NYC DOT Tests Out a New, Faster Way to Build Raised Crosswalks

This raised crosswalk at Tinton Avenue and East 150th Street in the Bronx is one of five the city plans to install as part of a federally-funded pilot.
This raised crosswalk at Tinton Avenue and East 150th Street in the Bronx is one of five the city plans to install as part of a federally-funded pilot. Photo: NYC DOT

NYC DOT has installed raised crosswalks — marked crossings that double as speed humps — at Tinton Avenue and East 150th Street in the Bronx and at Driggs Avenue and Newel Street in Brooklyn. While the city has built raised crosswalks elsewhere as part of large capital projects, this is the first time they’ve been installed as a standalone safety improvement.

The crosswalks serve not only to slow drivers at intersections, but also to improve accessibility for seniors and the disabled.

The city received a federal grant to install raised crosswalks at those two locations plus three more in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, according to a DOT spokesperson. DOT is currently identifying locations with high densities of seniors, low-income residents, and people with ambulatory disabilities who would especially benefit from easier curb access.

The grant also covers a post-installation study of the crosswalks’ impact on safety and access.

The treatment does not involve expanding concrete sidewalks across the street. Instead, DOT has raised the asphalt up to sidewalk grade, which is likely much less expensive and much easier to scale up, though the spokesperson did not specify the exact cost of this type of raised crosswalk.

Driggs Avenue and Newel Street in Brooklyn. Image: NYC DOT
Driggs Avenue and Newel Street in Brooklyn. Photo: NYC DOT

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Eyes on the Street: Finally, Crosswalks on Katonah Avenue

|
A few weeks ago, a reader sent in a picture of an intersection on Katonah Avenue in the Bronx, which DOT repaved and striped with a double-yellow line — but not crosswalks. For more than six weeks, residents crossed this neighborhood artery without painted markings, which had parents at P.S. 19 especially worried. Our tipster […]

Tonight: DOT Workshop on Atlantic Ave Segment Where Driver Killed Senior

|
Yesterday a motorist killed a senior who was trying to cross Atlantic Avenue at an intersection that has no crosswalks. Tonight DOT will host a public workshop to solicit input on a safer design for Atlantic between Georgia Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard, which includes the site of Monday’s collision. Helen Marszalek, 70, was walking across Atlantic at Grant Avenue […]

Adding Curb Space for Cars vs. Space for Bikes — DOT’s Double Standard

|
Thanks @NYC_DOT for removing the loading zone on our block to gain two parking spaces. Guess what happens now? pic.twitter.com/BKVeRDKoay — Brooklyn Spoke (@BrooklynSpoke) April 15, 2016 Whenever curb space is reallocated for bike parking in New York City, the process is intensive. Getting NYC DOT to install a bike corral usually involves lots of signature gathering, and […]

Seniors Are Not to Blame for NYC’s Failure to Make Streets Safer

|
In response to motorists fatally striking seniors in the Brooklyn South command, NYPD admonished seniors to be more careful when going outside. A recent fatality in the 70th Precinct is a prime example of how focusing on the behavior of victims is a wrongheaded and ineffective approach to street safety. One of the victims cited in last week’s DNAinfo […]