The tragic death of an eight-year-old boy on Saturday, who was struck by a car on Adams and Livingston Streets while riding his bike with his dad, is raising awareness about the dangers of downtown streets to bicyclists and pedestrians. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that “residents wonder if a solution for a gauntlet of deadly Downtown intersections will ever be found.” The non-profit Transportation Alternatives has compiled statistics for the area, showing that 39 people (28 pedestrians and 11 bicyclists) were hit by motor vehicles at that same spot from 1995 to 2005. “A half a block east on Livingston Street, eight pedestrians were struck during the same time period; one of them died. A block north, at the notorious Adams/Livingston/Fulton Street intersection, 32 people were struck and injured,” they write. “A few steps away, at Adams and Willoughby, 11 people were hit. Next to this, at Fulton and Willoughby, one more. At Fulton near Red Hook Lane, another one.” We have 150 miles of bicycle lanes in Brooklyn, with many more in progress, and the DOT instituted a six-month trial of a new downtown traffic plan beginning in June, hoping to ameliorate the recurring issue. Clearly, though, it’s not enough. One Brooklynite has been lobbying for a pedestrian overpass to curve over Adams Street, so pedestrians and bicyclists can avoid it altogether.
Another Victim of Downtown Traffic [Brooklyn Eagle]