NYC to spend $250 million to make dangerous streets safer
Some of New York City’s most dangerous streets are about to get safer as part of a $250 million project that will target roadways in the outer boroughs where dozens of pedestrians have been killed or injured in recent years.
The city’s Department of Transportation plans to extend curbs, widen road medians and add protected bicycle lanes to reduce fatalities on four major streets in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Benches will be set up and trees will be planted on pedestrian islands envisioned on traffic-choked roads. The plan will be unveiled at a city council budget hearing Thursday.
More than 60 percent of pedestrian deaths occur on just 15 percent of the city’s streets, said Polly Trottenberg, the city’s transportation commissioner.