By Daniel Katzive
A man and a woman crossing Riverside Boulevard at West 70th Street were struck by a car driven by a 57-year-old woman on Sunday afternoon. The accident occurred not far from where another couple was hit by the driver of a large SUV in October. In that earlier incident, one of the victims, an 89-year-old-man, died of his injuries several weeks later resulting in charges for the driver.
In Sunday’s crash, an NYPD spokesman told the Rag that a 65-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman were hit at around 4:15 p.m. The driver was issued a summons, according to police, though they did not specify the violation for which she was cited.
Officers could be seen interviewing the occupants of a blue Nissan crossover SUV at the scene, as firefighters helped the injured man and woman, both of whom were conscious, into an ambulance.
Local residents and State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal have been advocating for traffic lights along Riverside Boulevard for some time. As West Side Rag reported in December, the stretch between West 66th Street and West 70th Street has seen six pedestrian-vs-vehicle incidents since 2021, including the fatal event in October, and another incident at West 66th Street in November, when a man and a child in a stroller were struck by a taxi.
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Tickets. We need to return to issuing tickets. We could solve NYC’s fiscal crisis by issuing tickets.
Their ability to deter future reckless driving is the more powerful argument for them, from a safety perspective. Most drivers change their behavior after one or two.
NYC has a $1B+ backlog of unpaid tickets. Not advocating for fewer tickets but clearly it’s not the revenue stream some think it is.
Sadly, NYC does not actually see the $ from tickets. The $ goes to the State.
Two large speed bumps installed on West 70th Street between West End and Amsterdam had a huge impact on the racing cars that would speed up trying to make the light at Amsterdam. Now that area is much calmer and safer. I would recommend speed bumps instead of traffic lights. I walk along that stretch of Riverside Blvd every day in the morning and evening and see cars running stop signs. They’d run traffic lights, too, Speed bumps installed in the middle of every block between 66th and 70th would ensure slower traffic as these drivers would risk damaging their cars by speeding on Riverside Blvd.
Looking at the area in Google Maps shows the road is so wide there’s a lane going each way and yellow cross hatched area in between. What do you expect?
Make it one way narrow with a chicane. There will be no more speeding. No need for humps, signs and lights. What’s the purpose of the road? Parking and delivery. Compared to the size of the building the parking supplied is trivial. Get rid of it.
One of the purposes of the road is for cars to get to the West Side Highway on ramp at 72nd. When the road and the then-named Trump buildings were built those residents and thier deliveries were all that used it. Now that the area to the south has been developed there is much more traffic.
Congestions pricing might make this worse. Some people in the low 60s are more comfortable entering the WSH at the light at 57th (that on ramp at 72nd is short) but are less likely to do so when it costs thrm $15.
Something has to be done about all the cars and trucks double parked on this stretch of road. It makes it difficult for drivers to see pedestrians.
You could never have enough enforcement to stop double-parking. They should eliminate all parking on the east side of Riverside Blvd. so that lane can be used for deliveries and drop-offs.
Tickets don’t bother the delivery trucks because their large companies have deals with the city so they don’t care.
I am normally a major rule follower but perhaps deflating their tires might get the message across? Non-violent resistance.
We should do away with these deals. You are right, of course. If I’m the UPS driver there is no reason for me to park anywhere but right in from.of the building I’m delivering to. To EdNY’s point about getting rid of parking so the delivery trucks could use that space, would that even work? If there are Ubers picking up/dropping off wouldn’t the UPS diver still opt to double park?
I’m assuming there would always be space against the curb since you generally wouldn’t have more than one or two trucks at a time.
I’ve said it before but I will say it again. The city has very limited control over Riverside Blvd. There was an agreement between the city and the buildings management along Riverside. Apparently the city gave up a lot of control because the buildings paid for the improvements to the street and surrounding landscaping. Don’t expect anything to change until the building’s management agrees. And they have lots of reasons for the benefit of the residents not to change anything.
Chrispy:
Got documentation?
No true. The board at 240 Riverside Blvd tried to get a stop sign on 71st. We have been denied repeatedly.
Interesting. I know private citizens who have tried to get DOT to implement other changes nearby and been refused. Have you tried/would the board be open to working with other local street safety advocates to try to amplify your attempt?
@Chrispy, I’d love more background on that. Not doubting you, to be clear. 240 might want one stop sign but most buildings might want parking.
Back in 2021 I sent a complaint, similar to all here, about the dangers of Freedom Blvd to Helen Rosenthal our council person at the time. She reponded by letter with what I have said, that the city does not control what goes on on that street. I followed up with Brewer asking for a copy of that agreement but never heard back. Unless Rosenthal was trying to blow me off I don’t know what else to say other than it makes perect sense to me. I have been involved in other projects where a developer will make improvents to the surroundin land and maintain a certain contorl, worked out by agreement.
Crosswalks and Traffic Lights must be installed on every street on Riverside Boulevard. There is no good reason why they have still not been installed. Please comment and like this message if you support installing crosswalks and traffic lights on Riverside Boulevard.
YES!! We need more here! People speed down RSB on their way to the West Side Highway like they are a bat out of hell. It’s so dangerous!
The buildings management are not going agree to crosswalks, traffic lights, speed bumps, or anything else that would impact those residents from being able to enter and exit those buildings as they please. Until someone (city, community) convinces them otherwise don’t expect them to agree to anything.
Would a freedom-of-information act request unearth this “agreement”?
There are already plenty of crosswalks there. But the stop signs are often obscured by parked cars. Perhaps bright,round flashing lights when pedestrians enter intersections would work?
Speed bumps are the effective, and easily implemented solution.
“Failure to yield” would be the most likely citation.
To WSR: https://crashnotaccident.com/
Crash, collision, incident, etc. It was not an accident. DOT, the city, and residents have known about this intersection for years and with newfound attention since October’s fatal pedestrian strike.
That whole area needs daylighting. That means removing parked cars from all intersections. It’s so painfully obvious
Well, since the NYPD doesn’t enforce basic traffic laws on RSB, this isn’t a great surprise.
It’s time for red lights and traffic light cameras on RSB.
are the offending drivers residents of the RSB buildings or people using RSB as a shortcut to get t West Side Highway? Are the victims residents of those buildings? If it’s the latter, then the buildings have an interest to protect their residents. We can’t depend on NYPD to enforce traffic laws and the “shortcut” drivers will ignore stop signs and traffic lights so that leaves speed bumps as a self-enforcing traffic calmer.
Real red lights, and remember I also wrote traffic light cameras, would help, whether or not the offenders are building residents.
If the buildings really have a say in preventing the installation of red lights and cameras, that’s not the buildings protecting residents. That’s the building letting illegal driving by some residents slide, and in fact endangering residents.
Why are you calling RSB a “shortcut” to get to the West Side Highway? The entrance to the highway is 72nd and RSB. You have to pick one of those streets.
That was no “accident” — that was a “crash.”
It has nothing to do with lights, stop signs, speed limits, or anything like that. It’s double parked cars. The stretch is simply impassable because of double parked cars. Make the entire stretch “No Standing”, and give out tickets to those who violate it. It’s that simple.
Maybe “The WS Rag “can start a petition to address the aggressive drivers on Riverside Blvd. There is a big park and play grounds along that stretch and drivers do NOT stop at the stop signs or yield to pedestrians. How many people have to get killed or maimed for the city to address the issue?
Just to do a better job crossing. Don’t expect to have the right of way the second you get to the intersection, wait for the driver to acknowledge your existence. I drive here often and pedestrians dash out from between cars and just expect to be able to cross without waiting for a car that’s already in the intersection.
Stop complaining and just be careful.
Traffic lights would completely ruin the charm of RSB.
Yes we all agree there are some truly reckless drivers but they’ll be reckless no matter what.