By Joseph Morales

    Pedestrian safety is undoubtedly a critical issue that many New Yorkers care about. Whether you get around by bus, subway, car, or another mode, a walk is at least some part of pretty much any trip around the city.

              This could not be more true about the parents of New York City schoolchildren, who, no matter what neighborhood their child’s school is located in, want to ensure their children get to and from school safely. Unfortunately, streets near schools in New York City tend to be significantly more dangerous for pedestrians than other streets. According to a Streetsblog investigation, during the 8 AM hour when schools are open, there are 57% more crashes and 25% more injuries per mile on streets near schools than on other streets. It is also worth noting that many of the city’s schools are not even located on or adjacent to many of the busiest and most dangerous streets for pedestrians in most boroughs, making this disparity even more alarming. 

                The city commits substantial resources, from speeding cameras near schools to school crossing guards, to ensure the safety of some of its youngest pedestrians and their families. However, even though the prevalence of the resources is often considered insufficient, the city looks to numerous measures to attempt and address what is too many of its most troubling transportation issues.

                  One of arguably its most effective measures for improving pedestrian safety near schools is street design changes on the surrounding streets through the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), which controls NYC streets. These measures can consist of a variety of measures such as curb extensions, pedestrian islands, lane reconfigurations, and so much more to provide pedestrians with more space, change driver behavior, or improve safety.

                 This will happen in Midwood on the streets surrounding Edward R. Murrow High School and five other schools in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, including two elementary schools(Yeshivat Shaare Torah and PS 199 Frederick Wachtel). In part due to the nearby Avenue M’s status as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor along with a pedestrian fatality occurring within proximity of the schools in November 2020, the NYCDOT is moving forward with a pedestrian safety project at two intersections in the area surrounding the schools. 

                  At the intersection of Avenue M/E 12th St/Chestnut Ave, where the pedestrian fatality occurred, the NYCDOT wants to address wide roadway spaces allowing unpredictable vehicle movements. It is also often hard to see vehicles while on Avenue M, coming from Chestnut Ave, given how Chestnut Ave merges onto Ave M. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that there are generally low levels of vehicular traffic in the intersection, enabling vehicles that enter the space to have more space to make different potentially dangerous decisions. According to an NYCDOT presentation, some of these maneuvers have included trucks unloading the middle of the intersection and an instance of a single driver using most of the intersection space to make a U-turn. Adding to safety concerns is the fact that there is no direct path along the south side of Avenue M, forcing pedestrians to either make an additional crossing or walk a long length across a street already subject to unpredictable vehicular motions. 

                Therefore the agency plans to take numerous measures to address the situation, such as converting Chestnut Ave to travel away from the intersection,  adding concrete curb extensions on Ave M between Chestnut Ave and the end of the intersection as well as adding sidewalks to travel across the South side of Avenue M. These measures will reduce the number of vehicles entering the intersection, removing space for drivers to commit dangerous maneuvers and increase pedestrian space, which should all go a long way toward improving safety. Truck would also be banned from turning from Avenue M to the newly westbound Chestnut Ave, likely due what the length of the turn would be.

                Another part of the proposal involves installing what is known as quick curbs on the centerline of Coney Island Ave at the intersection of Coney Island Ave/Ave M to prevent drivers from making left turns against moving traffic, as traffic incidents in 2016, left turns accounted for more than double as many pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, as opposed to the right, turns and more than triple the number of severe injuries and fatalities according to an NYCDOT study on the topic.

                Despite its small scope, the only potential caveat to this project is that it may be completed anytime between this year and 2025. This work will be part of a broader street reconstruction project with the NYCDDC(New York City Department of Design and Construction). The purpose of these projects is to make long-term upgrades critical to the condition of the street. This includes replacing over a foot of a roadway and, in most cases, the reconstruction of curbs and sidewalks, and both are addressed as part of pedestrian safety measures at Ave M/E 12th St. Also, these projects generally include adjusting or reconfiguring practically anything involving the street in question, so it makes sense why this work is getting lumped into this more extensive project. Capital projects of this nature also generally take longer as the NYCDOT needs to commit more resources to detailed surveys and obtain more approvals from other agencies than for other projects.  Nonetheless, parents will likely feel that the NYCDOT should exercise urgency on the pedestrian safety aspects of this project, given the circumstances. 

              Also proposed is an all-way stop sign and painted curb extensions and sidewalks at the intersection of Bay Ave and E 17th St adjacent to the over 3,500-student Edward R. Murrow Campus. This is especially improvement as drivers may not easily be able to see other drivers and/or pedestrians due to the nature of the intersection. These improvements will be particularly valuable during school entry/dismissal times due to the likely crowds of students that may overwhelm the sidewalks.

               This project will hopefully become one of the over 100 pedestrian safety projects the NYCDOT has completed around schools.  These projects, while small, can have a lasting impact on the safety of students around schools, allow parents to feel more comfortable allowing their children to walk to school, and, most importantly, help save lives.

Works Cited

Coburn, Jesse. “’ALWAYS SCARED’: Dangerous Streets Outside City Schools Threaten Children.” Streetsblog NYC, 24 May 2022, https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/05/24/danger-zones-chaotic-school-streets-threaten-city-children/. Accessed 25 March 2023.

New York City Department of Transportation. “Midwood School Safety Proposal – CB 14 – June 2022.” NYC.gov, 8 June 2022, https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/midwood-school-safety-proposal-jun2022.pdf. Accessed 25 March 2023.

New York City Department of Transportation. “DON’T CUT CORNERS-LEFT TURN Pedestrian & Bicyclist Crash Study.” nyc.gov, August 2016, https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/left-turn-pedestrian-and-bicycle-crash-study.pdf. Accessed 25 March 2023.

New York City Department of Transportation. “NYC DOT – Street and Roadway Construction.” nyc.gov, 2023, https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/construction.shtml. Accessed 25 March 2023.

New York City Department of Transportation. “NYC DOT – Capital Street Projects.” NYC.gov, 2023, https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/capital-projects.shtml. Accessed 25 March 2023.