NYC plans major safety redesign of dangerous Third Avenue in Sunset Park
NEW YORK (PIX11) - New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City officials made a transportation announcement Wednesday in Sunset Park.
The announcement comes after the overhaul of one of Brooklyn's most dangerous streets, where 17 people have died over the past decade. Those deaths include nurse Jiayi Zheng, who was killed in a hit-and-run in August, according to the mayor's office.
The city plans to redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue to make it safer for people walking, biking and driving. The changes will include protected bike lanes, shorter crossings and redesigned intersections to help prevent crashes.
Third Avenue is 150 feet wide, with six moving lanes along much of the avenue, two parking lanes and a wide center median. Crossing the street can be a long trip for pedestrians, who have to navigate several lanes of traffic to reach the other side.
To make crossings safer, the city plans to add pedestrian islands and extend parts of the sidewalks and center median. The changes are expected to cut the distance pedestrians travel through moving traffic by up to half.
"17 people have lost their lives along this corridor in a decade. That cannot continue. Starting next year, we will transform Third Avenue to protect pedestrians, cyclists and drivers," Mamdani said.
Construction will begin in phases in 2027. The first phase will focus on Third Avenue between 62nd and 43rd streets, along with 60th Street between Second and Fourth avenues.
On 60th Street, the city plans to add a protected bike lane that allows cyclists to travel in both directions. The changes are also intended to make the area safer near two schools and connect existing bike routes along Fourth Avenue and the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway on Second Avenue.
The next phase, planned for 2028, will cover Third Avenue between 43rd and 20th streets.
The city is also considering expanding the project to Third Avenue between 62nd and 65th streets and farther north toward Carroll Street in Gowanus.
The project is part of Mamdani's Vision Zero Reimagined plan, which calls for safety upgrades on the city's most dangerous streets over the next three years.
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