Five dangerous intersections around Brooklyn are getting a safety-minded redesign to protect pedestrians.
Local officials joined Borough President Adams at the intersection of Nostrand Avenue and Avenue Z on Sept. 18 for the unveiling of a $1 million plan to extend street-corner sidewalks out into the parking lanes at intersections in areas with high concentrations of senior citizens.
The beep said the so-called “bulb-outs” or “neck-downs” — part of his Connecting Residents on Safer Streets initiative — will provide safer crossings that should make a dent in pedestrian-related accidents.
“Our youngest and oldest Brooklynites are at particular risk when crossing some of our busiest streets,” said Adams. “Redesigning our crossings through sidewalk extensions is a common-sense approach that helps take our most vulnerable out of harm’s way.”
The location for the announcement was not chosen at random. A 52-year-old Sheepshead Bay resident, Carol Carboni, was killed while crossing the street when a car struck her motorized wheelchair in August.
Students from nearby PS 52, heading toward Sheepshead playground at the corner of the intersection after school, congregated on the corner during the announcement, joining the beep and his fellow officials standing inside a chalk outline of the proposed sidewalk extension. Typical neck-downs extend the width of the parking lane minus two feet.
In addition to Nostrand Avenue and Avenue Z — where there were nine accidents with deaths or serious injuries in the last year — sidewalk extensions will be installed at the following intersections around the borough:
• New Utrecht Avenue, 12th Avenue, and 50th Street, which saw three crashes with deaths or serious injuries in the last year.
• Utica Avenue and Church Avenue, which saw nine crashes with deaths or serious injuries in the last year.
• Utica Avenue and Winthrop Street, which saw seven crashes with deaths or serious injuries in the last year.
• Flatbush Avenue, Washington Avenue, and Lincoln Road, which saw two crashes with deaths or serious injuries in the last year.
One woman whose husband suffered serious injuries after being hit while crossing the street in Prospect Heights said she appreciated Adams’s commitment to improving pedestrian safety.
“We’re really glad the Borough President’s office is taking this issue seriously and putting funding towards making our streets safer for everybody,” said Dahlia Goldenberg of Families for Safe Streets, an organization for victims of serious accidents and family members of those killed in traffic accidents. “I’m really excited that things like curb extensions and traffic slow-downs will bring more awareness and make it easier to avoid these serious and fatal crashes.”
