Early this morning, around 6 or 7 am, an accident claimed the life of the tiny garden at the triangle made of Washington, Lincoln and Flatbush.
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| Courtesy of Esther S |
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| courtesy of Amy M. |
And just so you get a sense of the tragedy, here's a picture of our Councilman looking spiffy and proud, from the recent Flowers for Flatbush event, oh so recently.
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| Courtesy of Amy M. |
So sad. That corner, by the by, is a frigging death trap and everyone
knows it. DOT told me last fall that a traffic study is going to happen
for this stretch of Flatbush, an avenue that is too dang narrow for
the amount of rip-roaring traffic that speeds down its gullet. Not to mention the absurd unregulated and illegal entrance-and-exits of the BP station, a likely host-triangle to tragedy in the coming months and years if someone doesn't address the vehicular chaos. It's the Wild West out there, but even the Wild West didn't have Dollar Vans doing 45-50 mph and running red lights and stopping or changing lanes on a dime.
7 comments:
Amen. This intersection is insane. It's safer for me to cross with my kids during a red light (with no cars in sight) than to wait for the walk sign because drivers turn right onto Washington from Lincoln without looking and left onto Washington with speed (and without looking) regardless of who may be in the crosswalk with a stroller or toddler.
I love gardens and trees too but come on, Mathieu Eugene's time and efforts would have been way better spent pushing through improvements at this intersection. And how about a little enforcement of traffic laws from the NYPD? We've lived here 6 years and never once in all that time, not once, seen the police pull somebody over in this neighborhood for their bad driving.
You are so right to call out the dollar vans as the cause of much of the mayhem.
Remember a couple of years ago after a horrific accident in the Bronx that left more than a dozen dead, the discount bus companies were investigated? And it was discovered that many operated unsafe vehicles often driven by inexperienced or license-suspended drivers?
Does anyone think there would be a different result if the dollar vans came under similar scrutiny? Or that authorities will be "shocked" at the findings?
For me, the only open question is how many people will have to die in the accident that causes that investigation...
Hi All,
For lack of a better word, I have been politely harrassing Dr. Eugene's office for action on this intersection, even going so far as to offer a lay person's proposal for fixing the bad traffic pattern. While Dr. Eugene's office has been responsive, there has been no action taken and no response indicating contemplation of any action.
If you would like to express your concerns about safety, contact Jonah Rogoff (jrogoff@council.nyc.gov), my contact at Dr. Eugene's office. He is friendly and responsive, my communication with him has been professional and pleasant - I mention this to dissuade anyone from using aggressive language with him.
If you contact him, feel free to mention that you are expressing your support for action requested via emails from me, Alex Ely. I plan to send him my unsolicited, lay person's proposal today.
Thank you and please contact Jonah!
Hi Again,
Jonah left Dr. Eugene's office. The new contact is Heather Hart.
HHart@council.nyc.gov
Thanks for the info Alex. That would explain why I haven't heard back from Jonah.
Just in from Eugene's office:
As a result of your efforts and the concerns of fellow residents, the DOT Commissioner’s office has confirmed that a traffic study is to be conducted at the corner of Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road by DOT personnel. DOT will be working to resolve the dangerous conditions that exist at this location in order to prevent additional accidents like the one that occurred over the weekend. I will reach out to you again as soon as I receive the results of this study.
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