Borough President Pledges $1 Million To Construct Sidewalk “Bulb-Outs” And Make Crossing Streets Safer

Borough President Eric Adams recently unveiled a new $1 million initiative to improve street safety for pedestrians, especially seniors, through the creation of sidewalk extensions known as bulb-outs.

Dubbed the Connecting Residents on Safer Streets (CROSS), the program pledges $1 million in capital funding to construct the extensions at dangerous intersections. Additional funding can be allocated in future years.

Adams is hoping the initiative will reduce pedestrian fatalities, especially among senior citizens. According to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, people aged 60 years and older comprised 42.7 percent of Brooklyn’s 473 pedestrians killed in the ten years from 2003 through 2012, though they made up only 16.2 percent population.

“CROSS Brooklyn is literally putting our money where our mouth is to make safe streets a reality for all. We want to shorten the distance it takes for our seniors, disabled, and youngest Brooklynites to cross dangerous intersections; by installing more sidewalk extensions, they will benefit from more of their commute being spent out of the street,” said Adams in a statement.

Sidewalk bulb-outs, also known as neckdowns, are a traffic calming measure that extends sidewalk several feet into the crosswalk, allowing pedestrians to see around parked cars and be more visible to oncoming traffic. It also prevents fast turning.

Such extensions began rolling out at the city’s most dangerous intersections under the Bloomberg administration and continue under Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Adams said that the CROSS initiative advances the city’s Vision Zero agenda to eliminate pedestrian deaths citywide, but his office added that the funding will remain separate from any existing programs, such as the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets for Seniors initiative. That program identified 25 areas with high concentrations of senior pedestrian fatalities to prioritize with enhancements including countdown clocks and bulb-outs. Those areas include Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach, Bensonhurst, Midwood, Borough Park and Flatbush, among others.

“We’ll be consulting with DOT on the sites for this program, but it’s not funding for another program. It’ll be our determination,” said Adams spokesperson Stefan Ringel.

The beep’s office could not yet provide a preliminary list of intersections they will prioritize, but did say they were eyeing crossings in Sheepshead Bay, among other neighborhoods. It’s not clear when construction will begin on the first locations, but Adams’ office hopes it will happen soon after the fiscal year begins in June.

“Our goal is to get these safety measures in as soon as possible. The sooner we can get it, the sooner we can do a better job at keeping people safe,” said Ringel.