NYMTC Regional Pedestrian Safety Study - New York Metropolitan ...

4.4 Existing Infrastructure and Land Use Patterns
During the interviews on which this chapter is based, several people spoke of the relationship
between land use and transportation, and how it affects transportation safety. Much of this
discussion emphasized the role that developers play in the construction of pedestrian facilities or
in the lack of pedestrian facilities in growing areas.
Developers resist putting in pedestrian facilities. When they do put sidewalks in, they often do
not line up with adjacent sidewalks. In some cases they have agreed to put in pedestrian
facilities during the approval process, but at completion the developer had not complied.
Much of the regional infrastructure was built decades or even longer ago, with little
consideration of vehicular-pedestrian conflicts. Given the vast extent of the existing
infrastructure, it is difficult and very expensive to retrofit it for pedestrian safety.
At skewed intersections where streets are not aligned or one of the streets becomes narrower,
crosswalks are often either diagonal or not on the shortest path; many pedestrians choose to cut
straight across or jay walk.
Poor maintenance of sidewalks or other pedestrian facilities often discourages pedestrians,
particularly people with disabilities, from using the facilities. Some sidewalks are in such poor
shape that wheelchairs or strollers cannot use them. In winter, snow and ice is not removed,
forcing pedestrians to use the streets. Pedestrian signals are often poorly timed. In small towns
or low density areas, pedestrian signals may have stopped working or are lacking.
In many areas, vehicles exiting expressways need to slow down significantly in order to enter the
new environment at an appropriate speed, but other than a sign, nothing about the ramp
encourages the slower speed. Although there is typically a stop or yield sign, off-ramps need to
be designed to slow vehicles down.
Urban areas
In New York City and some of the inner suburban cities and villages, there is a large existing
infrastructure of streets and sidewalks. In Manhattan in particular, there is very high demand for
both vehicular and pedestrian space and no room to expand either without sacrificing space from
the other. The location of subway entrances, typically at corners, reduces the available space for
pedestrians at the same time that they add to pedestrian volumes. Sidewalk cafes, movable shop
signs, telephone booths, street furniture and sidewalk vendors also reduce pedestrian space. In
some areas, where the pedestrian volume exceeds the available space, many pedestrians walk in
the street or even the traffic lane; this is common along Canal Street in Manhattan. On Eighth
Avenue approaching the Port Authority Bus Terminal, pedestrians will take over a whole lane.
Members of Transportation Alternatives point out that curbside parking in New York City is
under priced, causing people to cruise looking for parking spots. The fact that the curbside
parking is filled also leads to double parking, which causes vehicles to swerve to get around
them and makes it more difficult for motorists to see pedestrians who cut between the parked
NYMTC Pedestrian Safety Study 47