NYC signs flash Walk/Don't Walk at same time

[Confederate Kahanist]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/danger_in_crossed_walk_signs_AnOKseGtFFDr6uJxwofUHI#ixzz0cte8W6a7


These mixed signals could be deadly.

Upper West Side residents are flabbergasted by a growing number of malfunctioning crosswalk signs that display "Walk" and "Don't Walk" symbols simultaneously.

At least 13 of the conflicting white "crossing man" and red "flashing hand" signals were spotted recently in the neighborhood by City Councilwoman Gale Brewer's office.

"I was stunned," said Brigitta Ortner, 81, who first encountered the crosswalk chaos last month. "I thought this is the stupidest thing I've ever seen."

Thinking that it was merely an "aberration," the 50-year Upper West Side resident continued her 10-block walk home from the supermarket and noticed six more broken signals.

She called the city's 311 complaint hot line, but nothing was fixed, she said.

Brewer's subsequent survey found seven corners along a 20-block stretch of Columbus and Amsterdam avenues with malfunctioning signs, and she fired off two letters to the Department of Transportation.

Brewer is particularly worried about residents of senior centers that dot Columbus Avenue.

"We worry about them even if we have signals that are functioning properly," she said. "Now that they're not, it's even more of a worry."

In the last year, vehicles struck pedestrians in at least six intersections on Brewer's list of nonworking signals.

Pedestrian injuries were reported along Columbus Avenue at the corners of 64th, 70th, 74th and 77th streets.

But the most dangerous corner, by far, was 81st Street and Columbus Avenue, where Brewer observed all four crosswalk signs on the fritz. Four pedestrians were hurt there in 2009.

DOT said it recently fixed the intersection's lights -- after receiving two 311 complaints

The agency said last year it fixed the lenses of about 5,000 crosswalk signals -- of the city's 100,000 -- as the electronic guides reached "the end of their expected seven-year life cycle."

The modern symbol-flashing signs were fully installed in 2004 and were hailed for their ability to guide young children and non-English speakers.

But the pictogram machines have since gone schizo, leaving residents confused about when to stop and go.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/danger_in_crossed_walk_signs_AnOKseGtFFDr6uJxwofUHI#ixzz0d1BImvMu