The Department of Transportation will begin construction on much-needed safety improvements along Delancey Street next week, according to a spokesman. In addition to different signal timing and improved traffic patterns, the city will widen sidewalks and thus shorten crosswalks at 14 of 19 locations, most notably at Clinton Street and Delancey Street, where a pedestrian plaza of sorts will shorten the crosswalk by 49 feet. A source familiar with the project says it should take no longer than a month to complete.
Delancey is one of the most dangerous streets for pedestrians in the city, and after 12-year-old Dashane Santana was killed at the Clinton Street crossing in January local politicians, including State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, asked the DOT for sweeping changes.
Though Silver asked for crossing guards to be placed at several of the street's busier intersections, they weren't included in the DOT's proposal, which you can view below.
