By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — A group of East Side residents is hoping to create safer intersections for pedestrians and cyclists in their neighborhoods, from Harlem to Chinatown.
The East Side Streets Coalition aims to unite Manhattan’s East Siders in an effort to redesign dangerous intersections and make them friendly to cyclists and pedestrians, said Michael Auerbach, an organizer for the group.
The coalition will hold its first community meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Robert F. Wagner Middle School, located at 220 East 76th Street.
"The idea is to get an action plan out by the fall," Auerbach said. "We're definitely going to go up the chain with it."
Intersections in large neighborhoods like the Upper East Side can be very dangerous. Last month, for instance, a car jumped a curb on Second Avenue and struck three pedestrians.
The advocates hope community involvement will make the streets safer, Auerbach said.
"There are a lot of seniors and a lot of children on the East Side, and these crash statistics are really high," he said.
The coalition formed under the umbrella of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group for bicyclists and pedestrians.
