The local community board is asking locals to comment on the redesign of West End Avenue, which was completed last year in an attempt to make that avenue safer.
Since then, we’ve heard positive and negative comments about the avenue, which now has one lane in each direction, more turning lanes, and four pedestrian islands between 72nd and 106th street. The questionnaire addresses how the changes affect pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. The results will be shared with the community and the city.
Neighborhood in the Nineties and others have argued that the West End changes don’t go far enough to curb aggressive driving, in part because the city needs to do more to curb aggressive drivers coming off of the Henry Hudson Parkway.
The survey is here and must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on March 31. It should take about 7 minutes to complete.
Image via CB7.
I think the changes have actually made conditions for pedestrians more hazardous north of 96th street on weekday mornings.
The single lane has greatly increased congestion heading south (which is easily exacerbated by deliveries/pickups/dropoffs). Because of the congestion, cars traveling south on West End regularly get stuck blocking intersections and pedestrian crossings at red lights. The problem is further compounded by the fact that cars attempting to turn on to West End are impeded, often forcing them into the already partially blocked pedestrian crossings. All the while pedestrians, including children and parents pushing strollers, attempting to legally cross West End have to deviate outside the pedestrian crossing to navigate around a menagerie of closely clustered cars with drivers eager to inch up.
The congestion I believe also obscures pedestrians crossing north/south from drivers traveling north wanting to squeeze through the southbound cluster to turn left on to the side streets. I’ve been nearly struck a number of times in recent months.
I like the design. It works well for pedestrians. Especially the elderly (like my mother who lives there) to know there’s a divider and one could stop there before continuing on. It’s less overwhelming for pedestrians. As far as traffic goes.. yes it slows it down but again better for pedestrians. People should curb driving in the city anyway ( use mass transit). It’s predominately a pedestrian city anyway! I live on 66th Street near West End Ave. and there’s a divider there and no problems there.
While the new design has slowed traffic down to make it safer for some pedestrians, I also find that with one lane going in each direction that it’s made it more dangerous for drivers. Whether driving north or south on West End Ave, all it takes is one of two double-parked vehicles and mayhem has broken out. The only way to get around them is to cross over into the turning lane. If there is a car there waiting to turn, and a large truck is double parked close to a corner, I find the view of the driver behind the truck is often impeded and when you swing to go around the truck, there is potential for a head-on crash. I also feel that with the center dividing line, pedestrians now feel they can stand in that center area and if there are vehicles double-parked, the pedestrian can easily be hit as a driver attempts to get around the double parked vehicle. The corner of 96th and West End turning west to go to the highway has also turned into a nightmare for those vehicles traveling southbound. I have seen traffic backed up for four blocks in the morning and cars are trying to get onto the highway, add into the mix crossing school children and a few school buses and it seems like a recipe for disaster.
The shrubs concern me. Once they are fully grown, they will obscure the driver’s view. A ‘New Jersey Median Barrier’ would be taller and work better, as these medians will only allow for easier jaywalking.
Only time will tell if this redesign works.
AC I think the designers of the dividers took the height of shrubbery in consideration. Just look at the shrubbery and trees lining Park Ave. or even Broadway for that matter. No obscuring traffic’s view.
Not true about Park Avenue shrubbery. There were numerous accidents on the corner of 89th street and Park (one fatal)during the past 10 years. On several occasions I’ve had to pull Dalton students crossing there out of harms way.
Noted, good point Christina.
These changes have caused chaos 96th st and above. During rush hour the avenue is completely congested, causing noise pollution and fumes from the idling cars as the traffic backs up to the top of the ave 106th. Pedestrian safety would be better served by decoupling left turns from pedestrian walkways at problem areas (e.g. 96/97th st) not needlessly creating excess traffic
The changes might be an improvement – IF DRIVERS PAID ANY ATTENTION TO THEM.
The left-turn lanes are used simply to proceed through the intersections. In 5 minutes at WEA & 73rd, I counted 14 instances of drivers either continuing down WEA or turning onto WEA by using the left-turn lane to proceed toward 72nd.
Just like any laws or regulations, the changes are only as good as the people who respect and follow them.
I completed the survey.
Thank you – I see the same thing all the time – we need enforcement and longer red lights so that pedestrians can cross without competing with turning cars.
The changes might be an improvement – IF DRIVERS PAID ANY ATTENTION TO THEM.
The left-turn lanes are used simply to proceed through the intersections. In 5 minutes at WEA & 73rd, I counted 14 instances of drivers either continuing down WEA or turning onto WEA by using the NORTHBOUND left-turn lane to proceed SOUTH toward 72nd.
Just like any laws or regulations, the changes are only as good as the people who respect and follow them.
I completed the survey.
I filled out the survey, and I urge all who wrote comments here to do the same.
I think the changes have not achieved the desired result and have only made driving up and down WEA much slower (as the one lane in each direction creates long backups), biking more dangerous, and crossing the streets negligibly better. W. 96th Street is still a mess. That should be 2 LH turning lanes, and one thru lane, with no parking on that block on the northbound side, where the LH turn lane starts.
It seems that comment are going to vary greatly depending on which section of West End Ave. one visits or lives on. For those of us above 96th street, these changes have been devastating.
Now, every morning the traffic backs up, and is at a virtual standstill, all the way up West End Ave to 106th and beyond. Additionally, because of this enormous traffic jam that develops every morning, more drivers are making illegal U-turns on West End or diverting off onto Broadway in an attempt to get beyond the traffic. The fumes and honking have increased dramatically. Broadway, (which has also had lane reductions) in turn is choked with stalled traffic all the way up to 110th street. Furthermore, Riverside Drive has also had a lane reduction between 104th street and 97th that further adds to the problem.
So, while we all want and strive for safer streets, the residents above 96th street (on West End Ave., Broadway, Riverside Ave., and Columbus Ave.) are taking a heavy hit with these changes. Granted, many of these vehicles may be from further uptown, or even NJ, but now it feels like our 10-block section of the UWS has become the toll plaza to Manhattan.
I live further south and LOVE the changes. This will save lives. I hope the extra traffic around 96th street will eventually drop as drivers adapt and avoid the area.
I suspect that most of the drivers getting on the West Side Highway from the southerly direction are not even NYC residents, but people who come and pollute and pay no taxes. Maybe we should just close the entrances and exits to the highway on the entire upper west side. I am sure that would save lives.
the traffic all over the city is horrific
new road patters are not effective in such a crowded city
maybe a quiet suburban town but not nyc
also the sequencing of the lights is messed up, everywhere
you need to keep the flow going although I know traffic control and safety is an issue but the rage that’s being created is more dangerous than it once was
the gridlock everywhere is due to the sequence of the lights, poor snow plowing efforts of late and double parking of trucks/cabs/cars
crack down on trucks stopping in the middle of roads (triple parking) to offload with no regard
garbage trucks should move aside as much as possible to load vs the fu attitude of angling the truck when not necessary
more turning arrows would make a huge difference as well
in one morning/afternoon rush you can figure out where those are needed
I can go on…
the biggest problem of course is 98% of the population either don’t know the difference or don’t care so until that changes you will never fully fix these problems but some steps should be taken as described to help the issue
What is needed to make all intersections safer is dedicated crossing times for pedestrians and dedicated times for drivers turning. There should be severe penalties for drivers and pedestrians if they are not observed. This works is all other major cities, so peds and drivers are not forced to play “chicken” in order to get across an intersection.
Thank you! Great ideas. We need to keep pushing for sane crossings.
I live @ RSD and 95. The WE and 95 intersection is over produced. I see more people crossing 1/2 the street to the “safe” islands and almost getting hit.
The remarking of the street lanes causes cars to veer into oncoming traffic to get around any stoppage. And in the snow season we have just had, a permanent lane of snow has pushed both directions of traffic into the same area that is the only open space.
The traffic coming off the highway still speeds onto 95 regardless of the speed bumps. This to me is the traffic that needs to be controlled.
i don’t agree with you. i think the island in the middle of West End at 95 makes a huge positive difference. it is impossible for drivers to violate and is large enough that it offers safety. also, drivers can’t make that sharp left (or at least it is much much more difficult) like the one that killed Jean Chambers.
looking So very much improved//
Why not just ban ALL turns from 96th and west end avenue during daytime hours or completely? People can come down Broadway, Amsterdam or Columbus and turn down 96th to the West Side Highway or come off of the West Side Highway and not be allowed to turn onto WEA? Short of closing that entrance-exit to the West Side Highway at 96th street completely, it will make the 96/WEA intersections safer, especially for kids going to/from school? Short of that, arrows for ALL turns and staggered lights at that intersection would help. And enforcement…there should be police at that intersection during rush hours and be prepared to enforce and ticket those who do not follow the laws. If they don’t enforce the laws, the laws are meaningless.
I used to live on 94th and WEA for 12 years. 1993-2005. During that time, the exit going North on the West Side Highway had two exits. One on 96th and one on 95th. It was tricky to merge off… So at some point… The city made all the traffic exit only on 95th st. ( the city also closed an exit at 72 nd or 79 th.. During some building construction..I forgot which one..) But it made more traffic go to 95th st. From that point on… The traffic on 95th going to Broadway was really fast and because of all those changes made…it became a quite dangerous street. It only became more crowded with reckless
drivers over the years.. And I think if the traffic flow exiting from the WSH was re-thought… None of these new adjustments to WEA would be needed. It used to work… These current problems… We’re created by bad changes back in the late 90’s.
It seems that some traffic control student in Iowa. just out of school who has never been to N.Y. has devised the new traffic patterns. It would all be great if he took into account double parked cars, people illegally double parked, trucks double parked, taxis picking up people,I am sure you are getting my train of thought.The guy from Iowa turned two and three lane avenues, into one or two lanes when all the congestion and double parking happens.Lets try a do over with some one who knows N.Y.’s ( maybe a Columbia or NYU graduate that has a car) and a traffic pattern degree. Broadway and WEA around 96th st. has almost always just only one lane that is now drive-able.
At the very least there should be no standing or parking on the entire block at 96th and B’way or WEA by the turning lanes. This way when the the turning lanes back up as they do almost every evening,cars can go around them instead of backing up for many blocks.
One last thought, people with cars have rights to !!!
Whenever I drive down WEA I pretty much feel like I’m going to die. One lane is not enough with all the deliveries and drop offs and idle cars. And then there are still people jay walking in the dead of night when I can barely see them. Maybe the answer is turning lights, longer red lights for cars or maybe even more lamp posts along WEA, but a lot of the issues are on the pedestrians who don’t look where they’re going. Yes, the car is at fault when there’s an accident, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing the pedestrians can do to be safer.
The new design is MUCH improved. It’s really no contest, imo.