Photo Courtesy of DOT
A map of the more than 1,200 intersections where DOT has made safety improvements.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and City Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez on Sunday announced that the administration has met and surpassed its goal of making safety improvements at 1,000 intersections in 2022. As of Sunday, DOT had completed safety upgrades at more than 1,200 intersections. Building on this success, Adams and Rodriguez set a new target of 1,400 intersections for safety improvements by the end of this year.
The administration’s focus on intersection safety reflects a data-driven approach to making the city’s streets safer, Adams and Rodriguez said. Crashes at intersections account for 50 percent of all fatalities and 70 percent of all injuries, as well as 55 percent of pedestrian fatalities and 79 percent of pedestrian injuries. So far this year, the City has recorded 88 pedestrian fatalities, among the fewest to date in the City’s recorded history.
DOT officials said that they have used the following tools to improve safety at intersections this year:
Intersection-Focused Street Improvement Projects: DOT, this year, focused its comprehensive street redesigns on Vision Zero priority areas — locations where fatalities and serious injuries have occurred — and Priority Investment Areas as defined in the NYC Streets Plan. DOT has so far made improvements at more than 200 intersections through individual Street Improvement Projects, including the intersection of West 46th Street and Eighth Avenue, the site of Sunday’s event.
Signal Improvements: DOT’s suite of signal improvement tools includes pedestrian head-starts — known as Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) — as well as new signal installations and left-turn signal treatments. LPIs, which DOT installed more than 500 intersections, are proven to be highly effective — reducing crashes by as much as 60 percent. In addition to these core safety enhancements, DOT has also updated more than 380 intersections with Accessible Pedestrian Signals to bring the full measure of signal safety treatments to people with low vision as part of the city’s larger commitment to accessibility. Intersections that only received Accessible Pedestrian Signals are not counted in the 1,200 intersection tally.
All-Way Stops: This year, DOT has dramatically increased its improvements to intersections without signals, adding new stop signs to calm traffic. With a special focus on intersections near schools, DOT has already added All-Way Stops at more than 350 intersections this year, the highest number ever in a single year.
Bike Corral Daylighting: DOT pledged to daylight 100 intersections with bike corrals in 2022 as part of its bike parking initiative. Bike corrals help provide visibility for everyone on the road and prevent drivers from cutting corners or making quick turns. With 32 completed and many currently being installed in the heart of construction season, DOT remains on track to meet this goal.
Doubling the Turn-Calming Program: DOT committed to doubling turn-calming efforts to force turns at slower speeds through the addition of low-level curbs and other vertical elements. With more than 100 intersections completed so far, DOT is on pace to reach the commitment of 200 intersections.
Raised Crosswalks: In January, Adams and Rodriguez announced that DOT would begin an ambitious program to ultimately construct 100 raised crosswalks at curb level each year. DOT is partnering closely with the City Department of Design and Construction on this overall program and, in 2022, will jointly construct a record number of 40 raised crosswalks at intersections this year, nearly seven times higher than last year.
