After repeated crashes at Lexington Avenue and Gramercy Park North, the Gramercy Park Block Association and the Trustees worked with the 13th Precinct and Community Board 6 on possible safety changes. Town & Village’s April 28 report described the community board’s approval of recommendations earlier that month.
The measures included changing the relationship between the signals at East 22nd and East 21st Streets, clearer directional warnings and additional truck-routing measures. The report distinguished these recommendations from protective warning arrows the Trustees had already placed in front of the Park.
A change took effect in August
The September 1 follow-up reported that DOT had modified the signal timing the previous week. The signal at East 21st Street would turn green twenty seconds after the one at East 22nd, instead of six seconds later. The intended effect was to break the steady flow of traffic toward the Park and encourage drivers to slow down.
The record confirms the signal-timing change, but not the installation of every proposed measure or a reduction in crashes.