Streetsblog New York City

A pedestrian struck by a motorist on April 1 in Bay Ridge died from her injuries. The crash occurred on a section of Fourth Avenue where DOT plans to install a pedestrian fence, and in a precinct where NYPD writes a speeding ticket once every five days.

The victim, a 30-year-old female whose name was not published, was struck by the driver of a Honda sedan as she attempted to cross mid-block on Fourth near 86th Street, according to an April 2 story from the Brooklyn Daily. The impact broke one of her arms and caused severe head trauma.

The FDNY said they took the victim to Lutheran Medical Center where she later died from her injuries.

An NYPD spokeswoman said that the driver was uninjured and remained at the scene. An investigation is ongoing, but there is no evidence of a crime.

“It looks like it was just an accident,” the spokeswoman said.

A different version of the Brooklyn Daily story first appeared in the Brooklyn Paper, which reported that the victim was transported in cardiac arrest.

Coverage of the crash makes no mention of how fast the driver was going before the collision. A pedestrian’s chance of survival when hit by a vehicle decreases dramatically as motorist speed increases. Speeding was the leading cause of NYC traffic deaths in 2012, according to DOT.

DOT is planning a slate of changes to Fourth Avenue aimed at slowing down drivers and reducing traffic injuries and deaths. According to reports, one element of the proposal is a pedestrian fence, similar to those in Midtown Manhattan, to prevent “jaywalking.”

As usual, NYPD is AWOL on traffic calming. The 68th Precinct, where this crash occurred, and where an elderly woman was killed by a driver in a Fourth Avenue crosswalk on April 30, issued just 63 speeding tickets in 2012.

Both fatalities happened in Marty Golden’s state senate district. Golden has blocked the city from implementing a speed camera pilot program, though NYPD supports automated enforcement. Golden can be reached at 718-238-6044 and @SenMartyGolden.

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There’s a tussle going on right now about how cyclists should ride on city streets. Yesterday’s Streetsblog Network post took a snapshot of this debate yesterday, excerpting the WashCycle’s response to a Sarah Goodyear piece in Atlantic Cities.

Sarah wrote that cycling is no longer a mode for daredevils and mavericks weaving through traffic. Some cities now have street infrastructure that accommodates cyclists and guards their safety. Bicycling is increasingly incorporated into the transportation system in these cities, and as such, cyclists need to follow the rules.

Few people would contest the idea that for the transportation system to function well and safely, drivers need to abide by the rules of the road. It’s obvious that when drivers break the rules, the consequences are dire, since they’re operating a heavy vehicle capable of high speeds.

But safety isn’t the only issue. The orderly functioning of our streets is also a priority of planners, and should be a priority for all of us. When the signal says walk, we ought to know that we can walk without being hit by a motorist — or a cyclist — who’s decided that the rules don’t apply to him.

“I am truly sick, at this late date, of people wanting to have it both ways: calling for protected bike lanes and a bike-share system, demanding that cops step up enforcement when it comes to cars, and then blithely salmoning up a major thoroughfare and expecting everyone look the other way,” Sarah writes. “It makes all of us look terrible and it’s a real hazard.”

She also claims that cyclists aren’t special and don’t deserve their own rules. I part ways with her there. Riding a bike doesn’t make you special because it’s badass or good for the environment. It’s special because roads designed exclusively for automobiles don’t work well for cycling. And we should advocate for rules and infrastructure that safely accommodate sustainable and efficient modes of transportation at least as much as destructive and polluting ones.

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Yesterday at about 3:30 p.m., a taxi driver struck a cyclist on Seventh Avenue in Chelsea between 16th and 17th Street. Police made two arrests at the scene, though at this time NYPD is not revealing what they were charged with.

“The front right wheel of cab had basically run over the back wheel of the bicycle,” said reader Sandy, who lives on the block and walked by the scene at about 4:00 p.m. She said the crash was in the right-most lane of Seventh Avenue, about two-thirds of the way between 17th Street and 16th Street.

FDNY says that EMS responded at 3:32 p.m. and left seven minutes later, although Sandy reports seeing an ambulance on the scene after 4:00. FDNY said that EMS did not transport anyone to a hospital.

NYPD reports that officers responded at 3:31 and made two arrests at the scene, though the Collision Investigation Squad was not involved. After 4:00, a police van arrived to assist the cruiser and officers already on the scene. According to Sandy, the handcuffed cab driver was standing by his vehicle in Seventh Avenue, which is the border between the 10th and 13th precincts. It’s not known who the other arrested individual was; Sandy said she did not see a cyclist on the scene.

We’ll update with more information as the story develops.

Update: The Home Reporter reports that the elderly victim of this crash has died.

Residents of Bay Ridge are again calling for measures to rein in reckless motorists after a Tuesday crash that sent at least one pedestrian to the hospital. The crash occurred in the district of State Senator Marty Golden, who has blocked a widely-supported speed camera program from being implemented in NYC.

Published reports say the driver of a Cadillac Escalade struck an elderly woman while making a right turn from 82nd Street onto Fourth Avenue. Brooklyn Daily reports that the victim was declared likely to die.

NYPD and FDNY had few details. The NYPD public information office said the victim was an elderly Asian female, whose identity has not been released. An FDNY spokesperson told Streetsblog responders got the call at 10:39 a.m., and said two victims were transported. FDNY had no information on the condition of either victim. WNBC was the only media outlet we found with a report that two victims were struck.

The NYPD spokesperson said no summonses were issued, and that “no criminality is suspected.”

The Brooklyn Eagle reported that Council Member Vincent Gentile was at the scene:

Gentile said he was told that the victim was in “very bad shape” and that she had been rushed by ambulance to Lutheran Medical Center. “She apparently hit her head hard on the pavement when she was hit by the car,” Gentile said.

“The pedestrian went up in the air and came back down,” said one witness, to the Home Reporter. An NYPD spokesperson told the Brooklyn Daily that police “had no evidence that the motorist was speeding or breaking any other traffic laws,” though “[w]itnesses pointed out that the woman was already in the crosswalk when struck, and state law grants right of way to pedestrians over drivers when both have the light.”

The 68th Precinct, where the crash occurred, issued just 63 speeding citations in 2012 [PDF]. Locals are pushing for improved traffic enforcement, including the use of speed cameras, on Fourth Avenue.

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Although maintaining that cameras “are never going to be a replacement for officers,” a prominent police union official told Streetsblog that he strongly supports automated enforcement. “People drive in this town with impunity,” he said. “I’ll take any help we can get at this point to try and reign in some of the problems.”

Unfortunately for New Yorkers, those words came not from Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch, but from Kristopher Baumann, Chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC.

In fact, the DC police union has been a strong supporter of the entire automated enforcement program in the District, which also targets red-light running, blocking the box, failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and failure to observe stop signs.

At a DC Council hearing last November, Baumann testified against the council’s efforts to lower fines for violators caught on camera. He implored the council “not to pander to a bunch of people that can’t control themselves behind the wheel and think it’s okay to endanger others.”

Baumann had tough words for people who oppose traffic enforcement cameras. “If they don’t like the automated cameras, follow the rules. Stop endangering other people,” he said. “The idea here is not ‘gotcha’ and we’re going to charge money. It is public safety,” he added. “These cameras do work.”

Since installing speed cameras, DC has seen an 82 percent reduction in speeding that exceeds 10 mph above the limit, according to Richard Retting, the director of safety and research for Sam Schwartz Engineering. Since DC began installing speed cameras, the number of annual traffic fatalities has dropped from 72 in 2001 to 19 last year — a decline of about 74 percent. In 2011, MPD Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier received an award from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for overseeing the nation’s biggest traffic fatality rate drop. In NYC, which has 150 red light cameras but no speed cameras, traffic deaths fell 30 percent in the same period.

The DC police union supports speed cams, according to Baumann, because MPD doesn’t have enough manpower to enforce traffic laws without the automated help. “We’re not out there to enforce the laws, and when that happens, people start disregarding the laws,” Baumann told the council. “That means we have to rely on the cameras.”

When Streetsblog asked if he thought the cameras were being used as an excuse not to hire needed officers, Baumann was unequivocal. “No,” he said. “I don’t think that it’s being used as an excuse.”

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If you walk on New York City streets (or frankly anywhere in the U.S.), you’re well aware of how much unlawful and dangerous driving happens on nearly every block: red light running, speeding, double-parking, you name it.

I first moved to NYC in 1991, and one thing that seems to have gotten much worse since then is the percentage of drivers who fail to signal their turns. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been walking or bicycling and nearly been hit by drivers who didn’t use their directionals. Anecdotally, I would estimate that about 25 or 30 percent of drivers don’t signal.

So I set out to put my theory to the test where I live in Jackson Heights, Queens, taping the first 100 turning drivers I saw. I won’t spoil the final count, but this video is more evidence of the poor quality of driving across the city. Failing to use blinkers makes it hard for walkers, bikers, and other motorists to anticipate a driver’s behavior — this is basic Driver’s Ed, people — but so many people just don’t do it.

Every week we read horrible stories of drivers crashing into pedestrians or mounting sidewalks — and yet hardly anyone is ever charged or even issued a ticket. NYPD could be issuing plenty of tickets for drivers failing to signal turns on just about any block at anytime. They could start a crackdown tomorrow, it doesn’t require more legislation. It doesn’t require an officer to be stationed in a car with a radar gun. Just stand on the corner and pull people over. Simple.

NYPD credits cracking down on small crimes with helping to dramatically lower the city’s overall crime rate. If we started to show less tolerance for “smaller” infractions, might drivers in NYC eventually change their overall driving habits?

The Post revealed earlier this week that NYPD trains only one officer per precinct to use a radar gun, which partially explains why speeding enforcement is close to non-existent in most neighborhoods. But while NYPD thinly spreads local precincts’ speeding enforcement resources over thousands of miles of surface streets where pedestrians and cyclists are at risk of getting struck by drivers, the department does have a number of officers trained to apprehend speeders. The problem is that they’re positioned on the city’s limited access highways.

At a forum organized by the New York Cycle Club on Tuesday evening, Inspector Michael J. Hurley, adjutant of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, told the audience that speeding enforcement is “usually done on the highways, mainly done by the highway district.”

The NYPD Highway Patrol is part of the department’s Transportation Bureau, which is distinct from local precincts. In February, the Transportation Bureau issued 4,664 speeding tickets [PDF], more than two-thirds of the total 6,495 speeding tickets NYPD issued citywide [PDF].

In other words, it seems that a large majority of NYPD’s speeding tickets are issued on highways, not local streets where almost all pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities occur. Chalk up another reason for Marty Golden and the speed camera obstructionists in Albany to stop blocking automated enforcement.

Hurley, a high-ranking supervisor in the NYPD hierarchy, had a TrafficStat meeting to attend at 1 Police Plaza the next morning, where presumably he was grilled by Transportation Bureau Chief James Tuller about how the precincts in northern Manhattan are responding to data on traffic violence. But throughout the evening, Hurley did little to dispel the impression that anecdotes, complaints, and prejudice guide NYPD’s approach to traffic safety more than dispassionate analysis.

“We’re protecting cyclists from their own behavior,” he said in response to a question about whether police target cyclists for enforcement. “In most cases it seems like the cyclist is the one at fault.” At that point, fellow panelist Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives stepped in to remind Hurley of the 2006 Department of Health study that found motorist error contributed to most fatal bike crashes [PDF]. (The same study found that cyclist error also contributed to most fatal crashes, since in many cases both parties were found culpable. But as White said, dead cyclists can’t tell their side of the story, while the motorists who get cited in police reports have a distinct incentive to avoid blame.)

If you want the police to start targeting reckless driving in proportion to all the injuries and deaths it causes, Hurley did have some good advice: Go to your local precinct community council, which takes place once a month. “Let’s face it, the squeaky wheel gets the oil,” he said. “A lot of the enforcement we do is in response to community complaints.”

City Council Member Jumaane Williams has issued a statement calling for speed cameras and other traffic-calming measures following the death of Denim McLean, the 2-year-old killed by a curb-jumping driver in East Flatbush.

Williams also says more motorists should be held responsible for crashes that result in death.

This incident took place at the corner of Church and Utica Avenues, which has long been a problem area for accidents with pedestrians, even according to the Department of Transportation. I plan to meet with DOT officials in the coming days to discuss safety at this intersection and the Utica Avenue corridor in general. We must push for more traffic calming measures, measures that save lives and improve transportation in the long term. We need speed cameras at this cross-section and throughout this community, and it is my sincere hope that the State Senate will end their obstruction of this effort. While I do not know fully the details of this accident, I do believe that we must work together toward achieving greater accountability of drivers that cause fatal crashes. Finally, we must all exercise much greater caution on the roads. Getting to our destination safely must always be the priority.

There were six pedestrian fatalities in Williams’s district between 2009 and 2011, according to federal data mapped by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. All of the victims were children and seniors. The 67th Precinct, which encompasses much of the district, wrote 45 speeding tickets in 2012, an average of one every eight days.

Speed cameras have overwhelming support among city officials. A proposed demonstration program was included in the State Assembly budget proposal, but was blocked by Marty Golden and Simcha Felder in the Senate. Bronx Senator Jeff Klein has introduced a bill to bring speed cameras to NYC, but Golden says more 20 mph zones will be sufficient to reduce the number of crashes like the one that killed Denim McLean.

Early Saturday afternoon, about 25 people gathered at the corner of St. Annes Avenue and East 138th Street in the South Bronx, protesting heavy truck traffic and deadly driving in the Mott Haven neighborhood.

A series of pedestrian deaths in recent months and the lack of truck route enforcement from the 40th Precinct — as well as a city-subsidized Fresh Direct distribution center planned for the neighborhood — have many residents concerned about the safety of crossing the street.

On December 13, Ignacio Cubano, 69, was killed in crosswalk at 138th Street and St. Annes Avenue by a semi truck driver. On January 7, an elderly woman was critically injured crossing at the same location. Six days later, a taxi driver ran over a man at 138th Street and Brown Place. Most recently, on April 1, a hit-and-run SUV driver killed two pedestrians on Bruckner Boulevard at 138th Street. On Saturday afternoon, an elderly driver injured four people on the sidewalk near The Hub, a busy commercial area at the north edge of the neighborhood.

At the rally, convened by the environmental justice group South Bronx Unite, participants handed out fliers to people walking along the bustling commercial street. ”We walk these grounds with our feet — we hope that we can get safe streets!” the group chanted.

East 138th Street is designated as a local truck route, which means truck drivers should be heading to or from a destination in the neighborhood. But residents say many truck drivers use the street as a through route to Manhattan to avoid traffic on the Major Deegan and the Bruckner Expressway.

In 2012, officers from the 40th Precinct did not write a single ticket for truck route violations, while issuing 2,272 tickets for tinted windows over the same period [PDF]. Responding to a January letter from resident Monxo Lopez, the precinct’s commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormack, said that citations are often issued for tinted windows because officers need to see inside a vehicle during car stops.

At a precinct community council meeting in January, after the two crashes at 138th Street and St. Annes Avenue, McCormack told residents that “most of the victims are elderly, and they are making mistakes,” according to the Mott Haven Herald. In an interview last week with DNAinfo, McCormack noted that some of the victims were not using crosswalks.

“He has a 1950s mentality,” Lopez said on Saturday. “He’s blaming the pedestrians for their own deaths.”

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A protest outside State Senator Marty Golden’s district office this afternoon, organized by Bay Ridge Advocates for Keeping Everyone Safe (BRAKES), blasted the Bay Ridge Republican for his continued opposition to speed cameras, which kept a demonstration program out of this year’s state budget.

In response, Golden sent a statement to Capital New York:

Like the parents here today, I share with them the concern for the safety of our children. Other locations across the United States have found speed camera technology unreliable. If we can prove that the technology is sound, and document unequivocally that it will reduce speeding and fatalities, that would provide reason to consider the possibility of speed camera legislation.

We need to reduce speeding around schools, by setting up safety zones as well as increasing traffic lights, speed humps, stop signs and reduce the speed limits around schools 10 miles per hour to 20 mph. In the coming days I will be introducing legislation to create these speed zones throughout New York City school zones to reduce speeding near our educational institutions. It is clear, however, that the most effective way to reduce speeding and speeding related fatalities is increased police and prosecution of reckless driving.

Golden’s proposed legislation, which has not yet been filed in the Senate, would require the posting of 20 mph school zones in New York City, though it would not provide an enforcement mechanism. Golden’s legislation would layer on top of existing rules, which already allow municipalities to establish school zones.

If Golden wants proof that speed cameras work, there are plenty of studies he could look at. An international review of speed cameras found that, in 28 of 28 comprehensive surveys, camera programs were successful at reducing crash rates. In Maryland, speed cameras have been shown to have a “halo effect,” reducing speeds even on streets where they haven’t been installed.

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