Reinforced Bollards = Pedestrian Safety

The Department of Transportation recently replaced the granite slabs at the West 4th, Jane Street, and 8th Avenue triangle with attractive cast iron bollards (large posts) welded to steel plates placed under the sidewalk. This is an important traffic calming development and step forward in pedestrian safety for the Department of Transportation.

The DOT had previously reserved the use of reinforced bollards only for the protection of pay phones, rather than pedestrians. Their ridiculous reasoning was that speeding or out-of-control drivers might hit the posts if they were placed on corners or sidewalks. But this is exactly the point - these steel bollards create an impregnable safety zone for pedestrians and are especially valuable in dense areas such as Midtown, where cars and cabs have often careened onto crowded sidewalks. They also work extremely well in conjunction with traffic calming devices such as neckdowns.

Transportation Alternatives will work hard to make sure that these reinforced bollards are used throughout the city and in conjunction with traffic calming projects, such as the ongoing Downtown Brooklyn traffic calming project.

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