Gothamist: Watch Your Walking

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:40:38 -0500

Crossing Broome going north on Lafayette is a death trap. I don't know what it is about that intersection, but there seems to be a disproportionate number of aggressive SUV drivers unwilling to stop, even if they see you 3 feet away from them. It's horrible.

mlo

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 08:47:37 -0500

I was hit by a turning cab last week. He was making a left turn as I crossed at Schermerhorn and Smith in Brooklyn, and because he atually did try to stop I was only gently hit (and had my foot run over), and was essentially unhurt. Nevertheless, it was terrifying. There is a relatively new neckdown at the corner of Atlantic and Court, which does make it feel safer to cross there. Naysayers need to keep in mind that when it comes to pedestrian vs. motorist, it is not a fair fight. The transportation alternatives suggestions seem not only reasonable but necessary, especially if you've ever been on the pedestrian side of that crash.

Toby

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:55:05 -0500

I saw something on CBS 2 news the other day about some assemblywoman in Queens who wants to do a test of those pedestrian countdown signals on Queens Bvld. (aka Bvld. of Death). The mentioned that someplace in North Jersey has them. They would be worth it if they just save one life.

Kevin Walsh

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 19:16:52 -0500

Other towns (Chicago and Washington, in particular) have a ped light countdown from 30 to 0, 0 being when the light turns green for cars. Might not decrease pedestrian whackings, but it looks cool. www.forgotten-ny.com

tracy kennedy

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 17:52:09 -0500

a couple of weeks ago i watched a program on tv regarding this (i think it was ny1) there is a trail Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI) or "pedestrian head starts" going on right now somewhere uptown on the eastside. there has been good feed back and thus far it seems to work-nobody has been runover.

mortonstreeter

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:35:08 -0500

btw, i work above the intersection of bway and 14th street ... heard a thud at 3pm today, looked down, someone else was hit by a car but escaped unhurt. looked like a car with govt plates. one of the worst intersections in the city.

Marty McFly

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 15:57:40 -0500

Both sides have to be defensive? What motorist ever died from a crazy drunk pedestrian ramming into a car?

emb03

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 15:45:10 -0500

when I lived in Manhattan in the early 80s it seemed like I was always seeing chalk outlined bodies in the street. I don't know if these were real peds that got hit or some graffitti artist. I always thought that if it was a graffittist it was a cool idea, but on the other hand, if it was real there were way too many of them for comfort.

papercutninja

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 14:39:07 -0500

While i am all for pedestrian safety and rarely do i ever need to pilot a car in the city, some of these ideas are well-intentioned, but impossible. The first two i have little to no problem with. But the idea of the "neckdown" is great for pedestrians, but would cause turning traffic to snarl up real nice. Slowing down for a turn is fine, but to create an extra obstacle for a car to navigate around is just a roadblock. The raised crosswalk is another thing that would cause complete mayhem in the streets. 4 inches is the height of an average speedbump. Even a raised height of 1 inch would impede the flow of automobile traffic during the green light. If a car(who has the right of way) has to slow down for a crosswalk, pedestrians would take advantage of this (as we always do) and cross the street against the light. The result being more pedestrians in danger and traffic grinding to a halt.