THE BACKGROUND:
Speeding traffic, reckless driving, red-light running - on Underhill Avenue and surrounding streets is creating a dangerous situation for our residents, parents and especially, our children. This busy street has on it our heavily-used Underhill Playground and P.S. 9. Many pedestrians, cyclists and children and parents use the street to reach their destinations at all times of the day.
Twice in the last year, there have been horrendous collisions at the intersection of Underhill Avenue and Prospect Place due to the running of the red light signal at that corner. Occupants of the car have been injured. Fortunately, no one was standing, crossing, walking or biking at the scene at that very moment. Click Here to see the May, 2009 crash photos and Here to see the June, 2010 photos.
On June 11, 2010, the second of the two crashes, a babysitter and the four children she was watching, were mere seconds and feet away from being hit.
We must demand immediate action from the Department of Transportation and our local officials to make our streets safe for our children and all our residents. The DOT has many techniques at its disposal to <i>calm</i> traffic in our neighborhood - but they must hear from us - the bureaucracy moves very slowly unless pushed into action.
Traffic calming is being used throughout our city and even more so in other cities and countries - it's time it was implemented on our Underhill Avenue.
>> SIGN THE PETITION NOW!
>> DEMAND SAFE STREETS FOR OUR CHILDREN AND ALL RESIDENTS!
>> CALM TRAFFIC ON UNDERHILL AVENUE!
THE PETITION:
(After you've signed below, kindly forward the link to your neighbors and friends in our community. Thanks.)
We, the undersigned residents, parents and children of Prospect Heights demand that the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and our local officials, including Council Member Letitia James and Community Board 8, take immediate action to guarantee the safety, well-being and lives of the people of our community, particularly our children.
The DOT must take immediate action to calm traffic on Underhill Avenue, and the streets that lead to it, to prevent future accidents which may very well result in severe injury or a tragic loss of life.
We also demand that our local police precinct step up the monitoring of the above-mentioned streets and increase the enforcement of speeding and red light laws, already on the book, so that repeated violators will receive the fines they deserve for endangering our community.
Time is of the essence. Long, drawn-out studies with endless delays are not acceptable as the safety, well-being and lives of our residents hang in the balance.
The time for action is now!
