NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: LOWER EAST SIDE;
It's Getting A Lot Harder To Cross Delancey

By STEVE KURUTZ


If New York can reduce the most seasoned drivers to a frazzled mess, a street like Delancey, which runs from the Williamsburg Bridge to the Bowery, is a good reason why.

A jumble of whirring cars and harried pedestrians, the boulevard, particularly from Allen Street to the bridge, is an accident waiting to happen. Or, in some cases, an accident that has already happened.

"I've seen two or three car accidents recently," said Ron Lopez, a security guard at the Essex Street Market, who has a bird's-eye view of the congested intersection of Delancey and Essex Streets. "Cars just blow through here."

"You really want to get scared, cross over there," Mr. Lopez added, pointing to the northeast corner, where, he said, some Williamsburg Bridge-bound drivers speed through the intersection, ignoring both pedestrians and the many traffic cops.

To visit the Chase Bank branch on the southwestern corner, Mr. Lopez now ducks underground and crosses through the subway station.

David Crane, a member of Community Board 3, has received several complaints about the street from residents. "The Williamsburg Bridge is on Delancey Street and there are a lot of small, residential streets feeding Delancey too, which creates high volumes of traffic," he said. "You'll often have traffic cops there, which is great for preventing gridlock, but they often don't account for pedestrians."

Moreover, he said, cars in the far right lane coming from the bridge are forced to turn right on Clinton Street, a narrow, residential lane not designed to handle heavy traffic.

The city's Department of Transportation referred questions to the Department of City Planning, which began a traffic study of the street last spring and started to collect data after Labor Day.

"We are well aware there's a problem," said Jack Schmidt, the transportation director for the Planning Department. "We'll offer recommendations and, hopefully, the D.O.T. will implement them."

The study, which analyzes data like accident reports and the number of pedestrians and vehicles, will be presented to Community Board 3 early next month. Mr. Schmidt said the findings would help guide the solution, though he declined to offer specifics.

Mr. Crane, however, had a few suggestions. "They should stop turning a lane of traffic onto Clinton Street," he said, "and time the lights so there is a 'Walk' segment that gives pedestrians a few seconds lead time." STEVE KURUTZ