The city has “fixed” more than 1,200 dangerous intersections so far this year, outpacing the 1,000-intersection target it set at the start of 2022, Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday.
The improvements, which vary by intersection, include adding raised crosswalks, traffic signals that give pedestrians a “head start” and more stop signs, as well as expanding protected pedestrian space into the roadway, according to city officials.
“We’ve met our goals and have exceeded them,” Adams said during an appearance in Manhattan.
Hizzoner in January pledged to make “safety improvements” at 1,000 intersections in 2022. On Sunday, the mayor said the city would in fact “fix” 1,400 by the end of the year.
“Crashes at intersections account for 50 percent of all fatalities and seventy percent of all injuries,” he said.
“If we zero in on these dangerous intersections, we could have a real impact.”
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So far this year, the city has installed 350 “all-way stop signs,” built bike racks to expand pedestrian space at 100 intersections and added 100 raised crosswalks, officials said.
Adams spoke Sunday alongside Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, who last week proclaimed the city’s future was in “going car-free.” Sunday’s announcement took place on Eighth Avenue in Midtown where the city dramatically expanded the sidewalk.
“At six o’clock at night, or at five o’clock, this is covered with an enormous volume of pedestrian [traffic] which will all go into the [Port Authority] bus terminal — you can’t move here,” Hells Kitchen activist Christine Berthet said of the new gravel pedestrian area. “This is not luxury, this is a necessity.”
Asked whether he agreed with Rodriguez’s utopian car-free vision, Adams said he “loves the concept.
“I think you’re going to see an evolution of how these cities operate,” the mayor said. “Will it be in my time in office? I doubt that. But clearly, you’re going to share more reliable transportation infrastructure, and you’re going to really minimize the amount of vehicles that are used on our streets.”
