Walk In Honor Of SCSU Professor To Push For Pedestrian Safety

NEW HAVEN, CT — Hundreds are expected to march this month and demand pedestrian safety improvements following the recent death of a Southern Connecticut State University professor.

Michael Shea, a long-time English professor, died Oct. 24 due to injuries he sustained Oct. 9, when he was struck by an e-bike while crossing Whalley Avenue in a marked crosswalk outside of Lyric Hall.

The event, “A Walk For Mike,” will be on Thursday, Nov. 19. Participants will meet at the SCSU campus bridge on Fitch Street at 3:15 p.m., then everyone will depart at 3:30 p.m. and walk toward Lyric Hall, ending at the gazebo in Edgewood Park. After the walk, there will be a gathering and remarks at the gazebo.

Later in the day, concerned citizens will meet with local politicians and city officials to call for improved safety measures for pedestrians.

The goal, according to event organizers, is to help make the streets safer for pedestrians not only in Westville, but in the entire city of New Haven.

Andrew Smyth, an SCSU English professor, said the march for pedestrian safety is a collaboration of Westville community leaders, business owners, artists, and SCSU educators.

All are welcome to attend, according to Smyth.

“It shouldn’t be so dangerous for SCSU students to walk down the main street in front of their campus and enjoy the restaurants, shops, art venues, and more in Westville,” Smyth said. “Right now, it is not safe. That needs to change.”

Smyth has lived in Westville for 22 years, and said he regularly walks, runs, rides his bike and drives through the area.

He called the intersection where his colleague was struck “one of the most dangerous.”

“(It’s) not only because of many converging streets there, but especially because drivers race through day and night, often ignoring red lights, crosswalks, pedestrians, and cyclists,” Smyth said. “It is frightening, and every day since Mike was struck down, I have to ride or drive by that very spot, mourning his loss anew.”

John Cavaliere, owner of Lyric Hall, is also involved in planning and organizing the upcoming event and meeting with officials.

“There’s an urgent need for a more human centered city, starting with walkable streets,” Cavaliere said.

Cavaliere noted how Shea’s accident wasn’t unique; another pedestrian, Jana Minor, was struck and killed recently in the city.

On the same day as the Nov. 19 walk, a special Community Management Team meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m., at the Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave., where local elected officials will hear participants’ concerns, according to Cavaliere.

The walk is not an official SCSU event, though several faculty, staff and students are expected to participate.

Jason Edwards, assistant director of social media & media relations for SCSU, said a memorial service honoring Shea’s life is planned for Sunday, Nov. 15. This celebration of life will be from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts and will be livestreamed. A livestream link will be available on the university’s website through the SCSU calendar page.

Shea’s family, meanwhile, has established the “Let’s See a Play: Mike Shea Student Performance Fund” in his honor, and it will support student attendance at theater and performing arts events.

Shea joined SCSU in 1985 and taught for more than four decades. He had been well-known for his passion for theater, literature, film and writing.

“The outpouring of testimonies from legions of colleagues, friends, and especially former and current students is a tribute to how many lives Mike Shea made better,” Smyth said. “His dedication to teaching and the arts is well known, but the many acts of personal kindness—something one could witness every day of his life—are what I will miss the most now that his life has been taken away by a reckless motorist.”

New Haven police are continuing their search for the operator of the e-bike who fled the scene after the accident.

Read more:

Fund To Benefit Students Created In Late SCSU Professor’s Memory

‘Devoted’ SCSU Professor Succumbs To Injuries After Hit-And-Run Accident

E-Bike Operator Sought After Striking, Seriously Injuring SCSU Professor

Woman Struck By Car On Orange Street Monday Night Has Died: Police