On Tuesday evening, October 5, Roosevelt Island residents Laura & Giovanni Battistini went for a walk with their dog Luigi.
along the west waterfront promenade. (picture below taken today)
Ms Battistini reports what happened next:
I am writing to you to bring up an issue that is worrying many RI resident:
the continuous and growing motorized vehicle use of the pedestrian
promenade.Last night, around 11:00 my husband and I were walking along the promenade,
beneath River Cross condo with our 4 pound, 14 yrs old, little Luigi Yorkie
mix. Because of his age and the quiet atmosphere of the evening, we decided to
let him go off leash for a five minute walk. He had stopped to smell the grass
for a moment when I saw from behind that the light was changing and becoming
brighter. I only had a second to turn and see the vehicle that was
approaching. Luigi, at that same time, ran toward us. He was hit, and died of
his injuries a couple of hours later in our arms at the Animal Hospital across
the river. He was the love of our lives. The driver never even stepped out of
his car. He pulled down the window and told us he had a permit to drive on the
promenade. Then continued and parked under the River Cross building.Whether or not our Luigi deserved a five-minute freedom walk on a quiet night
on a so called pedestrian promenade (Public Safety promptly reminded me that
he should have been on the leash), is beyond the point.The point is that it could have easily been a toddler and the outcome would
have been the same.In fact, the RI promenade has become much less of a promenade in recent years,
and much more of a motorized vehicle way. There are too many cars that have
permits like the one that killed our little Luigi, and for no good reason. If
a building doorman cannot walk a few block to his job, couldnt he get a
permit to park on Main Street, for example, instead of having permission to
drive his car along the promenade?There are also too many food delivery scooters who want to avoid the stop and
crossing signs on Main Street, and instead choose to speed along the promenade
as if it was a highway. Then, there are plenty of residents who use motorized
bikes and scooters and zig zag along the way trying to avoid walkers.This is a recipe for disaster and it need not be.
The promenade should be for pedestrian use only, or non-motorized bikes and
scooters. The mix does not work. People who choose to walk along a promenade
will drop their guards in regards to motor vehicles. Like we did, they will
assume that their kids and pets are safe from injury and death from cars on a
pedestrian walkway.I hope that there will soon be regulations that will protect the residents of
RI on this matter before what happened to our pet happens to a child….
Vehicle traffic safety problems on the Roosevelt Island waterfront promenade and Main Street have been a long time concern for residents. As reported last August 27, there were:
… 2 separate weekend incidents last Saturday and Sunday of cars hitting
Roosevelt Island pedestrians as they were walking in the Main Street
crosswalk…… UPDATE 8/25 – Roosevelt Island residents react to the hit by car incidents last weekend:
- Cars dont stop. They roll through STOP signs, I have seen the Red bus,
PSD, delivery trucks do it, daily! I think its time for speed bumps! We
now have motorized bikes, scooters Vespas driving on the promenades! Any
thing motorized belongs on the street. Unless your 12 and under!- Yes!! I am getting afraid Every time I cross the street..I have been
almost hit more than once!- We need more patrolling of bikes and cars- a lot more near misses than
ever. And more visible stop signs- They need to slow down! People dont abide by the crosswalk driving there.
- Im concerned that now that we are becoming a NYC hotspot with the
Panorama Room we will have people driving onto the island and drinking.
Public Safety needs to be diligent about traffic after dark.
During September 21 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety Committee (PSC) meeting, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Safety Chief Kevin Brown reported that speed bumps will be installed on Main Street to:
… Slow people down all around the Island. On Main Street
from AVAC all the way to Blackwell and down and around Cornell and also around
the roadway coming from Coler Hospital….
Chief Brown also said during the September 21 PSC meeting that the waterfront promenades are only to be used by emergency vehicles but that some residents are using the breezeways for Roosevelt Landings to park their vehicles. In some instances, parking is allowed in the breezeways but when not allowed, the cars are being ticketed and could be towed.
More enforcement is definitely needed to stop motorized vehicles, including scooters, from using the pedestrian promenades before a child, senior citizen, any Roosevelt Island resident or another dog gets killed.
UPDATE 4:50 PM – Roosevelt Island residents react:
