WEST VILLAGE — Elected officials in the West Village are renewing a push for a "complete street" redesign to make Seventh Avenue South safer from Canal Street to West 14th Street.
City Councilman Corey Johnson, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler have sent a letter to the Department of Transportation, urging them to consider extending the existing West Village Slow Zone to encompass P.S. 41 and to conduct a feasibility study for the street redesign. The elected officials cited two Community Board 2 resolutions calling for the changes dating back to 2014.
"As children and their caregivers travel to and from the school, they are too often forced to navigate among speeding cars — conditions that have resulted in both actual hits and near misses," the officials wrote in the letter dated June 30. "The same school community would also benefit from a Complete Street redesign of Seventh Avenue, which has the potential to greatly improve pedestrian crossing times and reduce traffic collisions."
A car crash near the school that injured a toddler became a rallying cry for traffic safety in 2014. P.S. 41's principal and parents got the local community board on the issue, resulting in the two unanimous resolutions that the electeds enclosed with their letter.
► READ MORE: Toddler Hit by Taxi Becomes Rallying Point for Pedestrian Safety Upgrades
A "complete street" redesign would establish protected bike lanes and shorten the crosswalks. Village residents insist it will save the lives of the neighborhood's many seniors and children who struggle with the wide swath of Seventh Avenue South.
The Department of Transportation did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.
