A New York court recently held that a street’s dangerous design and the city’s “unjustifiable delay in implementing a remedial plan” were partially responsible for a 2004 crash that left a 12-year-old boy with multiple skull fractures and diminished mental capacity. Brooklyn has seen four fatalities on Gerritsen Ave in the past decade. The city announced in 2015 that it will redesign the street to include a protected bike lane and safety islands for pedestrians to shorten the distance to cross at a single time.
Hoping that the court ruling discourages cities from attempting to obtain unanimous approval from citizens before implementing smarter and safer road designs, Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, was happy with the outcome. “The scientific verdict has been in for several years: traffic calming works to save lives and prevent injuries.”