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Dangerous Bronx Streets Get NYCDOT Makeover

Pedestrians, residents, and cyclists in the Pelham Garden section of the Bronx will have safer streets this summer as a result of a new NYCDOT design.  After two senior citizens were killed in traffic incidents and three people suffered serious injuries, the DOT conducted a study of busy sections of Allerton Ave. and Eastchester Road in the East Bronx.  The study concluded that 55% of vehicles were speeding along this mixed residential and light commercial stretch.  According to a TSTC analysis, people aged 65 years and older comprised 28.6% of Bronx pedestrians killed from 2005-2007, though they made up only 9.9% of the population. Those 75 years and older accounted for 4.7% of the total population, but 15.9% of pedestrian fatalities.

The new design for Allerton cuts down on  traffic lanes to accommodate a new bike lane in each direction, and includes a new 10 foot center median with left turn bays and pedestrian refuge islands.  Existing parking spaces and bus stops will remain intact.  On Eastchester, sidewalk extensions will shorten crossing distance. These measures will both reduce speeding and maintain a smooth traffic flow, according to NYCDOT.

The addition of bike lanes and pedestrian improvements is welcome news for this dense area, which is close to the 2 and 5 subway lines, the Bx12 Select Bus Service, and attractions such as the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens, and institutions like Fordham University.   61.6% of Bronx households do not own cars, more than any downstate county outside of Manhattan.

 

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Jay
Jay
15 years ago

As a Bronx resident, I’m not sure it’s really accurate to use car ownership for The Bronx as a whole to talk about Pelham Gardens. I would be willing to bet that local ownership is much higher than the overall average for the borough.

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[…] an entire street, but would support the mini-plazas and traffic calming efforts that NYCDOT is rolling out throughout the […]

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[…] will run down the center. (Allerton Avenue in the Bronx is slated for similar treatment [PDF], as Mobilizing the Region reported on Monday. "We presented the Allerton project to the CB 11 committee that covers the […]

Mel
Mel
15 years ago

I’m glad DOT is doing the right thing. Combining traffic calming measures along with bike lanes is perfect. We need more in the Bronx. I just wish the proposed bike lanes were more like those on 9th Ave…protected.

divTen
divTen
15 years ago
Reply to  Kelliann Davis

Actually NYC has, by far the lowest car ownership rate in the US, its the only place where less than half of the population owns a car. Manhattan has the lowest car ownership rate, followed by the BX, then Brooklyn..Queens is a little higher, and not surprisingly, Staten Island has the highest. Even in SI however, it is lower than the national avg. Of course, there are certain neighborhoods where car ownership is higher than others, but in the Bronx as a whole, & NYC as a whole, if you own a car you are in the minority.

Alon Levy
15 years ago

Is there any county in the US with higher car ownership than the Bronx and Manhattan? I doubt it, but I’m not sure.

Steven Higashide
15 years ago
Reply to  DOUG

We say three lanes because the above diagram shows two moving lanes and a turn lane.

As I said above, we were wrong about the car ownership statistic.

Steven Higashide
15 years ago

You’re correct. We’ll change that.

James
James
15 years ago

The street cross section diagram shows two lanes (one in each direction), rather than three. I’m also curious about the car ownership statistic… I would be surprised if the NE and NW Bronx didn’t have some of the highest car ownership rates in the city, but I could be wrong.

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[…] DOT Puts Bronx Speedway Allerton Ave on a Road Diet (MTR) […]

tacony palmyra
tacony palmyra
15 years ago

I’m pretty sure that last statistic is incorrect. Manhattan is in the downstate region and certainly has a lower car ownership rate than the Bronx. You can look up car ownership rates in the census.

DOUG
DOUG
14 years ago

this set up it so ridiculous…. to much traffic on allerton avenue to have one lane each way… cars get backed up in the intersections now because to many cars build up at the light… if you have someone riding there brake it takes 10 mins to go 5 blocks…

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