On Friday, July 17, DOT installed long sought after stop signs and cross walks at the intersection of Columbia and Summit Streets. This is the fruition of the focused advocacy by our neighbors since November, when an accident at President and Columbia where a young girl was struck by a car galvanized us to organize and bring DOT to our neighborhood. The success at Summit/Columbia follows the stop signs and crosswalks implemented this spring at President/Columbia, where work is underway on installing a stoplight. This will enhance pedestrian safety even more!
Back in June, we wrote that before our amazing community celebration on May 28, Dan Teicher led DOT’s Deputy Commissioner Leroy Branch and Derek Walker, along with Council Member Shahana Hanif and her team and several CSWA members on a tour of Summit Street, between Hicks and Hamilton. Summit and Columbia Streets do not have stop signs, crosswalks, or a traffic signal. Dan did a great job illustrating to everyone that with a preschool nearby on Columbia St, and frequent groups of children making their way across the Summit Street footbridge to the skate park at Hamilton and Van Brunt, this intersection needs strong consideration for safety improvements as well.
A wonderful example of the power of sharing the “ground truth” directly with our electeds and city officials.
We thank and congratulate Dan and Laurie Torres, and all of you who joined this campaign. We also thank Council Member Hanif and her office and the DOT for working with us to make the neighborhood safer, especially for our children.
