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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jean Ryan, President of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York, on Street Safety and Daylighting
1:50:57
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141 sec
Jean Ryan, president of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York, testifies in support of Intro 1138, emphasizing the importance of daylighting for people with disabilities and children. She shares personal experiences and safety concerns related to the lack of visibility at intersections due to parked cars.
- Ryan highlights the particular dangers faced by wheelchair users and other people with disabilities when crossing streets
- She describes specific examples from her neighborhood in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where lack of daylighting creates dangerous situations for pedestrians
- Ryan advocates for hardened daylighting measures to prevent cars from parking in or driving through cleared spaces near intersections
Jean Ryan
1:50:57
Hi.
1:50:58
I'm Jean Ryan, president of disabled in action of Metropolitan New York, DIA for short.
1:51:05
I use a wheelchair out of the house and have for thirty years.
1:51:09
Street safety is of particular importance to people with disabilities, especially blind people, people with mobility disabilities, and children.
1:51:19
We want and need daylighting at every intersection where cars can turn into or out of the space, and we want hardened daylighting in a variety of ways so that cars cannot park in the space or drive through it.
1:51:34
At one point, every wheelchair user I knew had been hit by a car while crossing the street.
1:51:40
It's very common because drivers do not see us or they are not paying attention.
1:51:45
I've had many close calls of coming close to being hit by a car or truck by mere inches.
1:51:52
It's scary.
1:51:53
I have grandchildren who live near me in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, but they live on a street where because of parked cars right up to the cross street, none of us can see an oncoming car turning right from Seventh Avenue until it's already turning into the crosswalk very near the curb ramp.
1:52:12
Drivers don't see us and we can't see them.
1:52:15
We need daylighting there on Seventh Avenue so that we can see oncoming turning cars.
1:52:21
Since we do not have daylighting, we have taught our children to cross in the middle of the street where it's relatively safer.
1:52:30
On my block, because it runs in the opposite direction, it's safe to cross in the crosswalk but drivers have to pull way out into traffic to see if it's safe to turn.
1:52:42
I mentioned this problem which occurs all over and the solution of daylighting way back before 2014 when I was on community board ten in Bay Ridge.
1:52:53
Sadly, there was some opposition because of lost parking spaces.
1:52:57
And, I remember a board member who was over six feet tall, one more sentence, saying that he had no problem crossing the street.
1:53:06
Is there a height requirement for safely crossing the street?
1:53:11
I hope not.
1:53:13
DIA's in favor of Intro eleven thirty eight.
1:53:16
It's the right thing to do.
1:53:18
Thank you.