Recently, the Department of Transportation presented a proposal to improve traffic safety on West End Avenue at a meeting sponsored by Community Board 7 and Councilmember Helen Rosenthal.  And earlier this week, CB7 overwhelmingly embraced the plan with a near unanimous vote.

Among other modifications, DOT plans what it calls a 4 to 3 conversion. This means that the traditional four lanes of traffic -- two northbound and two southbound -- are downsized to one lane in each direction.  There will be one center for what are called "turn bays"  to accommodate cars making left turns. You can scroll through the whole slideshow here.

I think residents of West End Avenue above W. 96th Street share a feeling similar to mine: with West End Avenue petering out just north of W. 106th Street, the Bloomingdale stretch of the avenue can at times resemble a cul de sac.  Southbound cars on Broadway north of W. 107th tend not to veer off Broadway to cruise down West End and northbound drivers know that West End will terminate and therefore isn't conducive to "thru driving."  That phenomenon can give West End a sleepy quality, and it gives the residents a sense that the avenue is safe. However that small village feel has begun to evaporate.  There has been an alarming increase in speeding.  Additionally in this area -- and unacceptably -- there has been a noticeable uptick in use of West End by drivers of commercial vehicles.  Policing of the speed limit and no-commerical-traffic rules is definitely in order.

In other deveopments, good news came to Broadway this summer when a 25 mph speed limit was set thanks to a bill passed by the State that was sponsored by our very own Danny O'Donnell. The city defers to the state in matters of speed limit so the process was more involved.

This so-called "slow zone" runs up Broadway from Columbus Circle.  The West Side Rag did a nice piece of reporting on it here.  (Thanks, Avi!)

By Caitlin Hawke

h/t to the unstoppable Jen Chung, editor of Gothamist, for the excellent coverage and images of DOT's proposal.

A nine-year-old schoolboy.  A 61-year-old woman.  A 26-year-old doctor.  A 73-year-old man.  That's 160+ years of life snuffed out unnecessarily in traffic.

Today brought terrible news of another pedestrian's death.  This time it was at W. 95th Street on West End Avenue.  And while details are still emerging, I just have a lump in my throat and think enough is enough.  I can't remember a time in the last 20 years when there was such a series of accidents.  All heart-wrenching.

So, if you are a driver: cede the right of way to pedestrians. Don't cut them off in the crosswalk, particularly since you are probably just going to end up feet away, idling at a red light.  Check your blind spots when turning.

If you are a pedestrian: cross with care, put your smartphone down, take your earbuds out and be alert.  You might have the right of way, but every so often drivers make fatal errors.

If you are a jaywalker: you are jeopardizing innocent drivers and possibly other pedestrians who are trying to navigate complicated city traffic lawfully.

If you are a commercial vehicle: get off West End Avenue. You are not permitted to drive there.

If you are a cyclist: observe traffic laws.

Come on.  We have to do better than this.  It's too much to bear.


By Caitlin Hawke

If you have been on Broadway in the past few days, you've seen a rather incredible transformation: a new crosswalk from median strip to median strip right smack dab across W. 96th Street.  This crosswalk with its concomitant expanded corners, medians, and new "no left turn" indications now allows pedestrians to flow freely -- and with care, safely -- into and out of the 96th Street subway station house.  The new crosswalk eases the pressure on the southeast and southwest corners of Broadway and W. 96th where pedestrians congregated and impatiently awaited the chance to cross over to the station.  The change means that north and south bound drivers on Broadway will not have to navigate through the same maze of jaywalking straphangers rushing for their trains.  And it means that subway riders can flow into and out of the station house in all directions with the light.

With time, all hope these changes will improve traffic safety in our neighborhood.  However, drivers still need to make those now-prohibited left turns as seen in the diagram above.  Where will they do it now?  And will that become the next problem zone for drivers and pedestrians?  Stay tuned for more on traffic safety on the Upper West Side.


By Caitlin Hawke

h/t to the West Side Rag which has the story in detail, as it often does!

Photo credit: DOT by way of Mark Levine's office

On May 1st, the DOT announced that Upper Broadway will be the fourth of two dozen planned "slow zones."  Slow zone speeds will have a maximum of 25 m.p.h.  The Broadway slow zone will extend from Columbus Circle northward to Inwood, extending over eight miles and passing through our neighborhood's stretch of Broadway.  The change will take effect in July. 

In addition to the lowering of the speed limit, the DOT will reprogram traffic signals in an effort to calm traffic and discourage speeders.

Many activists and local elected officials were present for the announcement.  “I’m thrilled that DOT chose Broadway from Columbus Circle to W. 220th Street to be an Arterial Slow Zone,” said Council Member Helen Rosenthal. “This corridor is a highly trafficked pedestrian area, and lowering the speed limit to 25 m.p.h. will save lives.”

The slow zoning is part of the Mayor’s Vision Zero safety plan.

By Caitlin Hawke

Our local precinct reports that even with an uptick in enforcement efforts, traffic incidents involving pedestrians have increased in our area.  To date this year, there have been 36 collisions in the precinct.  Compare this to the same period in 2013, and that means 15 additional accidents!  Tragically, we've had three fatal pedestrian collisions to date this year.  Officials have been responding to this very visible issue.  Construction to change the flow of pedestrians around the 96th Street station of the 1, 2, 3 subways lines is underway.  Police response has involved issuing summonses to drivers who fail to yield as well as to pedestrians who jaywalk.  And neighbors may have noticed new speed readers installed by the Department of Transportation on W. 96th Street near West End Avenue in an attempt to calm traffic.  Watch this space for updates.


By Caitlin Hawke

The Block Association’s Annual Meeting turned out a standing-room crowd for a special line up of public officials who came to discuss community concerns about street safety.  Among others, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance (left), City Councilperson Helen Rosenthal (center), and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (right) all addressed neighbors’ concerns. 

Our 24th Precinct’s interim Community Officer, William Pla, spoke about the following:

• recent burglary arrests have led to a decrease in incidents

• police are seeing a mix of fault in vehicle incidents:  some resulting from pedestrians (on cellphones or jaywalking) walking in front of on-coming cars, others from driver error such as the taxi incident that tragically killed nine-year-old Cooper Stock on West End Avenue at W. 97th St.

• the city is addressing safety concerns on the W. 96th St. corridor by way of several actions:  lengthening lights at W. 96th Street, adding crossing guards at PS 75, installing red light cameras at W. 96th St. from Amsterdam to West End Avenues, and monitoring speed at W. 96th St. and Broadway where  two officers are currently assigned from 7 am to 7 pm.


Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance made these key points:

• throughout the 1980s, there were about 500 homicides annually

• this rate decreased to 70 in Vance’s first year in office and was down to 40 last year thanks to community engagement as well as law enforcement

• gang and gun violence are a priority at the DA’s office; 14 gangs have been obliterated so far

• his office is focusing on prevention by providing alternative outlets for populations most at risk; so far they are serving 3000 kids at seven different sites

• he is supporting a  measure to open the Police Athletic League gym in Central Harlem to kids 11 to 18 years old on weekend nights


6th District City Councilperson, Helen Rosenthal, discussed a range of topics, notably about:

• Vision Zero
Mayor Bill de Blasio has launched a plan to work toward zero fatalities or serious injuries due to city traffic and pedestrian flows.  Specifically in our area with the recent spate of bad accidents and fatalities, work began in late March on crosswalks at W. 96th and Broadway to overhaul flow of pedestrian traffic. Plans include for allowing pedestrians to cross over W. 96th Street from median to median to reduce crowding on the east and west corners of the intersection.  There is legislation in progress named for Cooper Stock that would result in immediate suspension of a driver’s hack license and perhaps revocation if investigation reveals that the driver failed to yield.  Helen Rosenthal has recommended to New York State to follow suit with all drivers, not just cab drivers.

• Supports the “Twenty is Plenty” program initiated by advocacy groups, which originated in the U.K.
Although Albany regulates speed limits, “Slow Zones” may be defined and regulated by NYC’s Department of Transportation.  Helen Rosenthal is working to establish a maximum city street speed limit of 20 mph and is lobbying for home rule so that the city may proceed.


Highlights of remarks from Manhattan Borough President and neighborhood friend, Gale Brewer:

• Jessica Mates, Gale Brewer’s chief of staff also discussed Vision Zero and efforts to identify trouble spots for traffic and pedestrian safety.  Their office has introduced a bill to increase the number of audio pedestrian signals and the pace of their installation.

• Gale Brewer kindly acknowledged the Block Association, with which she’s had a long working relationship from her days as a City Councilperson.

• Gale is particularly supportive of the various age-friendly initiatives throughout the city and singled out David Reich and Bloomingdale Aging in Place of our neighborhood as great examples of how a community can become mindful and supportive of needs of older neighbors.

By Hedy Campbell and Caitlin Hawke