Awards

James Travers: Safe Streets Award

On January 28, 2021, People Friendly Stamford presented the Inaugural Safe Streets Award to James (Jim) Travers, the Transportation Bureau Chief for the City of Stamford. The Safe Streets Award is given to a local figure who has demonstrated excellence and passion in the cause of making Stamford's streets safer for everyone, including those walking and biking.

We presented the award to Jim Travers in recognition of his tireless work to improve Stamford's streets for all. Jim Travers' accomplishments are too numerous to recount fully, but among them include:

• improving safety at downtown intersections—by creating dedicated left-turn lanes, changing signal timing, and installing more crosswalks—which led to a significant reduction in car crashes and accompanying injuries and deaths (even if some motorists were annoyed by the slight inconvenience to their commutes)

• expanding the city's network of bike lanes (which we hope will become protected lanes in the future)

• adding numerous crosswalks and curb extensions, with a consideration for all users, not just those inside cars

• revitalizing the streetscape for those on foot, such as the Boxer Square project (at Stillwater Ave & Smith St) in the long-neglected West Side

As David Kooris, President of Stamford Downtown and former Board of Reps member noted, you sometimes meet people who have a great vision for what's possible and others who are great at executing on projects, but rarely do you see those two qualities in one individual, as you do with Jim Travers.

Jim Travers is moving on to become the traffic bureau chief in Norwalk, CT. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors and hope that the Stamford Department of Transportation retains his spirit for change in the years to come.