Following an accident on West 236th Street and Johnson Avenue in Riverdale, Assemblyman Dinowitz calls for a traffic signal to be installed at the intersection.

The intersection, which has a high volume of vehicles and pedestrians, is one of the commercial areas of in the community. Yet drivers often speed down Johnson Avenue on their way to and from Henry Hudson Parkway in blatant disregard of existing traffic calming measures. One such measure, the existing all-way stop sign at Johnson Avenue and West 236th Streets is problematic as cars frequently roll or outright ignore the stop sign, running right through and, putting pedestrians and other drivers at risk. Just in the last few years there have been numerous incidents and close calls proving that the existing all-way stop simply isn’t sufficient given how often drivers ignore the signs.

“At the corner of Johnson Avenue and West 236th street, there is a frozen yogurt shop with outdoor benches where customers gather. Especially now, as the weather warms up, more and more pedestrians are on Johnson Avenue and specifically at this corner. In the accident this weekend, the car drove onto the sidewalk, taking the stop sign with him, and hit a trash bin propelling it nearly 30 feet forward. It is fortunate that no one was on the sidewalk at the time; otherwise it could have been a horrifying scene,” said Assemblyman Dinowitz in his letter to Commissioner Lopez.

Thankfully, this most recent traffic accident was not fatal, but a serious or even fatal accident should not need to occur before action is taken. In light of this latest incident Assemblyman Dinowitz believes that additional safety and traffic calming measures, like a traffic signal, should be installed as soon as possible.