CHINATOWN — The site of a fatal pedestrian collision last week was considered a “high crash corridor” by the city, which had planned to introduce traffic calming measures to the area near the Manhattan Bridge this summer.
Canal Street between Bowery and Chrystie Street saw one fatality and 157 pedestrian, bicyclist and motor vehicle passenger injuries — 16 of which were considered “severe” — between 2009 and 2013, according to a Department of Transportation presentation to Community Board 3 in May.
Residents had also expressed concerns about safety, calling the area a “death trap.”
The presentation outlined the ways the DOT planned to improve safety near the Manhattan Bridge, the Lo-Down reported Monday.
The DOT’s plans included the creation of a new signal and crosswalk at the intersection of Canal Street and Bowery, where 83-year-old Ka Chor Yau was struck by a dump truck near the Manhattan Bridge off ramp on July 17 at about 12:30 p.m., according to the NYPD.
Yau, who was found in the middle of the road with “serious body trauma,” was taken to New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Police arrested the driver, 24-year-old Maykel Felix-Tejada of Patterson, N.J., on an aggravated unlicensed operation charge, according to the NYPD.
The safety plan also included the creation of a new pedestrian space at Bowery and Canal to reduce the foot crossing. The bridge’s lower roadway would also become a Manhattan-bound ramp at all times and motorists would be prohibited from making a left turn onto Canal Street from the bridge’s upper roadway.
The DOT expects to start work on the Manhattan Bridge safety improvements early next month and to complete the project by October, according to a spokeswoman.
“Traffic calming measures are important and our office continues to work with DOT to install those traffic calming measures at this dangerous location,” said Paul Leonard, a spokesman for Councilwoman Margaret Chin’s office, which has been working to increase pedestrian safety.
But motorists also need to do their part, he said, adding that he did not think Felix-Tejada should have been on the road in the first place.
“There only so many traffic-calming measures you can install on a roadway,” he said, “but you can’t design out driver responsibility.”
