NYC Looks to Add Raised Crosswalks to Make Intersections Safer

Over the past five years in New York, more than half of all pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, and more than three-quarters of pedestrian and cyclist injuries, have taken place at intersections, according to city officials.

Caroline Shadood, 34, and her neighbors in Glendale, Queens, have repeatedly demanded safety improvements at the nearby intersection of Cypress and Cooper Avenues where they say drivers routinely speed and run red lights. There have been 70 people — including 10 pedestrians and seven cyclists — injured in motor vehicle crashes at that intersection in the past five years, city records show.

“It’s a known danger in the neighborhood,” Ms. Shadood said of the intersection.

A driver slammed into Ms. Shadood’s partner, Jon Burton, 35, and their dog, Tai, at the intersection a year ago, Ms. Shadood said. Both survived but Mr. Burton was left with a fractured hip and knees and could not work for months. (The dog had internal injuries to multiple organs.)

More recently, another pedestrian was knocked over at that intersection by one driver, and while lying on the ground, was run over by a second driver.

To better control traffic at the intersection, the city recently installed a so-called Barnes Dance, in which traffic signals are reprogrammed to temporarily stop all traffic, allowing pedestrians to cross safely in every direction at the same time.

The intersection, Mr. Rodriguez said, “has seen far too many crashes.”

City officials are working to redesign 1,000 dangerous intersections this year and also plan to target problem spots like parking lots and gas stations where drivers cut across sidewalks, in addition to raising scores of crosswalks.

Such “traffic calming measures” are crucial to slowing down drivers and preventing serious crashes, especially on busy streets where there is a mix of people driving, walking and biking, said Leah Shahum, the executive director of the Vision Zero Network, a nonprofit campaign that works with more than 45 cities across the country to make streets safer.