City announces pedestrian safety program for seniors

City officials want to make the streets safer for senior citizens in the Bronx and citywide. The Safer Streets for Seniors program will begin by studying selected neighborhoods, including University

News 12 Staff

Jan 30, 2008, 2:02 AM

Updated 6,162 days ago

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City officials want to make the streets safer for senior citizens in the Bronx and citywide.
The Safer Streets for Seniors program will begin by studying selected neighborhoods, including University Heights, Fordham and Mott Haven. Possible safety measures include increasing the time between signal changes and improving pedestrian islands.
?We?ll begin by sending out a team of engineers to asses areas and take into account such factors as road and curb conditions, signage and visibility and signal timing and once an assessment has been made, we'll immediately start trying to correct the problems,? said Mayor Bloomberg during a news conference to announce the program.
Senior citizens represent 40 percent of all fatal traffic accident victims in the city, according to officials. The city?s commissioner on aging, Edwin Martinez-Santiago, said that there will be more older adults in the city than children going to school by 2030.
For the full press conference with Bloomberg, go to channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and select iO Extra.