Streetfilms: What’s an LPI?

A leading pedestrian interval, or LPI, lights up the pedestrian signal a few seconds before vehicular traffic gets the green. This gives pedestrians
a head start into the intersection and makes it less likely that they will be hit by vehicles turning into the crosswalk. LPI’s are also known by their sassier nickname, Pedestrian Head Start. But in my view the best variation on what LPI stands for comes from Christine Berthet of the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association, who proposes "Life Preserving Interval."

Transportation Alternatives has recently begun a push to make these more common in New York City. Here’s hoping our video (featuring some nice visuals from TOPP’s own Carly Clark) can help argue the case.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Making Safer Intersections the Rule, Not the Exception

|
New York City drivers often fail to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. More LPIs would help reinforce the rule. When DOT installed a leading pedestrian interval, or LPI, by a Lincoln Tunnel exit on 34th Street last month, nearby residents were thrilled. Cars turning onto 34th from Dyer Avenue — a tunnel off-ramp — […]

DOT Expanding Use of “Life Preserving Intervals,” With More to Come

|
One more tidbit from last Friday’s Regional Plan Association shindig: During the Q&A session at the “Cars vs. Bikes vs. Pedestrians” panel (a title that seemed unnecessarily provocative to moderator Trent Lethco, RPA board member and transportation consultant with engineering firm Arup, until he concluded that it “reflects realities”), I asked about leading pedestrian intervals. […]

Times Square Then and Now: A Streetfilms Retrospective

|
Mayor Bloomberg is expected to announce his verdict on Times Square’s new pedestrian spaces very soon. Will the changes be permanent? This morning Bloomberg told radio host John Gambling that we’ll find out sometime next week. In the meantime, it seems like the media has decided to fixate on rumors that Midtown traffic speeds may […]