Jun 10, 2013 2 min read bay 26th st

City Already Said “No” To Request For Benson Ave, Bay 26th St Traffic Signal

Benson Avenue at Bay 26th Street. (Source: Google Maps) — Benson Avenue at Bay 26th Street, the site of last week’s fatal accident. (Source: Google Maps)

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: The Department of Transportation previously denied a request to install a traffic signal at a Benson Avenue intersection where a cyclist recently lost his life after being struck by a car, Bensonhurst Bean has learned.

Neighbors recently requested the traffic signal after Mai Zhang, 74, was struck and killed by an SUV on May 27 while riding his bicycle through the intersection at Benson Avenue and Bay 26th Street. Locals said they’ve made multiple requests over the years, but that their complaints fell on deaf ears. Now the Department of Transportation has informed this news outlet that the intersection was studied in 2012 – and a traffic light was deemed unnecessary.

The agency said the intersection does not meet federal guidelines for additional traffic controls. The city looks at nine factors recommended by the federal government to determine if a light is needed, including the volume of traffic and pedestrian usage. However, they do not consider the intersection’s accident history.

Even if they did, the DOT said they wouldn’t have much of a history to go by. Prior to the death of Zhang, there were no injuries of any kind at Benson Avenue and Bay 26th Street between 2007 to 2011, the last year of available injury data. They did not provide data on the number of accidents that did not result in injuries.

Meanwhile, City Council candidate John Lisyanskiy has latched onto the issue, sending out a statement on Friday demanding the installation of a light, and urging neighbors to flood government offices with requests. He wrote:

“I am deeply saddened by the unnecessary death of our friend Mai Zhang,” John Lisyanskiy, 47th District City Council Candidate said. “This is outrageous. For far to long our community has suffered from accidents on the corner of Bay 26th Street and Benson Avenue. Tragically on May 27, we lost Mr. Zhang on this very corner, as a community we cannot stand by and loose another life due to a simple streetlight installation. Today, I have called and written a letter to the Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan demanding a streetlight be installed at this intersection immediately. I encourage my neighbors and friends to call and demand the same through 311 and the DOT Brooklyn Borough Commissioner’s Office. As a community we cannot stand for this, we cannot work and live in a place where it isn’t safe to cross the street. With two public schools within three block radius, our children and elderly should not have to sprint across this wide thoroughfare between speeding cars worried for their lives. Ignoring this lifesaving request is unacceptable. We must protect our community and the people that live in it, which is why installing this light is crucial. Commissioner Sadik-Khan we need you to take action now.”

Correction (3:15 p.m.): The original headline of this article indicated that the intersection was on Bay 25th Street. That was a typo. It was Bay 26th, as the article stated, and the headline was promptly corrected. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.