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Filed Under:Alex Silverman, Bill de Blasio, Pedestrian Deaths, Pedestrian Safety, Polly Trottenberg, Ryan Russo, Vision Zero
A surveillance image shows a motorist striking a pedestrian in Astoria, Queens, in May 2014. (credit: CBS2/NYPD)A surveillance image shows a motorist striking a pedestrian in Astoria, Queens, in May 2014. (credit: CBS2/NYPD)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — City officials unveiled their plan Tuesday for making streets safer for pedestrians in Queens.

The borough has more than 2,000 miles of streets, but about half the pedestrian deaths and severe injuries there happen on just 6 percent of those miles, mainly in high-density neighborhoods, officials said.

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Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the city’s Department of Transportation, said efforts will focus on Sunnyside, Jackson Heights, Flushing, Jamaica and Elmhurst, WCBS 880’s Alex Silverman reported.

The plan is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” initiative, aimed at reducing the number of traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

“Queens is a challenge,” Trottenberg told 1010 WINS. “As you know, you have an intermingling — a lot of residential neighborhoods and then major highways, a lot of elevated railway structures, which are very hard to navigate.”

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Among the improvements will be new islands on some streets and exclusive times for pedestrians to cross at key intersections, said Deputy Transportation Commissioner Ryan Russo.

“We can adjust signal timing, for example, so that the faster you go, the more lights you meet … ,” Russo added. “We want to provide a sort of steady progression, but if you race ahead, you’ll hit a red light.”

More than three-quarters of pedestrian deaths in Queens happen outside of rush hour. The DOT suggests that’s because people drive more dangerously when they’re not expecting a lot of pedestrians.

Trottenberg said city officials considered public input from online comments and town hall meetings in formulating the plan.

The plan for Queens is the first to be unveiled for each of the five boroughs.

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The pedestrian death rate in the borough is slightly above the city average.