Eliminating a parking spot on the corners of Nassau will be a good start. Since parking goes right up to the corners, drivers turning from side streets are forced to drive into the intersection to see if it's clear to turn.

As a result of having to do this at every intersection, most don't actually stop at the stop line, and instead just roll into the intersection, often cutting off peds and giving cyclists a scare.

I also wish that drivers would stop doing sudden, unannounced 3-point U-turns in the middle of Nassau. I've almost been run over more times than I can remember.

Very few people bike on McGuiness, I think they were saying that Nassau - which has a lot of bike traffic - could use some improvement. The speed bumps are unrealistic due to truck traffic, but extending the walk light and perhaps policing the red lights there better is a good idea.

I think you're missing both of my points because you're introducing all sorts of other positions that I've never taken on this issue. Perhaps your outrage is making you so upset that it's more difficult to be logical. I never said these lives were expendable and I don't think it's just a part of how this city operates.

You don't know that the driver was irresponsible so you should stop making comments to that affect and consider the driver's position as well. For all you know that person could be in post traumatic stress disorder over having killed someone through no fault of their own but what do you care? I'm pretty certain that he isn't driving around footloose and fancy free after an event like that and if you don't think that's the case then YOU'RE the heartless bastard for thinking that everyone else in the world besides you is so incapable of feeling remorse.

I know someone who killed a motorcyclist in a suburban environment that was going 70mph uphill in a 45mph zone around a curve. All she did was look both ways and pull out of a street and before she knew what was happening he was flying across her hood and skidding across the pavement. Was she at fault over that? She was in therapy for years and on medication for the same time for something that was completely out of her control.

Are you so perfect that you never made a mistake? Dropped a glass while washing the dishes or accidentally emailed something before you were ready? This is my point about accidents. It is not always about carelessness. Sometimes there just isn't anything that could've been done. We have yet to find out if that was the case here or not but I'm merely trying to point out that it's possible that WAS the case. If so, the intersections that are truly more fatal should be dealt with first.

Careless drivers (which you're now arguing against) should be dealt with differently, not on an intersection by intersection basis. Or am I wrong about that too? Maybe we should setup a road block and stop each driver within a block of this intersection and test their responsiveness before we allow them to pass. Careless driving is an issue entirely unrelated to the safety of this particular intersection. That can happen anywhere and everywhere.

I do think improvements should be made but I understand that they don't happen over night. Even if a turn signal appeared tomorrow on McGuinness it would raise even more questions. "Wait a minute. What about all the other locations that have more serious problems? Why did this one get patched so quick after so long without consideration for the other issues?"

From where I'm sitting the extreme position I'm arguing against is "No one should ever die, we should all live forever in a big glass bubble where it's 74 degrees and sunny all day long.". I'm arguing against that because it's unrealistic. Populations grow and change, technology ages and fails, there's always improvements to be made and people will always die. I'm not saying we shouldn't try and prevent those deaths in the future. I'm just trying to point out that there's a system for addressing these issues and THAT'S what we should be critical of. Call the DOT, tell them their projects take too long or that you want them to focus on safety more. Don't submit proposals of your own telling them HOW to do their job.

And lastly, you're wrong to think that I don't care because I live here to. I walk these streets and ride the buses and subways just like you. If I didn't care about any of these deaths then I wouldn't be caring about myself either. When I first read about this I thought "man, that could've been me" which is why I'm following the issue. The difference between me and you is that I'm willing to trust in the system that's supposed to protect me yet be cynical enough about it to understand that I should watch my own ass at the same time and if something random and unforeseeable should happen to me so be it. What could I have done?

Let me reiterate your initial comment that led to this exchange.

Maybe if we all just left things alone for a change we could enjoy things the way they are.

You didn't say "maybe if we all just left things alone and let the powers that be change them." You said "left things alone." As in, don't do anything at all. As in, even in the face of mounting evidence that something could be done to save lives, we should keep things the way they are.

But regardless of that, you suggest that we should leave the decisions up to city officials - the vast majority of whom own cars - to protect us, the citizens - the vast majority of whom do not own cars - from cars. It obviously hasn't worked. And when, like in the case of Queens Boulevard, enough community members have complained and expressed their outrage, change is made, and it is hugely successful in achieving a goal. You said that "our job as citizens is not to find the solution but to point out that we're in need of one." If you don't think things need changing when there's obviously a problem, when would you recognize the need for a solution?

Your friend certainly didn't do anything wrong and my heart goes out to her. And yes, there's a chance that this truck driver did nothing wrong and regardless of fault, I'm sure that the driver feels awful about it. By the way, I do not want to drag this out, but I do want to point out that you criticized me for speculating that the truck driver may have been to blame, yet you speculated that it may have been the cyclist's fault in your first comment by claiming "if she were more careful with her own life perhaps she'd still be here." Yes, the driver may be suffering from PTSD, but the cyclist is dead. I would hope that neither one of us is heartless, but shaming the good name of someone who passed away is not exactly remorseful, either.

My hope is that most outsiders would react to these incidents by saying, "how tragic. Something needs to be done to prevent this from happening again" Your reaction seems to be one of grief, but acceptance. I would hope that grief could be put to better use than the solution of "leave things alone for a change." This is the problem I have with your argument: yes, we all make mistakes. But if you make a mistake, you try to correct that mistake, right? If you do something wrong, you find a way to keep it from happening again. A crash is only an accident when an uncontrollable outside force is involved. Otherwise, it's a crash and someone is at fault. If the cyclist did get her pants caught in the chain, we should encourage cyclists to keep their pants rolled up. If the driver was speeding, we should encourage better enforcement of the speed limit. If no charges were filed, it doesn't mean nobody's at fault. Look no further than the previously mentioned death of an 8-year old who was mowed down by a speeding cabbie in a crosswalk. The police often turn the other way. Vehicular crimes are not a priority of the NYPD.

Sorry that I made you out to be the bad guy here. I'm just worried that too many people think that there's nothing we can do to change the fact that people are dying so uselessly and that's why these changes aren't happening. I happen to volunteer a lot of my spare time to, as you would say, raising awareness of the need for a solution. When there's concrete evidence that fighting this fight can net results (Queens Boulevard), I get frustrated when people suggest that nothing can be done - or that nothing should be done.

I don't want people to live in a bubble, by the way. There are risks many of us are willing to take. I jumped off a cliff this summer. I also walk to work each morning. But why should both involve me laying my own life on the line?

doug is right that the root of the problem stems from the overcrowding the city continues to encourage in the area without even looking at the impact. still you gotta make things better.

they need a turning light on nassau going to mcguiness. now if you're making a left on mcguiness towards the bqe you have cars gunning towards you, probably a line of cars turning towards polaski....what winds up happening is you turn fast to avoid being hit and WHAM theres a crosswalk full of people there. I've almost accidently run more people down on that street than anywhere else.

set up bloomberg. fix this shite.

I can appreciate that a life was lost and that many have been lost at this intersection. It is, however, frustrating to see people who are unwilling to understanding the complexity of this situation.

I've lived in Greenpoint for over 5 years, one of which was on McGuinness Blvd. In that time I've seen many flowers left at this intersection.

The reality is, the number of occupants in Greenpoint has grown tremendously in recent years. This area of the city has not been capable of supporting this population for some time because it was never planned for that purpose. For those who say "people think it's a highway" you should consider that it is a highway of sorts, it connects two MAJOR interstate highways that go through the city (495 and 278). 18 wheelers go up and down that street all day long.

I don't mean to tarnish the reputation of someone who isn't here to defend herself but there's two realities here that New Yorkers should understand more than anyone. #1 accidents happen #2 if she were more careful with her own life perhaps she'd still be here.

Why don't we all be a little bit more careful and stop projecting our fears and concerns onto others. This is NY for crying out loud. For all those people that complain that NY has no edge anymore, this is why! Maybe if we all just left things alone for a change we could enjoy things the way they are.

Some good points, doug.

The new bike lane and resulting one way on Franklin/Kent is also likely forcing more trucks onto McGuiness, which as you say IS a highway. The trucks and the traffic are not going to go away unfortunately. They deliver the building supplies for the condos going up everywhere, not to mention our food and bicycles.

I live nearby and have always noticed the flowers and white bikes around this intersection. I've seen people hit twice this year on McGuiness. I cross McGuiness all the time and watch for the speeding and turning cars even when I have the light - you have to.

I always felt that a pedestrian bridge at Nassau would be the best solution.

But again, none of this probably would've prevented this, as it was on Nassau. Maybe Nassau should be a on way?

My thoughts and prayers go out to Solange Raulston and to her friends and family.

Yeah, all those pedestrians and cyclists who die are just victims of New York's "edge" and we should accept it! Let's just leave those speeding motorists who fail to yield alone! I like things just the way they are!

You're an idiot.

Yes. You should accept it. People die all the time (particularly in major cities) and I'm not an idiot for being observant enough to notice that. You can add pedestrian bridges at every intersection in the city and guess what? Oh no! People are still dying! Next thing you know trucks will be jacknifing at pedistrian bridges and killing even more people on the sidewalks.

My point is, there's a lot more factors to consider here and the transportation engineers that our tax dollars pay for should be the ones analyzing them.

Doug, you can treat every pedestrian death as an accident and move on, or you can treat every death as potentially preventable through better road design and enforcement of speed limits / traffic laws. I believe many European countries believe in the latter and not surprisingly pedestrian deaths are much lower as a result. It really just takes a change in mindset rather than any extra dollars for that matter. As an analogy, what if Giuliani had said crime was inevitable, why try and reduce it, where would new york city be today?

I don't disagree with you. My point is that there are already people assigned with enforcing and providing a safe environment for New Yorkers. Transportation Alternatives and Neighbors Allied for Good Growth assumes that they know better than these people. I applaud them for calling attention to problem areas but why didn't we hear anything about it before this death, especially considering how many accidents have occurred there in the past?

The actual solutions (pedestrian bridges, turning lights, etc.) should be left to those who are paid for it. There's a chain of responsibility that should be maintained and that includes (I can't believe I'm saying this) The Department of Transportation. Let them work out the solution and do their job. Our job as citizens is not to find the solution but to point out that we're in need of one.

This pedestrian death was an accident, we should move on. FUTURE deaths are potentially preventable, we should ask for better road design and enforcement of speed limits / traffic laws.

Sorry, you're a heartless bastard if you think that when a two-ton car hits a 150-pound woman, it's "just an accident." But then again, you probably embrace being a heartless bastard because it's so "old New York."

I never said it was "just an accident". I said it was an accident. That's the truth. Otherwise this would be vehicular manslaughter. If you're going to quote someone you should do exactly that. Obviously the significance of this event has a lot of meaning to a lot of people, some more than others. My intent was never to belittle this event or hurt the memory of this girl for her friends or family. I'm just trying to comment on how we respond to these types of issues.

My main frustration over this whole uproar is two-fold.

#1 @ Jim, yes these people are failing us but you have to consider that they have a very big, if not impossible job. Ensuring the safety of NYC citizens throughout all 5 Burroughs in all manners transportation related. Does that sound easy? If you look at that crash stats website you'll see that there are many intersections listed throughout the 5 Burroughs and this one doesn't make the top ten in Brooklyn. If you were in charge of the DOT would you start with the intersections that have the most complaints or the ones that are legitimately hurting the most people? I think the choice there is clear which relates to frustration #2.

I think it's great that people are setting up websites to point out problem areas. My problem isn't that people are complaining it's when people try to solve it. You're not a transportation engineer, you don't know what you're talking about. Please, bitch all you want that there's a problem but stop assuming that you know the answer better then they do. I'm sure if you called the DOT they would say "yes, we're aware of the issues with that intersection and we're working on it.". These projects can take months and sometimes years to get approved and can you guess what holds them up more often than not? Community review boards.

frustration #2 @Evidiot (great name, not sure I can take you seriously). You can call me an idiot and a heartless bastard all you want but you haven't said anything intelligent to convince me that my position is wrong. It may not be in line with your ethical view of the world but I can live with that.

For all you know this poor girl got her pants caught in the chain and had it been a complete accident, unrelated to the truck drivers skill as a driver OR the safety of the traffic area. But no, because it's a younger woman who happens to be a DJ the editors at Gothamist decided to report it and now everyone's up in arms. Well where were they in past years (months?) when older Polish women got hurt at this intersection? Maybe if we were more concerned about EVERY life instead of just the interesting ones this would've been dealt with years ago and this poor girl would still be alive.

Or, maybe it was just an accident and was completely unpreventable. No matter how many safety measures are taken the reality of this world is that accidents happen all the time and unfortunately sometimes people die as a result. We're humans. We're fallible. In this world, in New York, in your apartment, there are dangerous things everywhere and that will never change. So please, complain all you want and petition to the DOT to adopt the Swedish Zero policy. Knock yourself out. It's not going to change the fact that humans fail and lives are lost as a result.

And by the way, before you suggest that reducing pedestrian deaths can't be done and that this is a fact of life, let me remind you about Queens Boulevard: when the city finally added more crossing time, installed pedestrian refuges, fences, and signs, and increased police enforcement of speeding and red light running on the "Boulevard of Death," annual deaths dropped more than 80% there.

Saving lives can be done. So why shouldn't it?

I am outraged by the loss of every life at the hands of an irresponsible driver, whether it's the elderly woman killed this morning in Bath Beach by a speeding ambulance driver, the eight-year old killed in East Harlem by a cabbie who failed to yield in a crosswalk this summer, the college student killed in Hell's Kitchen by an MTA bus driver who failed to yield last month, or this woman's tragic death at the hands of a truck driver who was probably not paying as much attention as he should have. Regardless of who this person was, if this incident gets more people to think about our right to being safe from reckless drivers, it's a step in the right direction.

Your position is wrong because these deaths would be preventable if people like you didn't just discount them as part of the way this city operates. You say that if people cared about other deaths as much as this one, things would change. The problem is that you don't seem to be concerned about any of these deaths because you don't think that saving the couple hundred lives lost each year in these crashes should be a priority in this city. You understand why I used the term heartless, right? Your initial claim was that these people's deaths were tragic, but their lives were expendable. Regardless of ethics, I don't know many people who wouldn't consider that heartless.

Why should nothing be done to prevent other lives from being lost the same way? If a defective product is manufactured that maims or kills its users, should it be taken off the shelves? Many of our streets were not designed for the number of cyclists and pedestrians that use them. They were not designed to prioritize the most vulnerable users of our streets - especially the elderly and children. You think we keep them that way. Please, tell me why.

Man the harpoons!

Sadly, Doug isn't the only person that thinks like this. Even in a pedestrian friendly city like New York, many people view traffic accidents as inevitable or simply accidents. It doesn't have to be like this!

http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Work-Live/Government-politics/Reading/Road-safety/

My point is the people assigned to protect us ARE FAILING. We shouldn't depend on organizations like Transporation Alternatives to point out every dangerous intersection (although they try, http://www.crashstat.org/). The Department of Transportation should be identifying them, but they are not. Every pedestrian death should be viewed as a failure by the DoT, but this case is especially egregious because its not the first death on that stretch of McGuiness.

In addition to speed bumps, the city needs to START ENFORCING THE LAW ON MOVING VIOLATIONS. Emperor Bloomberg blows hard on environmentalism, but he doesn't do squat to make it safer for bicyclists in the city. This is probably the only city in the world where a bicyclist risks being hit by a car in a PUBLIC PARK.

If drivers knew they'd face prosecution when they murder bicyclists or pedestrians (or threaten them by speeding up when someone crosses a street), maybe we'd see better driving.

Don't forget that Nassau is the Polish Autobahn, where stop lights are a suggestion.