Roosevelt Island Couple Walking Dog Tuesday Evening On Waterfront Pedestrian Promenade Next To Rivercross Watch In Horror As Beloved Dog Hit And Killed By Car - Next Time It Could Be A Child Or Senior Citizen Says Resident

On Tuesday evening, October 5, Roosevelt Island residents Laura & Giovanni Battistini went for a walk with their dog Luigi.

along the west waterfront promenade. (picture below taken today)

Ms Battistini reports what happened next:

I am writing to you to bring up an issue that is worrying many RI resident: the continuous and growing motorized vehicle use of the “pedestrian” promenade.

Last night, around 11:00 my husband and I were walking along the promenade, beneath River Cross condo with our 4 pound, 14 yrs old, little Luigi Yorkie mix. Because of his age and the quiet atmosphere of the evening, we decided to let him go off leash for a five minute walk. He had stopped to smell the grass for a moment when I saw from behind that the light was changing and becoming brighter. I only had a second to turn and see the vehicle that was approaching. Luigi, at that same time, ran toward us. He was hit, and died of his injuries a couple of hours later in our arms at the Animal Hospital across the river. He was the love of our lives. The driver never even stepped out of his car. He pulled down the window and told us he had a permit to drive on the promenade. Then continued and parked under the River Cross building.

Whether or not our Luigi deserved a five-minute freedom walk on a quiet night on a so called pedestrian promenade (Public Safety promptly reminded me that he should have been on the leash), is beyond the point.

The point is that it could have easily been a toddler and the outcome would have been the same.

In fact, the RI promenade has become much less of a promenade in recent years, and much more of a motorized vehicle way. There are too many cars that have permits like the one that killed our little Luigi, and for no good reason. If a building doorman cannot walk a few block to his job, couldn’t he get a permit to park on Main Street, for example, instead of having permission to drive his car along the promenade?

There are also too many food delivery scooters who want to avoid the stop and crossing signs on Main Street, and instead choose to speed along the promenade as if it was a highway. Then, there are plenty of residents who use motorized bikes and scooters and zig zag along the way trying to avoid walkers.

This is a recipe for disaster and it need not be.

The promenade should be for pedestrian use only, or non-motorized bikes and scooters. The mix does not work. People who choose to walk along a promenade will drop their guards in regards to motor vehicles. Like we did, they will assume that their kids and pets are safe from injury and death from cars on a pedestrian walkway.

I hope that there will soon be regulations that will protect the residents of RI on this matter before what happened to our pet happens to a child....

Vehicle traffic safety problems on the Roosevelt Island waterfront promenade and Main Street have been a long time concern for residents. As reported last August 27, there were:

... 2 separate weekend incidents last Saturday and Sunday of cars hitting Roosevelt Island pedestrians as they were walking in the Main Street crosswalk...

... UPDATE 8/25 - Roosevelt Island residents react to the hit by car incidents last weekend:

• Cars don’t stop. They roll through STOP signs, I have seen the Red bus, PSD, delivery trucks do it, daily! I think it’s time for speed bumps! We now have motorized bikes, scooters Vespas driving on the promenades! Any thing motorized belongs on the street. Unless your 12 and under!
• Yes!! I am getting afraid Every time I cross the street..I have been almost hit more than once!
• We need more patrolling of bikes and cars- a lot more near misses than ever. And more visible stop signs
• They need to slow down! People don’t abide by the crosswalk driving there.
• I’m concerned that now that we are becoming a NYC hotspot with the Panorama Room we will have people driving onto the island and drinking. Public Safety needs to be diligent about traffic after dark.

During September 21 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety Committee (PSC) meeting, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Safety Chief Kevin Brown reported that speed bumps will be installed on Main Street to:

... Slow people down all around the Island. On Main Street from AVAC all the way to Blackwell and down and around Cornell and also around the roadway coming from Coler Hospital.... 

Chief Brown also said during the September 21 PSC meeting that the waterfront promenades are only to be used by emergency vehicles but that some residents are using the breezeways for Roosevelt Landings to park their vehicles. In some instances, parking is allowed in the breezeways but when not allowed, the cars are being ticketed and could be towed.

More enforcement is definitely needed to stop motorized vehicles, including scooters, from using the pedestrian promenades before a child, senior citizen, any Roosevelt Island resident or another dog gets killed.

UPDATE 4:50 PM - Roosevelt Island residents react:

• So sorry for their loss 💔 Heartbreaking. And I agree that cars driving there is an issue! Both sides of the island have too much traffic in relation to playgrounds and people walking… even PSD/RIOC traffic should decrease their use of these areas if not necessary— often times they come when children are using the sprinklers/playgrounds or school dropoff/pickup when there are 600+ students with their families in the area - it’s truly a safety hazard
  
• The parking and driving behind Manhattan Park is out of control too… kids run on those sidewalks (and the circle stairs have completely turned into a parking lot)
• Not true what PSD says. They do not see the cars using breezeways and then speeding all the way to Motorgate. I see them from my window.
• I called PSD over a year ago explaining that Uber and Lyft was directing their vehicles via GPS onto those roads and how dangerous it was. Almost running over kids and animals. Doubt anyone looked into it though
• What are cars doing there? And why is the PSD not instructing cars not to be there.
• That’s so sad and horrible. Our condolences to the family