Neighborhood In The Nineties, Inc.

A neighborhood association representing the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Riverside Drive to Amsterdam Avenue, from West
90th to West 97th Streets
www.N90s.org
Founded 1971
12 August 2014
To: Community Board 7 Manager Penny Ryan,
CB7 Transportation Committee co-chairs Dan Zweig and Andrew Alpert,
City Council Member Helen Rosenthal
US Representative Jerrold Nadler,
Assembly Member Daniel ODonnell
State Senator Adriano Espaillat
City Department of Transportation Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione
24
th
PCT CO Captain Marlon O. Larin

From: Neighborhood In The Nineties, Aaron Biller, president, info@N90s.org

Re: Request for pedestrian safety measures in the Riverside Drive - Joan of Arc
Corridor and request for impact study of WEA/95
th
Street left turn elimination
On behalf of Neighborhood In The Nineties, an incorporated, not-for-profit
neighborhood association representing the Amsterdam-Riverside corridor from 90
th
to
97
th
Streets in Manhattan, we are requesting the City and Community Board to
support some safety measures to protect the lives of pedestrians.
Specifically we ask that you consider adding:
Speed humps on the Riverside Drive side road, one per block
between West 91
st
and West 95
th
Streets
Speed humps midblock between Riverside Drive and West End
Avenue on both West 92
nd
and West 93
rd
Streets, which are
both school blocks that house two different Montessori
preschools that serve a few hundred children
Stop signs on Riverside Drive service road along Joan of Arc
Island at
Corner of West 93
rd
Street
Corner of West 94
th
Street
Both intersections are entries to the park used by children
Re-design traffic signal to better handle the left turns from
Riverside Drive southbound onto 95
th
Street, which has
imperiled pedestrians crossing 95
th
Street along Riverside
Better signage for traffic using the 95
th
Street exit ramp to
admonish vehicles about entering City streets, and the NYC
right turn on red prohibition
Create slow zone of 20 MPH on Riverside Drive, the service
road and side streets between West End and Riverside
between 91
st
and 95
th
Streets
Enforcement of traffic laws on bicycles that speed downhill on
northbound Riverside Drive ignoring the 94
th
Street traffic light
when red
Add leading pedestrian interval for traffic light at corner of
Riverside Drive and 97
th
Street. Also, add a pedestrian signal for
crossing 97
th
Street.
Enforce rules against Delivery bikes that are riding on

Enforce rules against Delivery bikes that are riding on

sidewalks, some of which are motorized
Enforce rules against delivery personnel who have disregarded
the agreement to wear signs identifying their restaurants
Enforce rules against bicycles riding against traffic and/or
making dangerous turns and unpredictable weaving between
traffic lanes
Enforcement by the NYPD of the no commercial vehicles ban
on West End Avenue, which is flouted hundreds of times daily
and requires little traffic expertise by the department to enforce
consistently

N90s also requests that the City Department of Transportation (DOT) perform an
impact study on the removal of the left turn at 95
th
Street for southbound traffic on
West End Avenue, prior to implementing this measure.

The DOT report on West End Avenue states that at peak time, 43 vehicles make a
left turn onto 95
th
Street from WEA toward Broadway. We are very concerned about
how this would impact pedestrians and traffic at the next eastbound street, 94
th
Street. Will 94
th
Street absorb an additional 43 vehicles per hour? What is the
current peak traffic on 94
th
? How would this measure, combined with the recent
elimination of the left turn at Broadway and 95
th
, impact safety on 94
th
Street, and
perhaps other streets, like 92
nd
? We see no traffic count or impact analysis. Is there
a risk in creating another dangerous left turn in our neighborhood?
Neighborhood In The Nineties believes that the protection of pedestrians, in keeping
with the spirit and letter of Vision Zero, requires that the NYPD shift its ticketing
mechanism away from stationary vehicles and focus resources on moving vehicle
violators who pose a constant threat to the safety of our neighbors.
We are confident that with your support, these measures, when implemented, will
greatly improve the safety of our neighborhood.