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Tomorrow at 3PM, Transportation Alternatives will be holding an emergency rally to demand that Mayor Bloomberg improve the streets for pedestrians. From TA:
The Problem:Some other long-time problem streets include 9th Avenue in Manhattan, Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island, Flatbush Avenue in Queens, Roosevelt Avenue in Queens and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
In 2006, over 10,000 pedestrians were hit by cars and trucks in New York City. One hundred sixty-six were killed. The City's pedestrian safety efforts are inadequate. Where is Mayor Bloomberg? He has spoken out about transfats, gun violence and smoking. If killing a pedestrian with a car was considered assault it would be the second leading type of homicide behind only gun violence. Where is his leadership on this issue?
The Solution:
It is well-established that pedestrians are being hit in the same locations again and again. Just 10% of the City's intersections account for over 50% of all fatalities and injuries. In some locations, such as Downtown Brooklyn, both the design plans and funding have been secured for pedestrian safety improvements, yet the Department of Transportation has failed to implement them. Two weeks ago, four-year old James Rice was killed by a Hummer at 3rd Avenue and Baltic Street in Brooklyn--an intersection that has been slated for safety improvements since 2004. The City knows where the most dangerous streets are, it knows how to fix them and it must fix them without delay. Two nightclub deaths have prompted City Hall to take immediate action to strengthen nightlife safety. Pedestrian safety must be a higher priority than it currently is.
See Transportation Alternatives' Crash Maps.
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That is a good point about how club safety programs are spurred by far fewer deaths... although TA must know that there is very little sincerity or genuine concern for citizens' well being when it comes to nightlife crackdowns.
I hope something positive comes of this.
Don't count on much success. I used to think that New York was unsafe because of all of the stories about pedestrians being killed but last week I saw a table of most dangerous cities for pedestrians in the US and New York wasn't even on it. If our numbers are low, getting them lower may prove difficult. Remember those barricades Giuliani put up in Midtown on Fifth to make people cross on one side only? People called him a fascist.
Last time I checked, Flatbush Avenue was in Brooklyn. Did it move recently?
166 people divided by 8,000,000 pedestrians is a .002% fatality rate.
Yeah, good luck.
numbers, rudy's barricades were set up for the purpose of "improving traffic flow," not pedestrian safety! besides, the campaign is more concerned with the REAL problem - not pedestrians, but motorists. motorists must yield to pedestrians [and cyclists for that matter], slow down, and freaking pay attention!!!! there are ways to CALM traffic.
you can't compare nyc ped fatalities to other US cities b/c other us cities are very suburban. there are so few peds in cities outside of nyc that the rates of ped death are higher.
rather, compare nyc ped deaths to london. they're doing much better than us and they have much greater govt awareness of the issue.
It doesn't take a fatality to break a life or a family. A debilitating injury will do just fine. Over 10,000 ped and cyclist struck and injured last year alone.
It doesn't take a fatality to break a life or a family. A debilitating injury will do just fine. Over 10,000 ped and cyclist struck and injured last year alone.
It doesn't take a fatality to break a life or a family. A debilitating injury will do just fine. Over 10,000 ped and cyclist struck and injured last year alone.
It doesn't take a fatality to break a life or a family. A debilitating injury will do just fine. Over 10,000 ped and cyclist struck and injured last year alone.
It doesn't take a fatality to break a life or a family. A debilitating injury will do just fine. Over 10,000 ped and cyclist struck and injured last year alone.
It doesn't take a fatality to break a life or a family. A debilitating injury will do just fine. Over 10,000 ped and cyclist struck and injured last year alone.
It doesn't take a fatality to break a life or a family. But it takes a moron to post the same comment 6 times!
As some of you may know, one of those fatalities last year was my wife's uncle. The driver was never caught. The Department of Transportation never answered a simple letter. My wife and I left New York City.
As some of you may know, one of those fatalities last year was my wife's uncle. The driver was never caught. The Department of Transportation never answered a simple letter. My wife and I left New York City.
Bullshit ! Don't go blaming the city for the stupidity of people who don't pay attention where there going ! I mean don't get it twisted, People aren't to blame for all the accidents here . Design is also to blame ie.(Crossing signals that change to fast, Disproportionatly long cross walks), Their are other problems . I think that if the dummies with the Cellphone stuck to there ear, Or the person with the Ipod glued on wouldn't use those gadgets while walking this wouldn't be an issue ! You have no idea of how many people I see per day walking out in front of Trucks, Buses, Tractor trailers oblvious to it all because they weren't paying attention ! By the way, I do listen to my music, and talk on my cell while out in the street . The difference with me is I pay attention to that big-ass Truck barrelling towards me . I look both way before crossing the street (Yeah I remember the days when I was a kid and my parents taught me that lesson). It's time for people to stop blaming the city for mistakes they make !
Not amused,
You're falling for the same "blame-the-victime" illogic that Senator Kruger does when he proposes stupid legislation like iPod and cell phone bans. Peds are killed counless times while the light is theirs, the right of way is theirs, and they are in the crosswalk. There is absolutely no excuse for turning vehicles killing peds when they have the right of way.
NONE. ZERO.
This is supposed to be a safe zone, where you can listen to your iPod, talk on the cell, push your stroller, use your wheelchair, hold hands with you babysitter, sachey, strut, do the worm, whatever (as long as you're still crossing). There are very measurable things that the city can do to eliminate these issues. 10% of all intersections in the city account for over 50% of all traffic injuries and fatals. Those 10% of the intersections (comes to about 5,000 of them) can be made safer. And the NYPD enforce the damn laws on the books.
Anytime a driver enters an intersection and doesn't yield to a ped who has the light, they can be ticketed for "Failure to Yield" and "Failure to excercise due care" at a minimum. Those are rarely ever enforced.
The city has blame because the city can make very simple improvements that they are not making. They've got countless studies that demonstrate as much. They've got very palpable examples, such as Queens Blvd, former "Blvd of Death" where, despite 10 years of advocacy by victims' families, the DOT refused to do anything. Then, when the press got too intense for them, they finally rolled out changes. Fatals and injuuries went down by 50% over the next couple years and now they tout it as a huge success. It didn't cost them much money, it could be replicated everywhere.
They have to step up and do it.
Period.
MR
Are you saying every incident is the driver's fault? When will pedestrians admit fault for their stupidity when they get killed jaywalking or when that red light reads "Do Not Walk"? Oh I forgot... they are dead already!
Peds on meds.
Read my post. I'm talking about when the motorist is at fault.
"Anytime a driver enters an intersection and doesn't yield to a ped who has the light, they can be ticketed for 'Failure to Yield' and 'Failure to exercise due care' at a minimum."
If you don't have time to read long reports about fatals, look at the press. Many of the recent 2007 fatals occurred when drivers mowed down peds in crosswalks when peds had the right of way. Hint: because you can't turn right on red in NYC, anytime a driver is turning right, unless they are running a red light, they are turning on a green. When the light is green, the ped also has a walk symbol (except for very rare intersections with right-turn priorities), and thus the ped has the right of way. NYC laws are very straightforward with regard to ped right of way, but they are rarely enforced.
look at the press. Many of the recent 2007 fatals occurred when drivers mowed down peds in crosswalks when peds had the right of way.
Yes... the press is the perfect source of information.
Moron
Amazing how many people like to post their hate-filled comments trying to blame a "side".
You can't walk in New York without a bunch of oblivious pricks trying to mow you down. You can't drive in Manhattan without a stack of idiot pedestrians trying to jump in front of you.
Some intersections seem designed to trick these two groups into killing each other. The purpose of the campaign is to get them fixed.
Now calm down you two and say sorry.
interlard - really? pedestrians have killed drivers? Wow, that's a new one for me. MR has nothing to apologize for. Peds on meds needs to do some research first.