STONE HARBOR – The borough has a safety problem it has known about for years at two intersections of 96th Street, at Third and Second avenues, during the busy summer months.
The safety concerns are over heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic at the crossroads at that time of year, when those on foot and those driving cars often vie for the same space.
There are traffic lights at the two intersections and turning vehicles must yield to pedestrians, but the encounters can get scary.
A recent accident at 96th and Second in which a minor was hit and taken to the hospital has renewed a sense of urgency about the situation and prompted Council President Jennifer Gensemer to appear before the county commissioners.
Any resolution of the issue requires the cooperation of the commissioners since county roadway is involved.
On Tuesday, July 8, Gensemer told the commissioners that she was there to talk about a “serious and ongoing risk” to public safety and asked that the county conduct a test of the effectiveness of a “scramble” as a means of alleviating safety risks.
“We understand that intersections are often designed primarily to move vehicle traffic as quickly as possible, but that approach can come at the expense of pedestrian safety. It’s time to strike a better balance,” she said.
While a “scramble” initially evokes images of pedestrians madly running across the crosswalk, the method of traffic control called the scramble aims to ensure that pedestrians crossing the street can do so without any vehicle movement through the intersection. The downside is longer lines of cars waiting to cross.
The scramble also requires that pedestrians wait longer for their turn to cross, potentially leading to greater noncompliance by users of the crosswalk.
In 2023 county Engineer Robert Church discussed safety options with the Borough Council; during that session a study was quoted that showed that on a busy August day in 2016, the intersection at 96th and Third had more than 1,000 pedestrian crossings. In March 2023 the council expressed its desire for a scramble.
But county and borough did not end up moving forward with it in 2023 because the county’s position was that the sidewalk area in from the Reeds hotel at Third Avenue would have to be cut back and parking spaces in the already parking-deprived business district would have to be reduced in order to implement a scramble.
Gensemer on July 8 asked for a test of a scramble, arguing that a test should not require narrowing sidewalks or the loss of downtown parking. “Shouldn’t data come first?” she asked.
Commission Director Len Desiderio agreed to meet with Gensemer following the meeting and traveled to Stone Harbor for a firsthand view of the intersections. He did so and said he would discuss the matter with Church.
The move to bring the issue to the commissioners was favorably received back in Stone Harbor, as residents thanked Gensemer at the council’s July 15 meeting for bringing the issue to the county board. One resident called the intersections “a mess.”
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
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