Next New England

Heavily-trafficked Route 1 can be a headache for Connecticut drivers commuting to New York City, or turning into one of its many shopping plazas. But for pedestrians, it’s downright dangerous. WSHU reporter Cassandra Basler spoke with some who travel the highway by foot, sidewalk or no. We explore what it takes to transform a road system built for the car. This hour, we also finish our story about the Housatonic River: the battle between the company that polluted the river, and the people who live there, over how to clean it up. And finally, we hear about the New England accent that time forgot. Where the Sidewalk Ends According to preliminary data from the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center at the University of Connecticut, there were 74 accidents involving pedestrians on Route 1, also called the Boston Post Road, from January 2015 until now. A heat map showing pedestrian-involved crashes on Route 1 in Connecticut 2015-present, created by the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research ce