The DOT’s traffic camera at 97th street and West End Avenue.
The city has placed a special camera at the intersection of 97th street and West End Avenue, where 9-year-old Cooper Stock was hit by a cab and killed last month. The camera will count the numbers of cars and pedestrians as part of a traffic study of the intersection, the Department of Transportation tells us. The DOT has also extended Walk signals at the intersection, added signs about yielding to pedestrians and removed a parking space to improve visibility.
“The agency is looking into additional safety enhancements at well,” a spokesman tells us.
One thing that residents have been calling for is a change to the timing of light signals on 97th street, where the lights allow them to race through several intersections from Columbus to West End.
Others have asked for a speeding camera at the intersection. (The camera there now will not catch speeding cars, it will just compile data, a DOT rep explained.) There are only six speeding cameras in the entire city. Efforts to add more have “been blocked by a group of Republican lawmakers and the police unions.,” says Gothamist.
Unfortunately, the new No Standing sign at the corner, meant to improve visibility, was placed under scaffolding, and cars continue to park in the spot. So far, we hear police have not been regularly enforcing the No Standing zone despite pleas from residents.
We need enforcement all-around! People parked in those No Standing zones need TICKETS. We have the same problem on 86th and 85th and WEA. No Standing Zones end up being the perfect place for people to sit in their cars and wait. Completely misses the point and means our corners are still crash-prone. It would be really nice if we could get some help with this.
Also on the list of dangerous intersections should be 79th and Broadway when driver’s make left hand turn onto Bway going north.
I have seen 3 accidents there and yet no one mentions this on any list.
Exactly. Very very dangerous now. Didn’t used to be. Too many cars and trucks in Manhattan now. Everything got screwed up.
It’s odd to call out 97th bet Columbus and WEA as an area where people “speed” through intersections. I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever gotten green on 97th for all four of those intersections. The crossings at Amsterdam and Broadway usually back up quite a bit.
Today at 10 am I saw a woman walking her dog across 94th st, with the light, hit (lightly) by a flatbed truck backing up at 94th and West End. She was crossing with the light. The truck had no “beeper” to announce it was backing up. She was not hurt, but surely would have been had the truck been going just a bit faster.
This morning there were police crossing guards at 96th & Amsterdam but none at the more dangerous 96th & Broadway and none at rush hour when the darkness exacerbates the situation.
The police have one brain cell between the lot of them.
the signal timing is all off on the south west corner between the median and the west sidewalk so people are walking against the light . this needs to be rectified. Dot needs to look at the same problems on 86th and Broadway as the busses turn right into the pedestrians, I was run over there and it is like the wild west trying to get around the cars/busses etc.
I saw 2 cars at two different times at rush hour speeding through red lights coming up from the highway on 96th Street going east. It was a miracle no one got hit. How many more pedestrian fatalities will it take until something is really done to stop this?
We have the best transport system in the country…
Why are there so many cars here now? Get them out of Manhattan! Selfish lazy people who clog up our streets and kill and maim people. Crazy.
Developers under Bloomberg have included garage parking in buildings in the last 10 years. Insane! This isn’t the suburbs.