New York City Making Streets Safer for Elderly
The streets of New York City can be very dangerous. Just ask Segundo Musse. Segundo was involved in a car accident when a car hit him walking across the street and broke both of his legs.
Musse, age 67, is one of 1.25 million New York City residents over 60. Like many others his age, he has seen his mobility diminish over time. “If I need to go somewhere, I take the bus,” he said. “It’s a pain to get around, but with the senior pass it’s cheap enough and it’s better for me than walking or the subway.”
New York City streets are dangerous for older people and city officials know it. That’s why they’re making a new initiative to make the streets safer. The new improvements include:
- Retiming traffic signals to correspond with slower walking speeds.
- Giving pedestrians several seconds of dedicated crossing time before cars can start moving and/or turning.
- Repairing and establishing pedestrian ramps to make steps on and off the curb safer and more convenient for all people, particularly those with walkers and the like.
- Installing pedestrian islands in wide streets.
- Shortening crossing distances.
- Restricting vehicle turns.