Dear Councilman de Blasio,

We and our children are in desperate need of your help.  We need to get a traffic signal installed at the dangerous intersection of Smith and Sackett in Carroll Gardens.
 
Early this past Friday evening, there was yet another serious accident at our corner, when an SUV speeding down Smith Street collided with a small car that was crossing the intersection on Sackett. The smaller car went out of control, spun around, and plowed onto the sidewalk.  Thankfully, it slammed into the emergency call box on the corner, or it undoubtedly would have killed someone. The two passengers had to be rescued with the "jaws of life," and were taken away on stretchers.  I have attached photos from the accident so you can see just how serious it was.
 
This intersection has already seen two fatal accidents in the last 15 years. Several pedestrians have been hit and seriously injured, and we see near-misses literally every single day.
 
The key issue is this: For drivers at the Sackett Street stop sign, it is almost impossible to get a good look at oncoming traffic because the view is obstructed by parked cars on the east side of Smith Street.  If you speak with any of our neighbors, they’ll tell you the same thing – when you drive across that intersection, you hold your breath and hope that you make it across safely.  And for pedestrians, to cross this intersection is no easier because cars and buses fly down Smith Street and many make fast left turns onto Sackett – it is both a bus route (the B-71) and the only westbound thoroughfare that crosses the BQE.
 
We have been begging the city for many years to install a traffic signal at this terribly dangerous intersection. About a year ago, with your help, we finally got the attention of DOT, which agreed to do a traffic study there. But nothing ever came of it.  We were not told the results of the study, but one of the surveyors did comment unofficially that DOT wasn't interested in adding yet another traffic light along Smith Street, especially given that there are already signals one block away in each direction.
 
On our block, we know not to let our kids cross Smith Street at this corner, but Friday night showed us that this is not enough, because any of our kids (or someone else’s) would have been killed if they'd just been standing or walking on the northwest corner when that car plowed over the curb. 
 
Only a traffic light can truly solve the problem -- and a signal will not obstruct traffic or cause more pollution, since cars are currently being stopped at either the Union or DeGraw Street lights anyway. As an interim solution, until a signal can be installed, DOT must eliminate two parking spaces to create a No Standing zone on the east side of Smith, so that cars crossing on Sackett have a clear view.  (The notion of just clearing away two parking spaces -- without installing a signal -- may be appealing because it would be so easy, but the visibility problems would persist because cars and delivery trucks would still use the vacant spots, and it would do nothing about the danger of cars and buses turning left onto Sackett.)
 
Friday’s accident was a wake-up call...and one last chance to get this right.  Does someone else have to die in order to get the city’s attention? 
 
We really need your help.
 
Please call me if you need any additional information.  My contact information is below.
 
Thank you so much.
 
 
Best regards,
 
Jenny Mandel
Co-President, Sackett Street Block Association
408 Sackett St
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 855-4138
(212) 614-7508 (work)