Eyes on the Street: Safer Intersections for Young and Old on the UWS

Reader Lisa Sladkus sent in these photos of new pedestrian refuges on West End Avenue in the 60s. Above is the refuge that just went in at 66th Street, and after the jump you can see one on 61st Street. Both are awaiting plantings in their tree pits.

These refuges are the most visible improvements in DOT’s Safe Streets for Seniors project on the Upper West Side [PDF], one of 25 areas where street safety measures are slated to help reduce the risk of traffic injuries for older New Yorkers. The UWS project will also lengthen walk signals, install leading pedestrian intervals to give pedestrians a head start before traffic can turn into the crosswalk, and add curb extensions at more than a dozen street corners on Amsterdam, Broadway, and Central Park West. Some of those neckdowns have started to pop up already, and more are coming in the next two years, once the Department of Design and Construction gets down to it.

Other neighborhoods receiving Safe Streets for Seniors improvements this summer are Chinatown, Jamaica Hills, Borough Park, Midwood, and Sheepshead Bay (where safer streets go unappreciated by Brooklyn Community Board 15).