Pedestrian Countdown Clocks Installed Along Grand Concourse
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- City officials are trying to take the guesswork out of crossing the street in the Bronx.
The Department of Transportation has installed pedestrian countdown signals at 49 intersections along a 4.5-mile stretch of the Grand Concourse.
From 2005-2009, Grand Concourse had 411 pedestrian injuries and nine pedestrian fatalities.
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"Speeding and reckless driving kills, and these pedestrian countdown signals will save life and limb up and down the Grand Concourse, which is one of the most deadly thoroughfares in our borough," said Council Member James Vacca.
DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said they plan to install countdown clocks at 1,500 intersections across the five boroughs by the end of the summer.
"It gives pedestrians a leg up," Sadik-Khan said.
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Signals have already been installed along Queens Boulevard, Hillside Avenue and Kissena Boulevard in Queens and West Street in Manhattan.
Diana Perez, who is now in a wheelchair after being struck by a car while crossing the Grand Concourse a decade ago, approves of the countdown clocks.
"I think it's a really good idea. I got hit by a car because I didn't have that," Perez said.
In February, 11-year-old Russell Smith was struck and killed by a mid-sized SUV while crossing the Grand Concourse at 183rd Street.
Do you think the countdown signals make the roads safer for pedestrians? Let us know below...
