Local residents say it’s time to do something about the dangerous conditions for pedestrians at the intersection of Delancey and Pitt streets.
At the monthly meeting of Community Board 3’s transportation committee, they outlined some of the safety issues. William Mojica, a longtime Lower east Side resident, cited statistics compiled by the advocacy organization, Transportation Alternatives, showing that three cyclists and four pedestrians have been injured at the intersection in the past two years. There have been 20 car collisions in the same period, he said.
Mojica noted that there are many schools in the area, as well as churches and synagogues. Residents said cars traveling from FDR Drive head west up Delancey Street at a high rate of speed, creating hazards along a heavily used pedestrian route. The community board panel agreed to ask the city’s Department of Transportation to look at traffic calming measures. Suggestions included: a traffic island and traffic signals. Support from several schools, including P.S. 110, P.s. 142 and Manhattan Charter School, helped the residents make their case.
The full board of CB3 will vote on the resolution next week’ passage is very likely.
Hopefully they deal with the cops that park on the sidewalks and block visibility at the intersection of Delancey and Pitt south of the bridge. There’s plenty of parking in the area…if NYPD needs spots for its officers, they should make the case to the DOT about turning the spots to police only.
Exactly. I really don’t understand why it needs to be a NYPD/FDNY parking free-for-all in the blocks surrounding Fort Pitt. They park their private vehicles on the sidewalks, in the crosswalks, in front of fire hydrants. They even park in the zebra striped areas that are designed to allow the fire trucks to exit the fire station quickly and safely. I understand that many of our highly valued Finest and Bravest live in places from where it’s difficult to commute by public transportation. But Clarke is right that they should just turn more legal parking spaces into PD/FD-only spaces, rather than allowing the pedestrian and fire truck gauntlet that exists. I find the visibility and access issues far more concerning than the occasional speeding car on westbound Delancey.
What about the off duty cops/firefighters going the wrong way on Pitt towards Grand St or blowing through the red lights around the area? Will this be addressed as well?