DOT looks to improve safety at Bronxdale Avenue

The city's Department of Transportation announced a new proposal Monday to improve safety at Bronxdale Avenue. 
The DOT says there have been a number of injuries and at least one death along Bronxdale Avenue in recent years. The department says that the intersection of Antin Place and Bronxdale Avenue is a challenging pedestrian crossing and that the wide street and low traffic volume encourages speeding.
During a traffic study, the DOT says it observed that 84 percent of vehicles drove over the speed limit. 
The DOT reports that there were a total of 167 injuries on Bronxdale Avenue between East Tremont Avenue and Bronx Park East from 2012 to 2016. The majority of them were to motor vehicle occupants.
Nine of them were severe, and once incident resulted in a pedestrian’s death. 
According to police, there was an accident at the intersection of Neill and Bronxdale avenues last Friday.
The proposal includes plans to upgrade crosswalks for better visibility and to install left-turn bays. The DOT says that some drivers swerve around left-turning vehicles because there are undefined lane assignments. 
The DOT is also proposing to divide a combined travel and parking lane into two lanes and adding a bicycle lane between them in a bid to discourage speeding.
Officials say similar measures have worked elsewhere – including on Empire Boulevard in Brooklyn, where they led to a 15 percent decrease in crashes with injures.