Lower East Side Intersection One Of City's Most Dangerous
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - The movie "Crossing Delancey" brought romance but the reality of actually trying to cross it brings danger.
WCBS 880's Peter Haskell On The Lower East Side
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According to the Daily News, there have been 523 motor vehicle accidents at the intersection of Delancey Street and Essex Street over the past twelve years, including 134 involving pedestrians or bicyclists.
The report came as no surprise to residents in the area.
"I've seen somebody been killed out here before," John Randanzo said.
"I saw a guy die here," said one woman, who sometimes gets stuck on the pedestrian island. "They don't give you a long enough time to walk across the street."
Most recently, a Brooklyn woman was struck and killed by a private sanitation truck as she crossed Delancey Street on May 10.
The Department of Transportation has started taking steps to make the intersection safer for pedestrians by adjusting signals to provide more time to get across the street.
The department also plans to install countdown signals.
What more could be done to make crosswalks safer? Sound off in our comments section.
