New York starts “Safe Routes for Seniors”
In New York City, senior citizens make up a disproportionate share of pedestrian injuries and fatalities. In response, the city’s Department of Transportation has started a Safe Routes for Seniors program. They have analyzed crash data to identify the most dangerous streets and intersections. Two dozen neighborhoods will be targeted for improvements like longer crossing lights, re-striped crosswalks, and pedestrian refuge islands in the middle of intersections.
New York Daily News: Safer walks plotted for seniors
Sunday, January 20th 2008, 4:00 AM
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‘I always figure I’m going to get hit,’ says Dolores Orza, 66.
Two dozen neighborhoods where senior citizens on foot have been killed or seriously injured by cars will be getting safety upgrades, officials told the Daily News.
This year, five neighborhoods will benefit from the program, which includes longer red lights for cars to give pedestrians more time to cross the street.
An additional 20 neighborhoods will be evaluated, starting next year, to determine what changes should be made, Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said.
“The number of pedestrian fatalities is the lowest in a century, and we are working hard to make the streets even safer,” Sadik-Khan said.
“This is the largest program of its kind ever undertaken in the nation, and it’s appropriate that it targets our most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
The total of 138 pedestrians killed last year was a historic low for the city, but seniors were disproportionately affected. Even though they make up just 12% of the population, seniors were victims in a third of the accidents.
“We could use a little more time here,” agreed retired beautician Dolores Orza, 66, using a walker to shuffle across Main St. in Flushing, Queens, one day last week.
“I always figure I’m going to get hit.”
Seniors are at greater risk because “they move little slower, and when a senior pedestrian is involved a collision with a vehicle, their injuries are typically more severe because their recuperative powers are a little less,” said Mike Primeggia, deputy transportation commissioner.
The zones that will be targeted this year are the lower East Side, Fordham/University Heights in the Bronx, Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, Flushing/Murray Hill in Queens and the New Dorp area on Staten Island, with a focus on Hylan Blvd.
Neighborhoods to follow include Chinatown, Washington Heights, Mott Haven in the Bronx and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
“When it’s rush hour, it’s dangerous,” said Astrit Bega, 65, using a motorized scooter to navigate Bay Parkway in Bensonhurst.
“The cars go fast. People think there’s no cars coming and they cross, and they die.”
Some signal changes already have been made in Brighton Beach, Primeggia said.
Upgrades in the Senior Pedestrian Safety Program also will include physical alterations like pedestrian medians and new street markings, he said.
The 25 zones were selected in a process that mapped each accident and took into account the severity, age of the victims and senior population in the area.
Transportation Alternatives, which has called for signal and engineering changes to help seniors, cheered the DOT program.
“We’re glad their safety is finally getting the attention it deserves,” said Paul White, Transportation Alternatives’ executive director.
