Daylighting 101: A Guide for Communities Seeking Safe Intersections
Daylighting 101
A Guide for Communities Seeking Safe Intersections
Introduction
Daylighting makes intersections safe by clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading that space with infrastructure that benefits the community. Clearing the curb adjacent to intersections 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 bioswales, benches, bike parking, bus shelters, or safety improvements.
TA activists and organizers are fighting to increase daylighting across New York City. We secured a pledge from City Hall to daylight 1,000 locations per year and passed a City Council bill guaranteeing at least 100 per year.
But New York is a city of almost 50,000 intersections. As the most pedestrian-dense and traffic-congested city in America, where a pedestrian is killed or has a life-altering serious injury every nine hours, these promises and plans are simply too small.
Now it’s time to advocate for daylighting every intersection in New York City — and ensuring that daylighting is implemented in a way that prevents illegal parking and speeding while upgrading the curb with infrastructure that serves the local community.
Daylighting 101
Daylighting is a two-step process:
Clear the curb space next to an intersection to increase visibility
Upgrade that space for the public benefit
Six Types of Daylighting Upgrades
TA has identified six ways to clear the curb space adjacent to an intersection and upgrade that space with infrastructure your neighborhood needs. For each type of daylighting below, a case study illustrates how different curbside upgrades can respond to different local needs.
Spatial Equity NYC is a tool for choosing how to implement daylighting in your neighborhood. Click on the linked terms in each of the descriptions and choose your neighborhood to determine how daylighting upgrades can address your neighborhood's specific needs.
Absorbent Daylighting
Clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading the space with bioswales, green gutters, and permeable surfaces helps reduce flooding in neighborhoods burdened by excess asphalt and limited natural drainage.
Bike Daylighting
Clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading the space with on-street bike racks and secure parking stations provides essential bike parking in neighborhoods with limited sidewalk space, high numbers of bike commuters, a network of bike lanes, and many residents living in poverty.
Bus Daylighting
Clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading the space with sheltered bus boarding and wait areas supports neighborhoods with many bus commuters, parents with young children, older adults, disabled residents, limited sidewalks, slow buses, and high heat.
Cool & Clean Daylighting
Clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading the space with trees and greenery enhances neighborhoods with limited parks, low tree cover, high heat, and elevated levels of asthma, air, and noise pollution.
Safe Daylighting
Clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading the space with curb extensions improves safety in neighborhoods with heavy traffic, high crash rates, parents with young children, older adults, and disabled residents.
Social Daylighting
Clearing the curb space next to a crosswalk and upgrading the space with café seating, benches, or exercise equipment enhances neighborhoods with limited sidewalks, public seating, parks, and pedestrian plazas, benefiting parents, older adults, disabled residents, and low-income communities.
Take Action
Here are real steps you can take to transform our streets into safer, more equitable spaces. Explore actionable resources, join impactful campaigns, and be part of the movement for change in your streets.
Sign TA’s petition to demand the New York City Council and City Hall support universal daylighting to make every intersection safe and accessible for all road users.
Parents, students, and teachers, get involved with TA’s Green Schools, Safe Streets campaign to make the streets outside every New York City school safe and sustainable.
Join the TA activist committee in your borough to advocate for how and where daylighting is implemented in your neighborhood.
