Thanks to the city's Department of Transportation, a new plan is in the works to improve the busy intersections of Delancey Street into a more safe area for both residents and pedestrians.
Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, known for her efforts to ehance pedestrian safety, said the plan "will dramatically enhance safety for everyone on Delancey and the Lower East Side."
According to DOT data, nine people have died from traffic accidents on Delancey since 2006. Just last month, 12-year old Dashane Santana was struck by a car and killed while attempting to cross the street.
One pedestrian told NY1, "Going across Delancey Street, I've seen many times people running against the light, or the light getting ready to change, very dangerous."
Josh Benson of the DOT said the plan would transform Delancey into a neighborhood street rather than a dangerous highway. Benson detailed the changes, "The city plans to narrow Delancey Street's rushing flow of traffic by eliminating unnecessary lanes and parts of the service roads that border the street. This will allow the DOT to bump the sidewalks out into the street, narrowing 14 of the 19 crosswalks between the Bowery and Clinton Street."
Other changes include improving corridor traffic flow, creating new public space, and investigating signal timing modifictations.
The proposal was presented to Community Board 3 members on Wednesday and is slated to be in place by the end of June 2012.
State Senator Daniel Squadron praised the timeframe set for the changes, "To see dramatic safety changes in months, not years, at a time when there isn't a lot of money is really a big deal."