14 MAY 11 - MAY 17, 2018 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Advocates rally in Bay Ridge for safer streets
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
A week after 10-year-old Jobe
Kan was struck by a car and
badly injured, street safety
activists convened in Bay Ridge at the
scene of the accident, 84th Street and
Fort Hamilton Parkway, to make the
case for enhanced pedestrian protections
on city streets.
Elected officials joined representatives
of Families for Safe Streets, Bay
Ridge Advocates Keeping Everyone
Safe (BRAKES) and Transportation
Alternatives on Sunday, May 6 at the
South Brooklyn Safe Streets Rally,
during which attendees called upon
Governor Andrew Cuomo and the
New York State legislature to extend
and expand the city's speed safety
cameras authorization, while also
demanding that municipal leaders
fast-track the implementation of street
redesign projects on the city's most
deadly corridors.
Maureen Landers, of BRAKES —
whose son sustained a broken leg
after a car struck him and who was
injured herself by a speeding motorist
in 2009 — contended that the expansion
of the speed camera program
was "overdue. I hope that Albany can
deliver on the cameras. However, I am
concerned that the numbers of speed
cameras wouldn’t be enough to cover
all schools. I think there's inequity
and inequality. Every child deserves
coverage and protection. I’m shocked
we’re playing politics with kids’ lives."
Speeding is common in the
neighborhood, she said. On her block,
which is between Colonial Road and
Narrows Avenue, Landers told this
paper, "Maybe one out of 10 cars goes
the speed limit. They're not commercial
avenues so people drive very fast down
both those roads." In contrast, on Shore
Road, near Fort Hamilton High School,
where there are speed cameras, drivers
slow down, she said. "They slow down
for a few blocks them pick up speed. I
think drivers behavior needs to change
and enforcement is critical."
Nor is the problem confined to Bay
Ridge. A friend of hers, who lives in
Dyker Heights, "Is astounded how
fast people drive down 10th Avenue,”
Landers said. “She can't get in and
out of her driveway because she's
terrified of the speed at which cars
are traveling."
Elected officials concurred.
“The most recent incident should
serve as a reminder that we must
do everything in our power to
prioritize pedestrian safety," added
Councilmember Justin Brannan in a
statement. "Hopefully the State Senate
will finally pass the bill to authorize
more speed cameras near schools, the
NYPD will prioritize traffic enforcement
instead of just parking ticket
enforcement and, finally, all drivers
will realize that they must slow down
and drive with more caution.”
"As the first legislator in the country
to introduce a bill to ban talking on a
cell phone while driving, I have been
a long-time advocate for safer streets
and have introduced a number of safe
driving bills," added Assemblymember
Felix Ortiz via Twitter. "The operation
of a motor vehicle is the handling
of a deadly weapon and reckless driving
cannot be tolerated. Our roadways
and traffic devices should be designed
with pedestrian safety in mind."
"I am glad to have stood alongside
Transportation Alternatives, Families
for Safe Streets, and BRAKES to
announce Senator Golden's support of
legislation that will double the number
of speed cameras in New York City,"
said John Quaglione, a spokesperson
for State Senator Marty Golden. "More
speed cameras are a step in the right
direction, and have worked to calm
traffic on streets such as near Fort
Hamilton High School. Additionally,
as drivers, we must better adhere to
speed limit restrictions as outlined
in the mayor's Vision Zero program,
and as pedestrians, we must pay more
attention when crossing the street."
Despite the short notice, the turnout
for the rally was "great," said Dulcie
Canton, Transportation Alternatives'
Brooklyn organizer, "which goes to
show you many New Yorkers are
concerned. We need action now. The
city’s working to eliminate pedestrian,
cyclist, even motorist deaths by 2020.
But, it's 2018 and we’ve seen five children
either killed or critically injured."
Expanding "the speed safety camera
program here at schools in New York
City is a common sense measure that
has been stalled by obstructionists for
years," Canton continued. "Something
needs to change."
According to Families for Safe
Streets, "Where speed safety cameras
have been implemented, they’ve
reduced speeding by over 60 percent,
and reduced injuries to pedestrians by
over 20 percent."
As for Jobe, his father Reggie says
his condition has improved.
"Jobe's condition is great," he told this
paper. "He is home healing, but he can't
chew or open his mouth for four to six
weeks."
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Photo courtesy of Maureen Landers
Street safety advocates rallied on Sunday to call for an expansion of the speed camera program
and redesign of dangerous roads.