The Department of Transportation will announce initiatives to improve safety along Delancey Street at a special meeting of Community Board 3 tonight. Four people familiar with the project told DNAinfo that the changes will include wider sidewalks, different signal timing, and improved traffic patterns. "We're going to see significant safety improvements on Delancey Street in months, not years," State Senator Daniel Squadron said. "This is a quick and dramatic proposal." more ›

Is Governor Cuomo the new Joe Biden? Or, let's rephrase that, did Governor Cuomo inherit our Veep's drivers? Because for the second time in two days his drivers have gone and hit pedestrians near the home he shares in Westchester with Semi-First Lady Sandra Lee. more ›

From 2004 to 2011, the number of people who have died or were injured while walking and wearing headphones rose from 16 to 47. The Guardian points us to a new U.S. study, published by Injury Prevention journal, which notes that most victims were men under the age of 30 (around 68% in both cases). 89% of the 116 total incidents occurred in urban areas, with 55% being struck by a train. Looks like these numbers are pointing directly at us, NYC! more ›

[Update Below] An unidentified man was struck and killed by two drivers while walking on Borinquen Place in Williamsburg earlier this morning around 6 a.m. Details are still emerging about the cause of the crash, but the FDNY confirms that the victim was pronounced D.O.A. and that he was hit twice by two different vehicles. The NYPD press office tells us that at this point, "no criminality is suspected." One local resident sent us the photo below, and describes the grisly scene near South First Street: more ›

Remember last month, when a cyclist was really pissed that another cyclist locked in his bike, so he made a video about it? Well, apparently that same guy, Casey Neistat, has a penchant for making videos about small-scale street annoyances, and he's back with a new one focused around the hidden dangers of texting while walking. more ›

Following the news of marked improvements for pedestrians and cyclists traveling around Grand Army Plaza, the DOT has announced [pdf] new improvements around Prospect Park's southeast entrance, including closing the East Drive entrance to automobiles. According to the agency, 20 people are injured at this corner every year, and Streetsblog notes that closing the entrance allows for a realigning of the crosswalks, which "should make motorists more aware of people walking across the street." 57% of the crashes between pedestrians and vehicles at Ocean and Parkside between 2005 and 2009 occurred when the pedestrian had the walk signal. more ›

In keeping with the tabloids' "fresh" narrative concerning the battle in public parks between heartless cyclists vs. vulnerable pedestrians, the Daily News visited Prospect Park with a radar gun last weekend and "clocked bikers going as fast as 31 mph—even through a red light at a crosswalk." And like the NYPD, they have no respect for journalism: " 'Move from here! Move from here!' one cyclist clad in racing gear yelled at a reporter who was not even in a bike-only lane." more ›

In July, a driver with a suspended license was quickly backing up on Amsterdam Avenue to score a parking space when he ran over two women crossing the street at West 98th Street. Yolanda Casal, 78, was pronounced dead at the hospital while the other woman, her 41-year-old daughter Anais Emanuel, was hospitalized with injuries. Shortly after the incident, a witness told the Post, "They had the right of way and that guy just kept backing up. He was trying to get that spot." Now Streetsblog reports that the driver, 38-year-old Edwin Carrasco of Paterson, New Jersey, did not get off scot-free—he'll have to pay $500 as punishment. more ›

Since September the city has had pedestrian safety managers on each of the East River bridges, an experiment set to end on November 26th when the DOT will review the $80,000-a-month program. But as far as the cyclist-hating Post is concerned, the program is already a total dud. They say that commuters have already decided the program isn't working, while quoting one cyclist, who had, according to their report, one collision. Now, we've been a bit skeptical of this whole thing ourselves, but just to be sure we decided to head over there yesterday to see what some of those glorified crossing guards had to say for themselves. more ›

A woman remains in critical condition after a car that was attempting to back into a Midtown parking space, jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and pinned her against a building. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. in front of the Seasonal Restaurant and Weinbar, at 130 West 58th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. more ›

It's going to be a tight squeeze for cyclists and walkers on the Williamsburg Bridge starting June 13th, when the DOT will block off the south side pedestrian path for six weeks in order to install new roadblocks at the entrance near South Sixth Street. The roadblocks are intended to "prevent small cars from plowing through the entrance to the bridge’s cycle path," the Brooklyn Paper reports; we imagine they'll resemble the bollards that were recently raised on both sides of the Manhattan Bridge bike entrance. more ›

The City Council unanimously voted to pass a package of traffic bills yesterday that finally requires the city to collect data on cyclist and pedestrian accidents. Previously, the city had no method for collecting these stats. One bill in particular, TrafficStat, was born out of a tragic event that happened two years ago when Nancy Gruskin's husband, Stuart, died after colliding with a cyclist that was riding the wrong way in midtown. His death prompted Nancy to create the Stuart C. Gruskin Foundation, which has been advocating for pedestrian awareness in cities across the country, and pushed to get this bill passed. We spoke with Nancy yesterday about the safety hazards that happen when a city gets too big for its cycling-infrastructure britches, and better ways to end what she calls the "civil war between cyclists and pedestrians and motorists." more ›

The City Council unanimously voted 51-0 today to pass a package of bills that will change the way the city handles cyclist and pedestrian traffic information. As you're probably aware, the changes come in the midst of a raging debate about the rules (and safety) of the roads. But although there's a growing perception in some circles that cyclists are nothing but a threat to pedestrians and all that is sacred and holy, there's little hard data to give us a clear picture of accidents between cyclists and pedestrians. And the city's stats on traffic accidents are vague overall. That's about to change. more ›

Canal Street: Avoid it at all costs (especially on weekends!) unless you enjoy walking at the pace of an arthritic dromedary chained to a treadmill. The sidewalks are so packed with vendors and their glazed-eye browsers that it's impossible to get anywhere in a timely manner unless you just give into your frustration and simply walk in the street. But help is on the way! For almost ten long years, NYMTC, the region’s metropolitan planning organization, has been studying Canal Street—taking time to get to know its likes and dislikes, its quirks and idiosyncrasies. And finally, in a report released last week, they're ready to recommend some changes. more ›

A new scientific study done by those pocket-protecting eggheads over at Atlantic Monthly says that NYC has ranked as one of the top five most walkable cities in America. But why aren't we number one? Because standing in our way is the god-forsaken, gay pothead homeless persons paradise that is San Francisco. more ›

According to new data released from the Department of Health [pdf], the city's traffic fatality rate is at an all-time low, decreasing 20% from 2005 to 2009. Last year, there were just 256 traffic-related fatalities. But that's still 256 people that didn't have to die, and according to the DOH, "45% of those killed at intersections by motor vehicles were obeying traffic signals when they were struck." more ›

Yesterday morning, around 11 a.m., there were reports of a motor vehicle accident involving an entrapment on 8th Avenue at 11th Street in Park Slope. It turns out an out-of-control livery cab jumped a curb and hit a total of four pedestrians. F***ed in Park Slope wearily asks, "DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO DRIVE IN THIS GD NEIGHBORHOOD?" more ›

Pedestrians and drivers in this city have hated each other for years, but it seems that the city's bicyclists get the brunt of hatred from both worlds. In "A unified theory of New York biking," Reuters blogger Felix Salmon theorizes that cyclists get such hatred because, though they are vehicles, they are treated as pedestrians. But that may be both the bikers' and the drivers' faults. more ›

Two suspected robbers fleeing police in a minivan fatally ran over a Franciscan nun with Parkinson’s disease in Harlem yesterday morning. It's being reported that the getaway van, a Chrysler Pacifica, was going more than 60 mph when it blew through a red light and collided with a Honda Odyssey, then bounced over a traffic island and into a group of pedestrians at Lenox Avenue and West 122nd Street. The crash sent them 15 feet into the northbound lane, witnesses tell the Times, killing Sister Mary Celine Graham, 84, and critically injuring her home health aide. Another pedestrian is in stable condition. more ›

The line painted onto a Fifth Avenue sidewalk dividing pedestrian traffic into "Tourists" and "New Yorkers" was "the talk of the Internet" yesterday, reports the New York Post, which paid a professional journalist and photographer to go do actual reporting from the scene of the prank. (They even edited together a video segment.) The Daily News dispatched journalists, too! Both tabloids report divided opinions on the dividing line. more ›

Frank Morocho pleaded not guilty to charges—drunk driving, assault by auto and leaving the scene of a dangerous accident—related to last Friday's hit-and-run outside the Meadowlands. Nine people were injured as they tried to cross Route 120 on the road, instead of taking a pedestrian footbridge after a soccer match at the Meadowlands (Morocho was allegedly the only driver not to stop for pedestrians). A lawyer for Morocho mentioned his four-year stint with the Navy and how he was struggling to find work as a carpenter, "He’s a young man who’s never so much as been arrested before. This was a tragic accident, and we're all praying for the victims’ speedy recovery." more ›

Fact: Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue has now eclipsed Queens Boulevard as the most dangerous street in the outer-boroughs. Nine pedestrians were killed there from 2006 to 2009, almost twice the number of fatalities racked up in Queens. This won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who's ever had to cross Atlantic Avenue— cars and trucks use it as a highway, particularly in the stretch between Flatbush and the Brooklyn border. more ›

Following the death of 22-year-old Seth Kahn, who was struck by a city bus on West 53rd and 9th last week, there's some talk about bus drivers texting while on the job. The driver in this particular incident was Jeremy Philhower, who had been suspended for texting and updating his Facebook with disparaging comments about his riders while behind the wheel. Last Wednesday, when he hit Kahn, was his first day back on the job — if NYC Transit concludes that he could have prevented the accident, they could file charges and fire him. more ›

The NYPD may have time to ticket folks drinking a non-life-threatening lager on their stoop, but they are way too busy to ticket jaywalkers. At least, that's what Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, suggesting New Yorkers practice common sense when crossing the street illegally. more ›