"ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF TIME ALLOCATED" FOR PEDESTRIANS CROSSING AT CHURCH-MCDONALD

Like many other intersections in our neighborhood, the one at Church and McDonald avenues poses a danger to people who cross it, whether on foot or on wheels.

I contacted the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) in November 2023 to request the installation of a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) at the intersection. They sent this response on Thursday: the seven-second LPI for crossing Church is long enough, and an LPI for crossing McDonald isn't needed.

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From: Customer Service <CRM_autoresponses@dot.nyc.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2023 1:34 PM
To: Joy Rich
Subject:  DOT-625496-M6D7 - Leading Pedestrian Signal Study- Church Avenue at Mcdonald Avenue - Brooklyn 

 

Dear Joy Rich:

Thank you for your correspondence regarding unsafe traffic conditions at the intersection of Church Avenue and McDonald Avenue.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is committed to providing all New Yorkers with a safe, efficient, and reliable transportation network. DOT and the City of New York continues its efforts to make bold commitments to improve street safety in every neighborhood and in every borough – with new street designs and configurations, enhanced pedestrian spaces, public education, and increased penalties for dangerous drivers. There is much more work ahead of us and DOT is committed to our partnership with NYPD, TLC, and other City agencies in making roads safer for all New Yorkers.

DOT’s Division of Traffic will conduct a study at this location to determine the need and feasibility of installing a Leading Pedestrian Interval, which gives pedestrians time to begin crossing the street before the light turns green for motorists. This study will take into consideration traffic and pedestrian volumes, vehicular speeds, accident history, visibility, signal spacing, and other conditions. This process takes some time to complete, but it provides traffic engineers with enough information to reach decisions which are in the best interests of public safety and efficient street operation. Borough Commissioner Keith Bray will advise you of our findings at that time.

Thank you for your concern for traffic safety.

Sincerely,

Donna Manitta 

Commissioner's Correspondence Unit

New York City Department of Transportation

 ------------------

From: Customer Service <CRM_autoresponses@dot.nyc.gov>

Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 4:57 PM
To: Joy Rich
Subject:  DOT-625496-M6D7  - Leading Pedestrian Signal Study- Church Avenue at McDonald Avenue - Brooklyn 

Dear Joy Rich,

This is in response to our November 22, 2023, email regarding the operation of the traffic signals at the intersection of Church Avenue and McDonald Avenue.  Please accept my apologies for the delay.

We completed our investigation and found these signals operating properly as designed with an adequate amount of time allocated for the pedestrian crossings.  In addition, we evaluated the need for a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) for pedestrian crossing McDonald Avenue, but in our judgment, it is not required since there are no significant turning vehicular/pedestrian conflicts.  However, there is an existing Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) for pedestrian crossing Church Avenue.  The LPI provides an exclusive Seven-(7) seconds “WALK” period at the start of the signal phase, long enough for pedestrians to establish their presence in the crosswalk.

In order to obtain the full benefit of the crossing time provided, pedestrians should start crossing at the beginning of the “Walking Man” indication. A flashing “Hand” indicates that there is insufficient time to complete the crossing. However, pedestrians already in the crossing will have sufficient time to proceed to the opposite sidewalk or median (where provided).

Under NYS law, vehicles making right/left turns must always yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.  Violation of the law is an enforcement problem and should be referred to the local precinct for their attention.

Thank you for your continued interest in this matter.

Sincerely,

 

Keith Bray

Brooklyn Borough Commissioner

NYC Department of Transportation

www.nyc.gov/dot 

 

CK22-3448B

DOT-625496-M6D7

REBUILDING THE CHURCH - MCDONALD INTERSECTION

The current reconstruction of the intersection of Church and McDonald avenues is intended to make the crossroads safer for pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists.

Improvements being made include curb extensions at the northwest and southeast corners, pedestrian ramps, bus stop pads, catch basins, replacement of the water main, and a complete pavement restoration.

Curb extensions, also known as "neckdowns" and "bulb-outs," widen the sidewalks and reduce the crossing distances. They increase pedestrian visibility, increase the space where pedestrians stand while waiting for the walk signal, provide additional space for street furniture, plants, and other amenities, reduce illegal parking at corners and crosswalks, and provide space for two curb ramps per corner.

Construction at the intersection began in July 2017. At that time, the estimated completion date was fall 2017. The project was delayed, however, in order to first complete work on a nearby water main and bus stop pads. The latest estimate is that work will be finished by fall 2018.

Residents of City Council District 39 voted to fund the improvements in 2013 as part of City Councilmember Brad Lander's Participatory Budgeting project.

UPDATE ON "SAFETY UPGRADES BEGIN AT CHURCH AND MCDONALD AVENUES"

UPDATE: Councilmember Lander's website reports that

"Construction at Church Ave. & McDonald Ave. will begin Summer 2017 and is estimated to be complete prior to the beginning of the school year in the fall.

After completing a feasibility study at Church & Coney Avenue, DOT informed our office that curb extensions are not feasible at this location due to a freight route. They can implement a hardened center line, which will be completed by the end of July.

In addition, DOT is now completing a feasibility study for a leading pedestrian interval (LPI) intersection (that shows a walk sign for pedestrian before showing a green light to car traffic).

DOT is also undertaking a feasibility study for curb extensions at Caton Ave. & Coney Island Avenue."

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Reconstruction of the intersection of Church and McDonald avenues is underway. The goal of the transformation is to make the crossroads safer for pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists.

Funding for the work was approved by residents of City Council District in 2013 through City Councilmember Brad Lander's Participatory Budgeting project.

An article in Windsor Terrace Patch says that

"The improvements at the site will include curb extensions, pedestrian ramps and catch basins, replacement of the water main and a complete pavement restoration."

The Patch article is here.

SAFETY UPGRADES BEGIN AT CHURCH AND MCDONALD AVENUES

UPDATE: Councilmember Lander's website reports that

"Construction at Church Ave. & McDonald Ave. will begin Summer 2017 and is estimated to be complete prior to the beginning of the school year in the fall.

After completing a feasibility study at Church & Coney Avenue, DOT informed our office that curb extensions are not feasible at this location due to a freight route. They can implement a hardened center line, which will be completed by the end of July.

In addition, DOT is now completing a feasibility study for a leading pedestrian interval (LPI) intersection (that shows a walk sign for pedestrian before showing a green light to car traffic).

DOT is also undertaking a feasibility study for curb extensions at Caton Ave. & Coney Island Avenue."

--------------------------------- 

Reconstruction of the intersection of Church and McDonald avenues is underway. The goal of the transformation is to make the crossroads safer for pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists.

Funding for the work was approved a few years ago through City Councilmember Brad Lander's Participatory Budgeting project.

An article in Windsor Terrace Patch says that

"The improvements at the site will include curb extensions, pedestrian ramps and catch basins, replacement of the water main and a complete pavement restoration."

The Patch article is here.

TRAFFIC STUDY UPDATE AT TONIGHT'S COMMUNITY BOARD 7 MEETING (FREE)

Community Board 7 Monthly Meeting

Tonight
Wednesday, January 21st, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Community Board 7's Vision Zero Task Force will report to the public at this month's board meeting. This report will be welcome, in light of the death of pedestrian Mohammad Naiem Uddin, continued collisions, and more near misses within the district's boundaries.

A heightened awareness of hazardous traffic conditions in the area has led concerned members of the community to form two grassroots groups, Windsor Terrace Safe Streets and KWT Safe Streets.

As you'll see on the proposed agenda below, residents who attend board meetings are given two opportunities for public comment. Don't be shy!

The proposed agenda:

1. The Pledge of Allegiance 
2. Opening of the meeting 
3. Adoption of the agenda 
4. Adoption of the Minutes of the Board Meeting on December 17, 2014 
5. Public Comment 
6. Committee Report: Vision Zero Task Force 
7. Acknowledgement of Elected Officials & Elected Officials Representatives 
8. Chairperson’s Report 
9. District Manager’s Report 
10. Old Business 
11. New Business 
12. Public Comment 
13. Adjournment

Meeting location:

Community Board 7 Board Room
4201 4th Avenue (entrance on 43rd Street)
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
phone: (718) 854-0003
fax: (718) 436-1142
e-mail: communityboard7 @ yahoo.com
http://www.brooklyncb7.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-Community-Board-7/195263140637225


This post was originally published on this blog on January 9th.

PETITION TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC CONDITIONS NEAR P.S. 230

An online petition to improve traffic conditions around P.S. 230 calls for

• installing better school crossing signage,
• creating speed bumps on the surrounding side streets, and
• adding more school crossing guards.

Please sign the petition. Getting motorists to drive more slowly and cautiously can benefit children and people of all ages and abilities who travel in that vicinity on foot, on a bicycle, and in or on a motorized vehicle.

The petition is addressed to Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. Copies will also be delivered to our City Councilmember Brad Lander, our New York State Assemblymember Jim Brennan, and Mayor Bill de Blasio. Neighborhood parent Tara Schad posted the petition.

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I am writing to express my outrage at the hazardous traffic conditions surrounding both the upper school (2nd - 5th grade) building and the lower school (pre-k - 1st grade) buildings of PS 230K in Kensington, Brooklyn.  We have repeatedly reached out to NYC DOT for help addressing the dangers posed by traffic near our school.  You have failed to address our concerns or respond in any way, leaving our community frustrated. 

We submitted formal requests for appropriate signage around our school to alert traffic to the presence of young children (April 21, 2014:DOT-242331-H7R7, DOT-243780-F1C1,DOT-242331-H7E7). 

We formally requested more crossing guards to protect our young school children at the hazardous intersections of McDonald Ave and Albemarle Rd.  We requested speed bumps on the side streets surrounding our school buildings to inhibit drivers from approaching the school buildings at hazardous speeds.  All these requests have been ignored.

PS 230K is a large school (1,400 students) and with new rezoning effective next 2015/2016 academic year, our student population will increase.  It is the Commissioner of NYC DOT's responsibility to ensure that proper signage and safety measures are in place surrounding our school to make sure our youngest citizens are protected from dangerous traffic.  Please address these safety matters immediately.

Polly Trottenberg, you have failed to address our concerns or respond in any way, leaving parents at PS 230K angry and frustrated.  We sincerely look forward to your response in addressing our needs before it is too late.

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Reminder: Tomorrow is the 311 call-in campaign about traffic safety for P.S. 130 and P.S. 230. Call 311 if you're a past, present, or future parent of a student at P.S. 130 or P.S. 230 or if you simply live in the neighborhood and want everyone to be safe, yourself included.

PHONE CALLS FOR SAFETY AROUND P.S. 230

 

Parent 311 Call-in Campaign

Friday, December 19th

Hazardous traffic conditions continue to prevail in the area around P.S. 230. Children are put at unnecessary risk by the lack of

• school crossing guards at Church and McDonald, Caton and McDonald, and Dahill and Albemarle,
• school crossing signs by the upper and lower schools, and
• speed bumps on Albemarle Road, Minna Street, and Dahill Road, and
• enforcement of speeding laws.

Call 311 on Friday, December 19th, to report unsafe street conditions around P.S. 230 and make it clear that city agencies must put an end to these hazards.

VOTE FOR PROJECTS THAT WILL BENEFIT KENSINGTON AND WINDSOR TERRACE

Vote today and tomorrow for the projects that you, the residents of New York City Council District 39, want to spend $1,000,000 on.

The million dollars is part of the money that the city allocated to Councilmember Brad Lander's budget for fiscal year July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014.

Residents of Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and the other neighborhoods in District 39 will choose from thirteen proposed projects. Choose one, two, three, four, or five projects but not more than five.

Voting is open to people who are age sixteen or older who can show proof that they live in District 39. You don't have to be a U.S. citizen. You don't have to be registered to vote in federal, state, or city elections. Ballots are printed in multiple languages.

Vote today (Saturday, April 5th) from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., at the P.S. 230 Lower School, 425 McDonald Avenue, between Church Avenue and Albemarle Road, next to the post office.

Or vote tomorrow (Sunday, April 6th) at the Windsor Terrace Y, 1224 Prospect Avenue, at the corner of Vanderbilt Street.

Or vote in any of the voting locations listed in the poster above, if you live in District 39 and that location is more convenient for you.

Four projects directly impact both Kensington and Windsor Terrace:

1. Pedestrian Safety on McDonald Ave
Expanded sidewalks will shorten crossing distances, reduce speeding, and improve safety for pedestrians - $300,000

The safety improvements are proposed for McDonald Avenue at Caton Avenue and for McDonald Avenue at Fort Hamilton Parkway.

2. Electronic “Bus Location” Signs at B67/69 Stops
Install 12 electronic signs at busy stops that tell riders the location and arrival time of their bus - $240,000

Electronic "Real Time Passenger Information" signs are comparable to the "Count-down Clocks" in the subway system. They'll be installed at twelve stops on McDonald Avenue and 7th Avenue in Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope.

3. Laptops at PS 130, 230 & 321
Enable tech access across diverse communities: laptop carts for 3rd to 5th grade students at PS 130, 321 & PS 230's ELL (English Language Learner) adult program - $195,000

P.S. 130 is at 70 Ocean Parkway, between Fort Hamilton Parkway and Caton Avenue. P.S. 230 is at 1 Albemarle Road, between McDonald Avenue and Dahill Road.

4. Raising the (Green) Roof @Windsor Terrace Library

The green roof will reduce energy use, limit stormwater run-off, improve air quality, add wildlife habitat & beautify - $250,000

The Windsor Terrace Library is at 160 E. 5th Street, at the corner of Fort Hamilton Parkway.

One project directly impacts Windsor Terrace:

Solar Firehouse

Captures clean solar energy to meet hot water needs of firefighters and make firehouse [Engine Company 240 on Prospect Avenue] more resilient to extreme weather - $140,000

The firehouse has been in service since 1896. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the firehouse as a landmark on February 12, 2013. It's at 1307-1309 Prospect Avenue, near Greenwood Avenue.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN', BUT DO IT SOMEWHERE ELSE

The intersection of McDonald and Caton avenues

A seemingly never-ending caravan of trucks dominates McDonald Avenue, Caton Avenue, and Church Avenue daily. The streets are residential, but they also serve as the designated commercial truck route for New York State Route 27.

Caton is a local truck route, for use by trucks with an origin or destination within Brooklyn. Church is a through truck route, for use by trucks with neither an origin nor a destination within Brooklyn.

Semi-trailer trucks ("eighteen-wheelers," big rigs") rumble through these streets--one of which is a main shopping street--just a few feet away from houses, apartment buildings, a funeral home, a playground, elementary schools, the post office, restaurants with customers eating outdoors, and benches occupied by people relaxing and talking.

When pedestrians are crossing Caton--including some who are pushing strollers, holding children's hands, pulling shopping carts, walking dogs, or carrying groceries--they can find themselves trapped in the crosswalk. They've got a truck in front of them making a right turn and another behind them doing the same thing.

The two trucks only got partially through the intersection because so many cars and trucks are lined up on Caton, waiting for the traffic light at E. 2nd or even E. 3rd to turn green. Pedestrians have to decide which is safer for them: walking in traffic around the front of the truck or the back. Or standing in the crosswalk until the trucks complete the turns, then hustling across before the next trucks execute the maneuver.

Once in a while, pedestrians are prevented from stepping into the crosswalk to cross Caton because a driver has made too sharp of a right turn from Caton onto McDonald by the Mobil station and driven over the curb and partially onto the sidewalk.

Tractor-trailers can be up to 55 feet in length to travel on truck routes. The maximum weight limit is up to 80,000 pounds. These huge, heavy vehicles are just not appropriate for our neighborhood streets.

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Two changes were instituted recently that promote pedestrian safety:

1. The NYPD assigned school crossing guards to McDonald at Fort Hamilton Parkway and McDonald at Caton.

The guards are present on weekdays, crossing children on their way to school in the morning and on their way home in the afternoon.

2. Countdown timers were installed on the traffic lights at both intersections.

When a green traffic light turns red and blinks, the familiar red hand appears and the countdown begins. Pedestrians know how much time they have to cross the street, and they can make an informed decision about whether to stay or go.

The number of seconds on the countdown timer varies, depending on traffic conditions.

 countdown timer at McDonald Ave. and Fort Hamilton Parkway