By Melanie Conty, Staff Reporter
Three years after 16 people were killed driving on or walking across the Grand Concourse, residents say that promised improvements have not been made and the road is still unsafe.
In 1992, the Department of Transportation said it planned to install guard rails along the dividers, new speed limit signs and brighter street lights to prevent further fatalities.
While deaths have decreased by 75 percent since 1992 -- in 1994 there were four, two pedestrians and two drivers -- residents say they still fear for their lives when they cross the street.
"It's very bad here," said Cynthia Ellis of Sedgwick Avenue. "A lot of people get hit."
In a Bronx Beat test conducted last week on the Grand Concourse at intersections between 179th and 183rd streets, the "walk" signs stayed green for 15 seconds, flashed "don't walk" for seven seconds and then stayed red. None of 10 adults and children observed made it all the way across before the light turned red. And they had to wait on a divider for almost a full minute until the light turned green again.
When asked if this meant the timing should be adjusted, Allan Fromberg, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said 15 seconds for a green light "sounds about adequate" to cross the 10-lane road.
"Not for short people 'cause they take little steps," said 15-year-old Christine Ortega of Parkchester, who said she stands 4-foot-10.
But Fromberg said the DOT's improvements have made a difference. "You wouldn't understand without a trained eye what's been done," he said. "It's a matter of overkill."
Since 1992, the DOT has installed reflectors in the pavement, increased the diameter of red traffic lights by four inches and staggered traffic signals along the 6-mile road to deter drivers from speeding to make green lights, he said.
But residents say cars still treat the Grand Concourse like a highway, and there are not enough speed-limit signs.
"The cars go very fast," said Ellis, who meets her eight-year-old daughter, Christina, outside school so she does not have to cross the Grand Concourse alone.
Fromberg said additional signs are unnecessary. "The speed limit is 30 miles per hour throughout New York City," he said. "Everyone knows that."
Guard rails along the dividers are especially needed because pedestrians stuck on the medians are vulnerable to cars whizzing by, residents say.
Willy Cortez, 26, an employee at Min Com Realty Corp. at 182nd Street and the Grand Concourse, said a few months ago he looked out his office window and saw a car hit a baby carriage when a woman stood with it on a divider. He said a guard rail would have prevented the accident. A baby was not among the reported fatalities.
"Me, I'm all right because I can run," Cortez said. "But it's not safe for old people or kids."
Fromberg said the guard rails are not a top priority. "We'll get to it as quickly as possible," he said.
But residents still wait for a time when they can cross the road without fear of getting hit or caught in an accident between vehicles.
"Even if you have the light, cars harass and tailgate you," Ellis said. "I don't think they're strict enough around here."