Bronx Assemblymember writes to city Department of Transportation urging reexamination of dangerous half-mile stretch of West 230th Street in Kingsbridge, site of 131 independent accidents in 2016
Request follows recent inquiry into traffic conditions at Tibbett Ave and West 230th Street, entry point for nine local schools including 5,000-student John F. Kennedy campus
In response to reports showing a large concentration of accidents along a half-mile stretch of roadway leading to the Major Deegan Expressway in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, New York State Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz is calling on the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct safety studies of the dangerous thoroughfare. This follows a recent request by Dinowitz to install additional traffic lights at an intersection on West 230th Street that serves as an entrance to nine local schools.
"Residents from all over the Bronx use West 230th Street to gain access to the Major Deegan and many of them deal with this hazardous situation daily," said Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz. "With so many accidents happening along this corridor, the city needs to take steps to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians."
In a letter this week to DOT Bronx Borough Commissioner Nivardo Lopez, Assemblymember Dinowitz called for a reexamination of West 230th Street between Riverdale and Bailey Avenues on the border between Kingsbridge and Marble Hill. Dinowitz cited data from the NYPD's Vehicle Collision Data Reports showing that 131 independent accidents involving more than 250 vehicles occurred at intersections along the half-mile stretch in 2016. Nearly half of these collisions took place at the intersection of Broadway and West 230th Street, the letter noted.
Dinowitz attributed the statistics at least in part to the opening of the 133,000 square-foot Broadway Plaza mall in 2014. According to Dinowitz, the increased traffic from private motorists and commercial trucks, coupled with confusing street configurations in around the mega-center on Broadway, are adding to congestion on the roadway.
This latest request follows an earlier recent inquiry by Dinowitz into traffic signals at the intersection of West 230th Street and Tibbett Avenue. According to a letter sent to Borough Commissioner Lopez on February 3rd, Dinowitz requested the installation of a left-turn signal to allow westbound vehicles to turn onto Tibbett from West 230th Street.
In making the request, Dinowitz noted that nine schools in the area use Tibbett Avenue as an entry point during the school day. These include In-Tech Academy MS/HS 368, PS/MS 37, and the seven schools on the John F. Kennedy campus, a facility with a joint student population of over five thousand. This prompted parents, faculty and staff to contact Dinowitz's office to make the request for the turn signal. For Dinowitz, both the traffic signal request and the overall review of conditions on West 230th Street are an important part of ensuring the safety of Bronx commuters.
"Our borough is so limited in public transportation options that driving is a fact of life. We need to ensure that commuters can get safely from point A to point B," concluded Dinowitz.
