By Zach Patberg
The proposal would appropriate funds toward a pilot program to test the effectiveness of the signals, which are intended to make it clearer to pedestrians how long they have to cross the street before the light turns green.Stavisky said she was focusing on Queens Boulevard because of its notoriety. In the last 12 years, more than 85 pedestrians have been killed on the seven-mile stretch through Forest Hills. But, she said, she hopes to spread it citywide if the program proves effective.”Our streets are not as safe for pedestrians as they should be,” said Stavisky, a member of the senate's Transportation Committee. “A countdown signal pilot program is a relatively low cost way to begin making our streets safer for the millions of residents and tourists who walk here everyday.”The elderly have proven to be the most vulnerable to injury while crossing the thoroughfare and so would benefit most from the signals, Stavisky said.Rachel Epstein, director of the Selfhelp Senior Center located on Queens Boulevard, said a number of her seniors have been hit by cars or met close calls, with some still rehabilitating from injuries.The signals, which Stavisky said cost about $300 each, would be set next to the crosswalk picture signal with a clock that counts down from either 30 or 15 seconds, giving pedestrians a clearer idea of when the light will change than a blinking hand, according to Stavisky.The senator said she met with Iris Weinshall, commissioner of the city's Department of Transportation, about two years but was rebuffed. In a Dec. 7 letter to the commissioner, Stavisky asked that the issue be revisited, this time citing studies that showed pedestrian deaths accounting for nearly half of the city's fatal car crashes between 1998 and 2000.Reach reporter Zach Patberg at news@timesledger.com or at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
