The number of pedestrian accidents in the Bronx is a common topic among safety officials and especially among many of the young residents in the area.
The teenagers in the area have had about enough, too. They recently stepped forward and took on City hall to help to curb speeding drivers in their Mount Eden neighborhood. All of the teens were a part of the New Settlement Apartments after-school program. The kids started off their efforts back in 2009 when they launched a pedestrian safety campaign. Since then, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has marked off a “slow zone” in the area, dropping speed limits from 30 to 20 miles per hour, according to New York Daily News.
“We worked really hard. We just kept trying and trying. We sent letters and made calls. We didn’t give up,” said 12-year-old Deomar Suarez, 12.
Our Bronx pedestrian accident attorneys understand that there are three neighborhoods within the city, and three more Bronx neighborhoods, that will be getting “slow zones” within the next few years. This announcement was made recently by the Mayor himself alongside Janette Sadik-Khan, NYSDOT Commissioner. These zones are marked by blue gateways that border all streets and signs that alert drivers about the 20 miles per hour speed limit. These areas also have a number of speed bumps and speed limit stenciling on the pavement.
The “slow zone” program was launched back in 2011 in Claremeont after one of the NYSDOT’s studies concluded that more than 50 percent of traffic fatalities from 2005 to 2009 were of pedestrians. The study also revealed that these kinds of accidents were twice as likely to kill a pedestrian when a speeding driver was involved.
According to the NYSDOT, the Claremont slow zone has been able to slow down vehicles in six out of seven of its locations with speed humps. Top speeds in the area have also been cut by about 10 percent.
As the state’s transportation department was looking for new areas to expand its slow zone, it took applications from all over the area. It took a look at each place’s crash reports, school zones, community support and other pedestrian features. Some of the other new slow zones include areas in Riverdale, Baychester and Eastchester.
The new Mount Eden slow zone was chosen for a number of reasons:
-It includes two school zones.
-It includes a number of subway stops.
-It averages about a dozen traffic-related pedestrian injuries every year.
The local teens organized a petition and rounded up more than 1,000 signatures for this slow zone. Once they persuaded the department to conduct a study into the area, it was clear that this was a neighborhood that was in much need of this kind of program.
The accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC offer free and confidential consultations to the victims of accidents in New York City. Call 1-877-313-7673 to speak with someone about your case today.
Additional Resources:
Bronx teenagers campaign for pedestrian safety, win neighborhood ‘slow zone’ from city for Mount Eden, by Daniel Beekman, New York Daily News
More Blog Entries:
More than 97 Percent of Accidents in New York and Elsewhere NOT Blamed on Headphone-Wearing Walkers, New York Injury Lawyer Blog, February 16, 2012
Fatal New York Car Accidents Down; Still Too Many Deaths, New York Injury Lawyer Blog, February 6, 2012
