How is this for an industrious undertaking? New York City will be unveiling a wide-sweeping project to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatality including those in school zones.
The “unprecedented re-engineering of our streets,” according to NYC Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, will touch some 1,500 intersections in the five boroughs, especially those in Manhattan. That equates to some 60 miles of streets, according to today’s Wall Street Journal “Metropolis” blog by Andrew Grossman. It’s all a result of a study expected to be released today by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. More than 7,000 crashes involving pedestrians between 2002 and 2006 were analyzed, which uncovered the most dangerous corridors and intersections in the city.
It’s all part of an initiative set into action by Sadik-Khan in 2008 to reduce traffic fatalities by 3 percent each year through 2030. The new plan announced today will have the city take a multi-step approach. Included is: installing countdown pedestrian signals at 1,500 intersections; re-engineer 60 miles of streets for greater pedestrian safety, according to corridor crash data; re-engineer 20 intersections for pedestrian safety on major two-way streets; launching a pilot program to test the safety performance of neighborhood 20 mph zone; and implementing pilot program to improve visibility at left turns along avenues in Manhattan.
A new program erected earlier this month opens up streets, or more aptly closes them to motorists, for bicyclists on each Saturday in August has also erected national attention.
While debate remains among the city’s residents on who is at fault for the spike in pedestrian deaths and serious injuries, whether they be the result of bad drivers or bad bicyclists, some interesting results from the survey are emerging. Especially of note for school transporters, 79 percent of crashes that result in pedestrian fatalities or injuries involve private vehicles and that taxis, trucks and buses are not the main culprits. Also, male students between the ages of 5 and 17 is one of the groups that account for the most pedestrian deaths.
Already implemented city-wide are signs that warn everyone of intersections where there have already been pedestrian fatalities. Also on the rise are the number of slow-traffic zones near schools, which are expected to triple. How this all could positively affect the experience of school children who both walk or bike to and from school as well as those who load and unload the school bus remains to be seen. But, as pointed out, this emerging program is being called the “most statistically ambitious ever undertaken by a U.S. city.”
