City Council hears from Chelsea’s pedestrian advocates

Volume One, Issue 31, April 20 - 26, 2007

By Lindsay Beyerstein

Transportation officials, community groups, environmental activists and concerned citizens testified at a City Council oversight hearing on pedestrian safety last Wednesday. The hearing was an opportunity for Chelsea residents to air grievances about the neighborhood’s ongoing traffic safety woes, especially the treacherous stretch of Ninth Avenue between 14th and 16th Streets.
A common thread emerged during the three hours of testimony: Years of auto-centric policy have turned the streets of New York into deadly obstacle courses for pedestrians, especially senior citizens, children and the disabled.

Traffic engineers have historically focused on widening roads to speed the flow of cars through the city.

“With increases in vehicular traffic and poor driver behavior, many New York City streets no longer function as safe passageways through communities, but rather obstacles for residents trying to reach important destinations and institutions, such as local parks, grocery stores, transit stops and senior centers,” said Karla Quintero, director of planning for the Chelsea-based public interest group Transportation Alternatives.

Seniors are at increased risk because they move more slowly than the average pedestrian. They are also more likely to be visually impaired or hard of hearing. Just getting from the curb to the street and back onto the sidewalk can be a challenge for many with mobility impairments.

A recent tragedy in Chelsea illustrates the many hazards facing senior citizens on the streets. In February of this year, 82-year-old Amelia Chimienti of West 14th Street was struck and killed by a flatbed truck while crossing 16th Street at Ninth Avenue. The driver made a sharp right turn onto 16th St., overtaking Chimenti in the crosswalk without even realizing that he’d hit her.

Longtime Chelsea resident and block association member Deley Gazzinelli told the committee that he started agitating for safety improvements on Ninth Avenue five years ago after witnessing the death of an elderly neighbor.

According to Gazinelli, trucks turning off Ninth Avenue onto residential streets at high speeds are an ongoing safety problem for both Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen. Several other witnesses echoed Gazinelli’s concerns about the truck corridor on Ninth Avenue.

Gazinelli is hopeful that the DOT will respond to his long campaign of letter writing and testimony. The DOT has promised to reengineer that dangerous stretch of Ninth Avenue, with construction to begin this spring.

“Last year, in response to one of our requests, Margaret Forgione—Manhattan Borough Commissioner—promised that this spring traffic on Ninth Avenue between 14th and 16th Streets will be changed to southbound only. We hope that promise will be honored,” he testified.

Many fear that the Chelsea’s pedestrian safety will get worse unless the city takes action. Christine Berthet, co-chair of the transportation subcommittee of Manhattan Community Board 4, testified that the re-zoning of Hudson Yards and West Chelsea from manufacturing to mixed-use could result in an “exponential increase” in pedestrian injuries and deaths unless the city takes action now to address the most dangerous intersections, especially those along Ninth Avenue.

Berthet called on City Council and the DOT to act on community input before more pedestrians are hurt.

“It is time for engineers to listen to the community, whose experience is built on thousands of on-site observations, and to incorporate the commuity’s recommendations into their designs,” she said.