Create Safe Intersections

Intersection upgrades like daylighting make intersections safe by clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading that space with infrastructure that benefits the community. Keeping the curb adjacent to intersections free of cars ensures that drivers can see people in the crosswalk and that people waiting to cross the street can make eye contact with drivers — all while making space for improvements like bioswales, benches, bike parking, bus shelters, or safety enhancements. Transportation Alternatives is fighting to:

• Daylight every intersection with physical infrastructure, not just paint or signs, to increase visibility and slow down turning vehicles

• Upgrade those spaces based on local needs - build bioswales in flood-prone neighborhoods; plant trees in neighborhoods with high pollution rates; install benches, bike parking, and bus shelters in neighborhoods that lack this infrastructure

• Build safe, green daylit spaces outside every New York City school to ensure drop-off and pick-up are safe and help reduce air pollution near schools

Creating safe intersections…

…saves lives.
Crashes at intersections are responsible for a majority of pedestrian and cyclist deaths.  Clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk reduces pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries by 45% by increasing visibility, shortening crossing distances, and limiting driver speeds. 

…makes space for what we need.
Daylighting opens up space to install infrastructure that can benefit the community, such as street trees, seating, bike parking, or bus shelters. One street tree, for example, can improve air quality by 50% and reduce localized flooding by 63%.

…is already working.
Here in NYC, intersections with hard infrastructure daylighting (not just paint) have reduced pedestrian injuries by 32%, while intersections that include pedestrian curb extensions have reduced pedestrian injuries by 70%.