Share Ideas On Improving Street Safety In Park Slope Next Wednesday
PARK SLOPE – Council Member Brad Lander, NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Park Slope Street Safety Partnership are hosting a Street Safety Town Hall next Wednesday (May 30) to pinpoint dangerous locations across the neighborhood and discuss ideas on how to improve traffic conditions.
Lander notes that the public workshop will not include DOT’s proposed changes for 9th Street in response to the fatal crash in March that killed two young children at the intersection of 5th Avenue. DOT will present their 9th Street proposal to Community Board 6 in June.
Following the tragic incident in which Dorothy Bruns plowed her car into five pedestrians in the crosswalk and killed four-year-old Abigail Blumenstein and one-year-old Joshua Lew, Lander says many locals have contacted his office to report other dangerous spots in Park Slope where drivers tend to “speed, run red lights, and fail to yield to pedestrians.”
Bruns, whose driving record within the past two years includes four violations for speeding in a school zone and four violations for running a red light, has multiple sclerosis and claims she suffered a seizure at the time of the deadly crash. She was instructed not to drive multiple times by her doctor. Bruns was charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, assault, and other counts on May 3.
Blumenstein’s mother, Broadway actress Ruthie Ann Miles, was seven-months pregnant at the time of the incident and lost her unborn child earlier this month, the New York Times reported. Lander notes that he is also working on proposals to improve current traffic safety laws, enforcement, and the system of accountability.
“Here’s a chance to come together with neighbors, and to speak directly to DOT—who will be there to listen, to answer questions, and to share information from their tool kit of street safety improvements,” Lander said in an announcement for the workshop.
“For this meeting, we will focus on streets and intersections around Park Slope, and what we can do together to make them safer,” the Council Member added.
Park Slope Street Safety Town Hall
Wednesday, May 30, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
MS 51, 350 5th Avenue