’re likely to observe that area more often.
The numbers of officers on campus does differ depending on the day of the week. More staffing is in place during the middle of the week than any other time and the police say they tend to concentrate on Paul Manafort Drive more since their office is placed right along it.
The Public Works Department for New Britain has given Paul Manafort Drive a passing grade when it comes to road conditions and safety. Mark Moriarty, director of public works, knows the road well and says that it’s in good condition.
“There’s far worse roads in New Britain. Manafort Drive has nothing out of the ordinary,” says Moriarty.
The road is under consideration for more funding in safety such as the addition of a radar detector that would register the speed of every car that drives by it. A similar unit is in place on Ella Grasso Boulevard to help control speeds by the athletic fields.
“We’ve received over $50,000 in grant money to help enforce the surrounding areas, we’re doing the best with what we got,” said Cervoni.
The police hope to continue to have the number of incidents and the speed of cars on Paul Manafort Drive go down and say that driving safe on all roads around the campus and obeying traffic laws is a must.
