Streetsblog New York City

When DOT installed a leading pedestrian interval, or LPI, by a Lincoln Tunnel exit on 34th Street last month, nearby residents were thrilled. Cars turning onto 34th from Dyer Avenue -- a tunnel off-ramp -- had long posed a hazard to people in the crosswalk, leading Community Board 4 to request signal timing exclusively for pedestrians. At first DOT declined to take action, but after 300 people signed a petition in favor of the LPI, it was installed in a matter of days. Now pedestrians crossing 34th enjoy a luxurious 17 seconds during which they have the all-clear.

LPIs make pedestrians safer. The most widely cited study [PDF], released in 1999 by Michael King, former director of traffic calming at DOT and currently a principal at planning firm Nelson\Nygaard, found that LPIs reduce collisions between turning vehicles and pedestrians by 28 percent. Implemented throughout the city, LPIs could cut the number of pedestrians hit by cars by more than 500 each year, the report noted.

The new LPI at 34th and Dyer was a welcome improvement, but why the initial hesitation? After all, installing an LPI amounts to little more than flipping a switch, and costs next to nothing. Current DOT practice, however, requires time-consuming studies of individual intersections to determine whether an LPI is warranted. A different option, which Transportation Alternatives is now pushing, would make LPIs the default condition at the intersections where pedestrians face the greatest threat.

A leading pedestrian interval, or LPI, lights up the pedestrian signal a few seconds before vehicular traffic gets the green. This gives pedestrians a head start into the intersection and makes it less likely that they will be hit by vehicles turning into the crosswalk. LPI's are also known by their sassier nickname, Pedestrian Head Start. But in my view the best variation on what LPI stands for comes from Christine Berthet of the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association, who proposes "Life Preserving Interval."

Transportation Alternatives has recently begun a push to make these more common in New York City. Here's hoping our video (featuring some nice visuals from TOPP's own Carly Clark) can help argue the case.

In the wake of yet another gruesome killing of a pedestrian walking in the crosswalk with the right-of-way -- this time, a 4-year-old boy run over by a guy driving a Hummer -- Transportation Alternatives is arguing that these kinds of deaths can be prevented or, at least, made less likely, with the following five street design measures:

• Provide pedestrians exclusive crossing time so that turning motorists have the red light while pedestrians have the walk signal. (example: Union Square NW- 17th and Broadway
• Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI) or "pedestrian head starts" give pedestrians the signal before motorists, better establishing their presence in the crosswalk and making them more visible to turning motorists. (example: 23rd Street and Broadway, 23rd Street and 6th Ave).
• Neckdowns -- sidewalk extensions at corners, force motorists to make slower, more accurate and safer turns (example: 29th Street and 8th Ave).
• Raised crosswalks in which the pavement under crosswalks is elevated by 4 inches, again force motorists to slow down when navigating an intersection.
• Bollards -- placing steel bollards at corners (pictured) or on two way street, placing plastic bollards where the double yellow line meets the crosswalk protect pedestrians while waiting on the sidewalk and force drivers to make safer turns (example: 12th Street and 7th Ave).

Perhaps most notable, the T.A. press release also says that there were 170 pedestrian fatalities in New York City in 2006, a 7 percent increase over the previous year. DOT has not responded to requests to verify that number. Outgoing DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall touts improving pedestrian safety as one of the major accomplishments of her tenure.