Latest news with #DepartmentofTransportation
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Middletown set to become first CT city approved to use red light, speed cameras
Middletown is set to become the first city in Connecticut to use automated red light and speed cameras. The city's application to use the cameras — which has to be approved by the Connecticut Department of Transportation before a municipality can install them — received the go-ahead on May 23, paving the way for the automated enforcement to be used on three city streets, including two near schools. 'It is designed to reduce the dangerous conditions within our community overall, and at the selected locations specifically,' Erik Costa, chief of the Middletown Police Department, wrote in the application to the state. 'These dangerous conditions contribute to traffic collisions, serious injuries and deaths involving pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and vulnerable roadway users on our roads.' Middletown is the third municipality to receive approval for use of the cameras and the first city in the state to get the green light. Town officials in Washington received approval of their application in December, and an application in Marlborough was OK'd earlier this month. According to the DOT, applications remain pending in Greenwich, Hamden, New Haven, Stamford, Stratford and Wethersfield. The devices could be in use in Middletown as early as July. For the first 30 days, written warnings will be issued, the DOT said. After that, fines can be as high as $50 for the first offense and can jump to as much as $75 for the second and subsequent offenses. The money that is generated must be used 'for the purposes of improving transportation mobility, investing in transportation infrastructure improvements or paying for the costs associated with the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices,' according to the DOT. In Middletown, the three sites where the cameras will be installed include on Route 66 between Woodgate Drive and George Street; Westfield Street between McCormick Lane and Bailey Road; and Country Club Road between Higby Road and Knox Boulevard. The Middletown Police Department includes a two-officer Traffic Unit which is responsible for 42 miles of roads and is 'unable to address all traffic concerns,' the city's application states. 'Controlling speeds through an automated enforcement system will help address certain increased safety concerns.' The speed limit on Route 66 is 35 mph, but police regularly report drivers going more than 70 mph, according to the application. 'Westbound vehicles are on a steep decline as they enter a densely populated area with an apartment complex and active business district,' Costa wrote. 'Additionally, the straight roadway feature entices motorists to accelerate through the area, leading to high-speed vehicles causing near miss crashes for motorists attempting to ingress and egress the residential and commercial driveways located along this path.' A speed study conducted on Route 66 found that, on average, a little more than 30,000 vehicles use the road each day. According to city's speed camera application, a little more than 75% of motorists were found to be going more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Westfield Street falls within a school zone near Spencer Elementary School. The road has a 20 mph speed limit and sits within a residential neighborhood. 'The sidewalks and crosswalks positioned along the roadway are regularly utilized by school children,' Costa wrote. Westfield Street is a heavily traveled road often used by motorists accessing Route 217 and Route 66, the application states. It also sees a heavy uptick in travel during drop-off and pick-up times at the school. A speed study found that an average of about 15,443 drivers use the road each day, with just under 50% of them going more than 10 mph over the speed limit, according to Costa. Country Club Road was chosen as one of the sites because it's a 'winding roadway with minimal shoulder space,' Costa wrote. 'The road landscape and layout make it dangerous for law enforcement to effectively enforce speed limits or conduct safe traffic stops,' Costa added. The road is often used to get to Interstate 91 and Route 3, and by commuters traveling to and from Meriden, according to the application. 'Northwest traffic on Country Club Road leads into the mountains leading downhill and then uphill through the Higby Mountain area,' Costa wrote. 'Vehicles traveling southeast enter two consecutive blind curves that limit sightlines leading to high-speed vehicles and near miss crashes for motorists attempting to ingress and egress the many residential driveways located along this path.' Country Club Road is also used to get to Moody Elementary School and local soccer fields. 'This speed control area is a long straightaway, flanked by s-curves on either end,' Costa states. 'High speed acceleration in this straightaway leads to safety concerns as vehicles navigate the S-curves, parks, school, and cross traffic within this area.' A traffic study on Country Club Road found that it averages about 1,213 motorists each day, with a whopping 99% of drivers going more than 10 mph over the 25 mph speed limit, according to the city's application.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Held lawsuit plaintiffs file climate change lawsuit against Trump, federal agencies
Glenns Lake in Glacier National Park (Photo by Jeff Pang via Glacier National Park and Flickr | CC-BY-SA 2.0). Twenty-two young plaintiffs, led by a contingent of Montanans who earned a landmark victory in the constitutional climate change lawsuit Held v. Montana, filed suit in U.S. District Court on Thursday against the federal government over a series of climate and energy policies. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Lighthiser v. Trump, argue three of Trump's executive orders issued earlier this year to 'unleash' the fossil fuel industry and remove climate protections threaten their constitutional rights to life and liberty. 'President Trump's EOs falsely claim an energy emergency, while the true emergency is that fossil fuel pollution is destroying the foundation of Plaintiffs' lives,' the lawsuit states. 'These unconstitutional directives have the immediate effect of slowing the buildout of U.S. energy infrastructure that eliminates planet-heating fossil fuel greenhouse gas pollution … and increasing the use of fossil fuels that pollute the air, water, lands, and climate on which Plaintiffs' lives depend.' The lead plaintiff, 19-year-old Eva Lighthiser, from Livingston, is one of several Montana plaintiffs who also filed the landmark Held case, which prevailed in Montana District Court and, in late 2024, in the Montana Supreme Court. Lighthiser is joined in the suit by Rikki Held, Lander and Badge Busse — sons of former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse — and five others from the Montana lawsuit, as well as young people from Hawai'i, Oregon, California, and Florida. Plaintiffs from Hawai'i were also involved in a successful youth-led climate lawsuit against the state's Department of Transportation. During a seven-day bench trial before Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Kathy Seeley in 2023, Held and 15 youth plaintiffs were found to have a right to a stable climate system under Montana's constitutional right to a 'clean and healthful environment.' The Held decision, affirmed by the state Supreme Court in December, is mentioned numerous times in the Lighthiser case, and several of the same law firms are representing the plaintiffs in the new suit. Eleven federal agencies and their respective agency heads, including the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA, are named as defendants along with the president. Three of Trump's executive orders — 14156, 14154 and 14261 — declare a 'national energy emergency' and direct numerous federal agencies to 'unleash American energy' by accelerating oil, gas and coal production on federal lands, and bolster fossil fuel development. They also roll back funding that bolstered climate protections, including through the Inflation Reduction Act. Various clean energy grant programs, including wind, solar battery storage and electric vehicles, were also targeted in the orders. The 126-page complaint argues that the federal directives threaten the plaintiffs' health and wellbeing by accelerating harms from the fossil fuel industry and climate change. 'Plaintiffs were born into and now live in a destabilized climate system. Fossil fuel pollution has created this emergency—a dangerous situation for Plaintiffs requiring immediate action,' the suit states. '… EPA reports that climate change effects, including heat, displacement, financial or food insecurity, loss of recreation, loss of sleep, and risk of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), harm children's health.' The plaintiffs are asking for the court to find the three executive orders 'and any implementing executive actions' unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid, and seek a permanent injunction against implementing and enforcing the orders. In a statement, Deputy White House press secretary Harrison Fields said the executive orders are part of President Donald Trump's efforts to protect Americans. 'Promoting domestic energy production is crucial for shielding American families from price volatility and securing a stable energy supply for our nation and its allies. The President has a proven history of bolstering American energy production and will restore our nation's position as a global energy leader,' Fields said in a statement. A representative for the Department of Justice declined to comment. In a press release about the lawsuit, Lighthiser said Trump's executive orders amount to a 'death sentence for my generation.' 'I'm not suing because I want to — I'm suing because I have to. My health, my future, and my right to speak the truth are all on the line. He's waging war on us with fossil fuels as his weapon, and we're fighting back with the Constitution.' In the suit, the plaintiffs list harms experienced in their young lives related to climate change, including from longer wildfire seasons that affect their health, increasingly extreme weather patterns that affect their livelihoods, and changes to their local environments and cultural homes. The suit also mentions the executive orders' effect on decreasing career opportunities for some plaintiffs, through canceled climate science research and study programs. The complaint also condemns the federal government's directives to implement the executive orders by 'a wholesale scrubbing, suppression and dismantling of government agencies' climate science, thereby blinding the government,' and argues that the President exceeded his constitutional and statutory authority— 'acting ultra vires' — in issuing the executive orders. The youth are represented by Our Children's Trust, an Oregon-based law firm, along with Gregory Law Group, McGarvey Law in Kalispell, and Public Justice. l'These young plaintiffs refuse to be collateral damage in a fossil fuel war on their future,' lead attorney Julia Olson of Our Children's Trust said in a press release. 'They are demanding accountability where it still matters—in a court of law. The executive branch is not above the Constitution, and these young people are here to prove it.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
22 young Americans sue Trump on climate actions: ‘A death sentence for my generation'
A group of 22 young Americans sued the Trump administration over executive orders the plaintiffs say will promote climate change. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Montana and challenges executive orders 14156, 14154 and 14261, which declare a 'National Energy Emergency.' The Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NASA are named as defendants in the suit. '[President] Trump's fossil fuel orders are a death sentence for my generation,' plaintiff Eva Lighthiser said. 'I'm not suing because I want to — I'm suing because I have to. My health, my future, and my right to speak the truth are all on the line. He's waging war on us with fossil fuels as his weapon, and we're fighting back with the Constitution,' she added. Lighthiser is joined by youth plaintiffs from Montana, along with others from Hawaii, Oregon, California and Florida. They've alleged that the president's executive orders violate their Fifth Amendment rights to life and liberty by 'deliberately worsening' climate pollution that threatens their health and futures. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has issued orders aimed at expediting energy and infrastructure projects; promoting the use of coal, critical minerals and fossil fuels; and sunsetting EPA regulations that prevent mining and offshore drilling. The White House and corresponding agencies did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. 'Our children enjoy the same constitutional rights to life and liberty as adults, yet have been tasked with shouldering the impact of a destabilized climate system without ever having a say in the matter,' Dan Snyder, director of the Environmental Enforcement Project for Public Justice, said in a Thursday statement. 'President Trump's executive orders are unlawful and intolerable, and these youth plaintiffs shall put an end to it.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
22 young Americans sue Trump on climate actions: ‘A death sentence for my generation'
A group of 22 young Americans are suing the Trump administration over executive orders they say will promote climate change. The lawsuit was filed in Montana on Thursday and challenges Executive Orders 14156, 14154, and 14261, which declare a 'National Energy Emergency.' The Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NASA are named as defendants in the suit. 'Trump's fossil fuel orders are a death sentence for my generation,' said plaintiff Eva Lighthiser. 'I'm not suing because I want to — I'm suing because I have to. My health, my future, and my right to speak the truth are all on the line. He's waging war on us with fossil fuels as his weapon, and we're fighting back with the Constitution,' she added. Lighthiser is joined by other youth plaintiffs from Montana, along with others from Hawaii, Oregon, California and Florida. They've alleged that the president's executive orders violate their Fifth Amendment rights to life and liberty by 'deliberately worsening' climate pollution that threatens their health and futures. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has issued orders aimed at expediting energy and infrastructure projects, promoting the use of coal, critical minerals, and fossil fuels while sunsetting EPA regulations that prevent mining and offshore drilling. The White House and corresponding agencies did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. 'Our children enjoy the same constitutional rights to life and liberty as adults, yet have been tasked with shouldering the impact of a destabilized climate system without ever having a say in the matter,' Dan Snyder, director of the Environmental Enforcement Project for Public Justice, said in a Thursday statement. 'President Trump's executive orders are unlawful and intolerable, and these youth plaintiffs shall put an end to it.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
NYC DOT rankles staff in passing on recognizing Arab Heritage month with agency-wide message
Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez didn't recognize April as Arab American Heritage Month with an agency-wide email as he has in the past — an omission rankling some staffers who requested such a message be issued this year to voice solidarity with Muslim employees impacted by the war in Gaza. In April 2024, Rodriguez issued agency-wide message marking Arab American Heritage Month that did address the human toll of the war in Gaza. It urged all DOT employees to 'pause and reflect on the pain being felt by so many in the Arab American community, who have had family and friends impacted by the war in Gaza.' Communications reviewed by the Daily News and a DOT source confirmed staff asked department brass to issue a similar message this year. But Rodriguez issued no such message last month, sources confirmed. The internal tensions at DOT come as the war between Israel and Hamas remains a hot-button issue in New York, with pro-Palestinian protests playing out on city streets nearly every week and the conflict being hotly debated during this year's mayoral campaign. The DOT staffers told The News they were upset by Rodriguez's lack of agency-wide recognition at a time that Israel's war in Gaza — which was launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack — has left more than 50,000 Palestinians dead, according to estimates. The staffers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were especially irked as Rodriguez did issue an agency-wide email recognizing May as Jewish American Heritage Month this past Tuesday that made multiple references to President Trump. That message, obtained by The News, lauded Trump for issuing a national proclamation on May 16 that made a commitment to the 'security of Israel.' 'This selective recognition not only undermines the agency's stated commitment to equity and diversity, but also sends a troubling message about which communities are deemed worthy of visibility and respect,' said one Muslim DOT source. 'The repeated use of Trump in the email when he made statements about moving out the Palestinians from their land shows a lack of sensitivity to the Arab and Muslim staff,' the source added, a reference to the president's proposal to expel all Palestinians from Gaza. DOT spokesman Nick Benson declined to speak to the question of why Rodriguez didn't send an agency-wide email marking Arab American Heritage Month this year. He said the department made a post about Arab American Heritage Month on an internal messaging board; that communication made no reference to the war in Gaza. Kayla Mamelak, Mayor Adams' spokeswoman, said his office wasn't involved in crafting the DOT's messaging. With Evan Simko-Bednarski
