City to redesign Park Slope street where crash killed two children

Following a fatal crash earlier this week at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street in Park Slope, the city is moving ahead on street-level improvements for the neighborhood. The driver killed one-year-old Joshua Lew and four-year-old Abigail Blumenstein after she sped through a red light.

According to the New York Post, "The new street design for Ninth Street... will include protected bike lanes and other safety measures." DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg followed up to say that she's directed a team to analyze options for the re-design. A tweet by Streetsblog suggests more details are to come in the next few weeks, with Trottenberg saying work should begin as soon as weather permits.

Earlier this week, more than 100 concerned parents rallied for Mayor de Blasio shouting “safe streets now!” Park Slope City Council member Brad Lander also called for heightened enforcement of traffic infractions, as well as more stringent Department of Motor Vehicles penalties for drivers with numerous violations.

The driver, id'ed by the New York Daily News as 44-year-old Dorothy Bruns, was not arrested after the crash, and the investigation is ongoing. On Tuesday officials confirmed Bruns’s driver’s license was suspended, with reports coming out that her car had reportedly been cited 12 times in two years, including four times for running a red light and four for speeding in a school zone. Police sources told Pix11 that Bruns self-reported a seizure during the crash, though the NYPD could not confirm it to Curbed.

• City will redesign street where crash killed two kids [NY Post]
• Park Slope residents demand safer street design in the wake of fatal crash [Curbed]