NEW YORK – The city’s Department of Transportation announced plans on Friday to install accessible pedestrian signals (APS) at 900 intersections citywide by the end of next year.
The announcement comes three months after a judge ordered the city to drastically ramp up installation of accessible pedestrian signals with sound and vibration for visually impaired pedestrians.
The decision followed a ruling from 2020, which showed the city failed to install audible crosswalk signals at nearly 97% of the city’s 13,200 intersections with pedestrian signals.
“We at the DOT value accessibility and have the most robust program in the country for installing accessible pedestrian signals to improve access at our intersections,” DOT Spokesperson, Vin Barone, said in a statement. “We are working at an unprecedented pace on this effort and look forward to meeting our APS target of having 10,000 intersections equipped with APS by the end of 2031.”
As of this month, officials said there were 1,015 intersections outfitted with APS, making it the “quickest pace in the history of the program,” according to the DOT.
The DOT said the goal this year is to install accessible pedestrian signals at 400 intersections, followed by 500 in 2023. The agency said it ultimately plans to ramp up installation to 1,000 intersections per year.
Back in December 2021, the judge found it would cost the city $672 million to install these accessible signals.