Park Slope's Ninth Street To Be Redesigned Following Fatal Crash

PARK SLOPE, NY — The city plans to add a protected bike lane and expanded pedestrian spaces to reduce speeding along Ninth Street as part of a safety redesign following a crash that killed two children.

The proposal, announced on Wednesday, comes after Dorothy Bruns ran through a red light at Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue and plowed into five people, killing Joshua Lew, 1, and Abigail Blumenstein, 4.

"It's very clear the death has to end," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "These are children we're losing who should be living out their whole lives. It has to end and it can end."

The Department of Transportation's plan calls to redesign Ninth Street from Prospect Park West to Third Avenue with various measures to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Many residents had rallied for the changes after the fatal crash.

They will add nearly a mile long stretch of protected bike lanes along the street, move the parking lane and expand pedestrian islands. The plan calls for modifying loading regulations to cut down on double parking on the street, narrowing cross sections to reduce speeding and introducing slow-turn treatments to several intersections, according to the DOT.

"We're going to be putting in the kind of designs here that we have seen have made streets safer all over the city," said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. "Those are proven designs that have been used across the city."

The DOT first announced they would redesign the street the week after Bruns, 44, of Staten Island slammed into five people crossing Ninth Street in March. The crash killed Blumenstein and Lew who were walking with their mothers.

The crash also left their mothers in the hospital and another man with minor injuries, police said. Ruthie Ann Blumenstein, a Broadway actress who performed under the name Ruthie Ann Miles, later lost her unborn daughter, Sophia Rosemary Wong Blumenstein.

"We can't bring them back," said Councilman Brad Lander. "But we can, we must and we will do everything in our power to turn their memory into a blessing that saves future lives."

Bruns, who prosecutors said was told by a doctor to stay off the road and likely had a seizure before the crash, was indicted for manslaughter earlier this month.

Aside from the redesign of Ninth Street, the crash also sparked a push from local lawmakers to change the laws to keep dangerous drivers off the road, including requiring doctors to notify the DMV if a patient has a medical condition that could cause them to lose control of their vehicle.

At the Wednesday announcement, politicians also called on the state to extend the speed camera at school zones until 2022 and allow the city to double the amount with 150 new ones. The state has until the end of June to reauthorize the program and they could be turned off around the city if not by then, officials said.

"We can't afford to be set back," de Blasio said. "That's why the stakes in Albany are so high."

For the Ninth Street redesign, the DOT will discuss the plan at a community workshop on street safety in Park Slope on Wednesday night then present it to Community Board 6 next month. They hope to install the safety improvements by the end of the summer.

Image: Nicholas Rizzi/Patch