After Morton Street pedestrian death, DOT installed signs; community urges further physical changes

Community Board 2’s traffic committee on Jan. 27 discussed a November pedestrian fatality at a Morton Street garage exit and pressed DOT for additional treatments after the agency installed immediate signage.

Committee Chair Janine Kiley described the crash, saying a driver leaving the lot turned left across a crosswalk and struck a pedestrian. “There’s no signage in the parking lot,” Kiley said, describing how renters and unfamiliar drivers can be easily confused.

Kate Shear, representing DOT, said the agency conducted a post-crash study and had already installed an “all traffic right” sign and repositioned a one-way sign so drivers would be clearer about the required exit movement. She added that NYPD enforcement occurred in the days after the crash but that she was not aware of additional DOT treatments at that time.

Nicole Barth, staff from the council member’s office who spoke at the meeting, thanked DOT for rapid action and suggested the one-way sign could be larger and that the garage operator should post internal signage reminding drivers to turn right. Residents urged DOT to consider physical changes — such as channelization, zebra markings, pedestrian islands, delineators or camera enforcement — to reduce the attractiveness of a left turn toward 7th Avenue South.

DOT noted limits to current camera tools: agency-run cameras cover speed and red-light violations under state authorization but do not enforce other violations without state approval. Shear said DOT would check whether additional treatments, including delineators or bump-outs, were standard practice and said the requested changes would be considered in forthcoming planning, subject to technical review and authority.

The committee voted by voice to request DOT evaluate additional visual and physical elements at the garage exit and to report back on feasible, near-term options. The transcript records the vote as an 'Aye' voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded.

Next steps: DOT will review potential channelization, signage size and other visual treatments and report findings to CB2. The committee also discussed whether additional municipal or state authorizations would be required for camera enforcement of illegal left turns from private garages, and asked council staff to continue engagement with the garage operator and DOT.