NEW YORK, N.Y. — The City Council will receive proposed legislation that would require protective barriers at every bus stop in New York City. Although the measure seems costly and time-consuming, advocates say that people will be adequately protected while waiting for public transportation behind barriers that protect them from vehicles that jump the curb […]
NEW YORK, N.Y. — The City Council will receive proposed legislation that would require protective barriers at every bus stop in New York City. Although the measure seems costly and time-consuming, advocates say that people will be adequately protected while waiting for public transportation behind barriers that protect them from vehicles that jump the curb near the stop. Spectrum News NY 1 reported that a City Councilman from Brooklyn proposed the initiative. The proposed city law is one in a series of legislative actions taken by the mayor’s office and other public advocates to stem the tide of fatal pedestrian accidents that have overwhelmed the City in 2019.
The councilman from Brooklyn filed his proposal after a 10-year-old boy died in September of 2019 while waiting at a bus stop. He was picking up the bus and was heading home. A vehicle careened into the bus stop and killed the child.
The proposal calls for New York City to construct bollards, or concrete posts, around the bus stop. The bollards are strong and dense enough to stop a vehicle and are in use at various sites around New York City and elsewhere, most notably, the City installed bollards are locations which were targeted by terrorists. Bollards were installed at higher-profile locations and in front of buildings. The same technology could be employed to protect people while they wait for public transportation.
The Brooklyn councilman suggests that these concrete columns provide necessary protection from unintentional and intentional collisions with bus stops. Sixteen thousand bus stops dot the boroughs of New York City. The councilman’s plan would be to install hundreds of bollards each year until bollards protect all 16,000 bus stops. The councilman did not calculate the cost of installation or provide an estimate of the duration of the project.
The Brooklyn councilman who is backing the legislation reportedly voted against specific measures that were designed to protect pedestrians and bikers. The councilman reasoned that city-wide measures are insufficient. Instead, he opined that each borough needs to devise its traffic safety measures based on the peculiar needs of that area.