This morning, city crews are on the job along Clinton Street, implementing the final phases of a plan to improve pedestrian safety on and around the congested Delancey Street corridor. Back in June, they created new pedestrian “safe zones” along a 12-block stretch from the Williamsburg Bridge and changed certain traffic patterns.
Today, the crews have removed barricades from Clinton, allowing cars to turn right onto the bridge. They have also turned Clinton into a one-way northbound street and created a two-way bike path on the west side of the street.
The slide posted above is part of a Department of Transportation presentation detailing the changes. Still to come — lengthening the “walk” signal at Delancey and Clinton by eight seconds. The DOT has already narrowed the width of Delancey by creating pedestrian plazas on either sides of the street. The agency is working with the LES Business Improvement District to add planters and other markers to more clearly define the plazas as pedestrian-only zones. As you’ve probably noticed, cars and trucks have made mince meat of the temporary pylons that have been set up to mark off the new plazas.
The changes along Delancey Street were implemented after a series of tragic accidents in recent years, including the death of 12-year old Dashane Santana.
I wonder why it’s taking so long to add that 8 seconds to the crosswalk.
On another safety issue, I tried bicycling Grand St. yesterday from Varick to Clinton. It’s like bicycling through hell.
Um … that “Do not enter except buses” sign also block bikes even though they’re meant to be let through according to the article and according to the road striping.
Gecko,
Um… it says “..except Bikes”
You should read the sign again. It says: “Do Not Enter Except Bikes,” not buses.
Think you read the pix wrong… Sign does state “Do Not Enter” Except Bikes” “New”…
Wonder if they reversed the “Temp Construction” regulation on Broome between Norfolk and Clinton back to east bound (the way it was originally…)???
Wow – my eyes are worser than I thought. Thanks, fellow commentors
Huh?? People and bicyclists still have to cross Delancey Street to go from the North side to the South side so how are these street changes going to change anything??
Great to see that they will be lengthening the walk signal to cross Delancey Street. I consider myself a fast walker and find it impossible to cross without cheating a head start and still having to run the last few feet to avoid death… The zombies in their cars are so focused on reaching the bridge that they don’t notice pedestrian traffic. Sad that people had to die in order for DOT to consider the safety of pedestrians over the convenience of drivers.
This will be a pedestrian nightmare, and traffic is just going to get crazy. Clinton street from the FDR is a death trap and now it’ll elicit more speeders, and lots more traffic!
Traveled westbound across the W’burg Bridge last Sunday afternoon. Was in far right lane, as always when anticipating making the right onto Clinton St. Could not understand what was taking so very, very long. There is a special turn signal for those in the far right lane to legally enable those cars to make their right turn.
When we finally made our way up to the light at the end of the bridge we saw what the holdup was: cars from the lane next to the far right were cutting in to make their right onto Clinton thereby creating a sort of “double wide” turn lane.
sigh.
Motorists and their refusal to read the signs and obey them are the root cause of any mess existent in the wake of DOT’s attempts to better manage the roadways in NYC.
They will protect pedestrians by widening the crosswalks substantially and by lengthening the amount of time (which, really, was like a cosmic joke) for pedestrians to cross Delancey St which is more like a major highway than a “street”.
That must be why I saw so many police officers on Clinton Street last week pulling cars over after they exited off the bridge into Manhattan..they had two officers watching cars turn off the bridge and then they had several officers who were pulling the vehicles over down on Clinton Street after they made the right turn from the second or third lane on the bridge were you cannot make that right turn from….OK that explains it thanks.