Harlem

For years, crosstown bus riders on 125th Street -- more than 32,000 per day -- have had to put up with a ride that's slower than walking. After months of planning, fixes are in sight, but State Senator Bill Perkins is objecting to the city's effort to bring faster bus service to Harlem.

Three pedestrians were killed in separate crashes in Manhattan and Brooklyn last night.

The streets around Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem are wide and fast, creating barriers between people who live in the neighborhood and important public amenities, including the park itself. Local residents have been working with DOT to calm traffic, coming up with a proposal that extends sidewalk space, shortens crossing distances for pedestrians, and squares off street corners that drivers currently careen around at high speeds.

Every day, 32,000 bus riders traverse Manhattan on 125th Street, crossing Harlem at a glacial pace. Improvements are on the way as part of the next round of Select Bus Service improvements, with DOT and the MTA recently holding a second public workshop (PDF) for the project, though the precise changes that bus riders can expect remain to be determined.

Former Streetsblog reporter Noah Kazis noted in 2010 how NYPD had commandeered sidewalks and bike lanes outside Harlem's 28th Precinct, on St. Nicholas Avenue between 122nd and 123rd Streets.

Reader Kristi Roberts came upon the scene of a morning crash that injured two people and sent two vehicles onto sidewalks at 141st Street and Convent Avenue in Hamilton Heights.

Three pedestrians and one cyclist have been killed in the city since Friday night. Two drivers fled the scene, and two were reportedly exonerated by NYPD.

Although the project covers only half to the distance initially proposed thanks to foot-dragging by the local community board (the other half may be implemented next year), safety enhancements along 19 blocks of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard are in place and giving pedestrians more room to cross the street. When complete, the boulevard between 134th and 153rd Streets will include left turn lanes, wider median pedestrian islands, and one less through lane in each direction. With current nighttime speeds averaging 50 mph, the road diet will have an impact on calming the avenue's deadly traffic.

In today's headline stack, we noted that, according to the Daily News, the Department of Transportation is getting started on installing badly needed safety improvements along Harlem's Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. The road diet is long overdue on the avenue, where nighttime speeds average 50 miles per hour and three pedestrians have been killed so far this year. Though the plan has the support of some of the neighborhood's most important community organizations, such as the Abyssinian Development Corporation, some community board members and neighborhood activists remain opposed.