New bill aims to make intersections pedestrian safe

The City Council pushed through legislation this week focused on making pedestrian and bicyclist safety a priority on city streets. Advocacy group Transportation Alternatives says many of the most dangerous

News 12 Staff

Mar 17, 2008, 5:47 PM

Updated 6,109 days ago

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The City Council pushed through legislation this week focused on making pedestrian and bicyclist safety a priority on city streets.
Advocacy group Transportation Alternatives says many of the most dangerous accidents involving pedestrians occur at the same intersections. This is especially true in the Bronx. The juncture of East Fordham Road and Webster Avenue tops the list for pedestrian accidents, according to statistics.
The legislation is broken into three main parts. The Department of Transportation must identify the 20 most dangerous intersections for pedestrians and investigate ways to improve them. DOT must then analyze crash patterns as well as pedestrian injuries and fatalities based on data for the past five years.
Councilmember Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn), who sponsored the bill, says he hopes once improvements to the most dangerous intersections are made, others can be addressed.
DOT supports the bill, calling it an effective approach to enhancing safety on city streets. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the bill into law.