DOT targets schools for better street safety

New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan recently announced that 33 public and private schools in Queens have been targeted for far-reaching street safety enhancements under the DOT’s Safe Routes to Schools program.
Both public and private schools are on the list, ranging from P.S. 169, the Bay Terrace School in far northeast Queens to P.S. 239 in Ridgewood, just blocks from the Brooklyn border.
Many of the schools selected are a short distance from heavily-traveled routes such as Northern and Rockaway Boulevards, and a corridor between Jamaica Avenue and Forest Park or Hillside Avenue.
The announcement, on Monday, July 28 doubles the number of schools in the borough which will be brought into the program, now that short-term improvements such as improved crosswalks, new traffic medians and other traffic-calming measures (speed bumps, new traffic signals and improved signs) around the first set of schools have been completed.
“Safe Routes to Schools takes a comprehensive view of the streets surrounding schools and tailors our best measures to reduce pedestrian accidents,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “Safe Routes, when combined with safety measures taken under our Safe Streets for Seniors program, comprises the largest traffic-calming campaign of its kind in the nation, and it’s fitting that we are targeting our most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
A Request for Proposals (RFP) for a consultant to initiate individualized planning studies for the individual schools will be released this week.
As with the first phase, the new study involves comprehensive review of traffic and pedestrian routes around the schools to identify safety issues and proposals for both short- and long-term safety enhancements, particularly within 700 feet of the buildings.
The comprehensive studies for the first set of schools are available for review at: https://home2.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/safety/saferoutes.shtml#First_Round_Reports.
Since 2006, all the short-term plans have been completed at the first set of schools, bringing 400 new crosswalks, 56 speed bumps, painted medians and traffic calming measures along 14 corridors, and thousands of new signs city-wide.
The Department of Design and Construction has begun construction of safety measures that require intensive capital construction at a total of 12 schools and will start at an additional 20 schools around the city next year.
Earlier this year, DOT launched the Safe Streets for Seniors program. This initiative identified 25 senior pedestrian focus areas citywide that combine a high density of senior citizens and a high number of pedestrian accidents or injuries.
Safety improvements have already been made in two of the five pilot study areas, including installation of refuge islands, vehicle turning bays, painted medians, extended sidewalk curbs, and improved signal phasing to increase pedestrian crossing times.