Councilwoman Chin Drafts Legislation to Increase Traffic Safety Along Canal Street After Recent Spate of Pedestrian Deaths
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Photo: Margaret Chin’s Twitter
From the two-month period of August to October, four older pedestrians walking in and around the Lower East Side/Chinatown environs were hit and killed by motor vehicles. Pretty staggering. Half of those collisions transpired a few blocks apart on Canal Street; there were also fatal accidents in the intersections of South and Rutgers as well as Kenmare and Elizabeth.
None of the drivers invovled in these incidents have been charged to date. Councilwoman Chin is calling for the drivers to at least be charged under Section 19-190, which states that a driver violates the law if they hit a pedestrian or cyclist who has the right of way.
Yesterday evening, Chin, local community leaders, and advocates rallied the troops behind the families of recent crash victims. The media event – held at the northwest corner of Canal and the Bowery – was meant to shed awareness on the matter.
Chin is currently drafting legislation to address traffic safety concerns along Canal. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to specifically research how the designation of major trucking routes affects overall safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Endgame here is to remove this street from the list of truck routes in New York City.
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Photo: Peter Armstrong
According to info collected by the Crash Mapper, and obtained by the Councilwoman’s office, the number of incidents on Canal Street between August 2011 and February 2014 is staggering.
- Canal and Bowery: 267 traffic collisions over 31 months (average of 8.61 collisions per month).
- Canal and Lafayette Street: 186 traffic collisions over 31 months (average 6 collisions per month).
- Canal and Hudson Street: 168 traffic collisions over 31 months (average of 5.42 collisions per month).
- Canal and Centre Street: 112 traffic collisions over 31 months (average of 3.61 collisions per month).
- Canal and West Broadway: 110 traffic collisions over 31 months (average of 3.55 collisions per month).
- Canal and Elizabeth Street: 84 traffic collisions over 31 months (more than two collisions per month).
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