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In the News: Woman killed by Downtown Alliance bus
The Broadsheet reports that Arlene Kalfus, 81, a resident of Gateway Plaza, was hit and killed by the Downtown Connection jitney in front near Gateway Plaza on Thursday, immediately after getting off the M9 bus. The accident happened in front of 325 South End Ave., between Albany and Liberty, around 7 p.m.
The Broadsheet interviewed several of her friends, who noted that she was fun, generous with her time and very active — organizing Restaurant Week trips for the group among other things. “She was known for her wisecracking wit, which often regaled us in fitness classes and other events,” said Ann Schwalbenberg, a leader of the Seniors Group. “She was incredibly independent and used the subways all the time, usually choosing to meet people at the destination.”
Streetsblog added this analysis in its story on Kalfus’ death: “Road deaths are soaring in 2019, with Kalfus being the 50th victim so far this year. That number is up almost 30 percent from the same period last year. The perception is that Battery Park City is a quiet, residential neighborhood, but danger lurks. Since January, 2017, there have been 46 crashes on South End Avenue alone, injuring six people and killing one. In the entire neighborhood over the same period, there have been 150 crashes, injuring 19.”
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Our NYC taxi cabs are regulated to death with more and more fees put on the consumer without the drivers getting much of any of the proceeds while Uber & Co. are free market and it is literally killing us! Too many vehicles on our streets. A huge SUV to pick up a woman with a yoga mat!
As a cyclist, pedestrian and driver I will take a driver of a NYC cab any day over a private company driver. I do have compassion for these drivers because they have been misled but they aren’t trained.
Poor Ms. Kalfus. RIP.
Thanks for your 2 cents, except this person was killed by a converted van to bus. I find buses the most aggressive vehicles on the road. Those open top tour buses spewing black smoke all day long? Travel to any part of the EU and you will see a completely different class of driver and quality of bus.
Thanks for your 2 cents, except this person was killed by a converted van to bus. I find buses the most aggressive vehicles on the road. Those open top tour buses spewing black smoke all day long? Travel to any part of the EU and you will see a completely different class of driver and quality of bus.
This isn’t really about pollution or bus quality as much as a human life was lost because the jack-ass connection bus driver hit her and killed her. Those Connection bus drivers (and buses in general) are so aggressive, come barrelling through intersections all the time. For what? To make a stop light? Couldn’t even stop for the older woman crossing the street? Was she walking too slowly? That’s effed up!! and this poor woman, who lived to be 81, only to be killed by some impatient and untrained jerk driver, should not have been hit. The problem is about bad bus driving, and bad Connection bus driving….which btw will continue to claim lives. Bully irresponsible attitudes on the road lead to victims on the streets. Shameful and heartbreaking. Prayers for Ms. Kalfus and her family.
Family and I ride on Connection buses frequently and I always wonder what the urgency and speed is about on South End. There is no set time when they are supposed to arrive and they are literally driving in circles through our neighborhoods. If anyone or anything is serving the downtown community, free bus or otherwise, it also means making every effort to keep the community safe. Yield to pedestrians and drive slowly! MTA buses seem to observe these basic guidelines. More often than not, Connection buses race from one stop to the next in South End and these stops are no more than 2 blocks away!
I have had both terrible and also cautious Connection bus drivers. There does seem to be high turnover and I suspect, the compensation is low and conditions less than ideal. Ms. Kaulfus stepped out in front of an M9 bus she just got off and the Connection driver did not slow down as he emerged from his blind spot. I would hope that the Downtown Alliance will evaluate its standards and training for Connection drivers. I also hope the local precinct will do more to enforce traffic laws on South End, which feels like a bus depot sometimes with tour and corporate buses circling the neighborhood or parked or idling in no parking zones. The extra illegal bus traffic diminishes safety for all. Prayers for Ms. Kalfus.
I feel very badly for the woman who was hit and died by the connection bus. But what people need to understand about the circumstances is the woman was jaywalking and she was doing so at dusk. If she had walked further north or south and crossed South End Avenue in the crosswalk with a traffic light she would have successfully crossed the street. There isn’t a crosswalk or a traffic light at the spot where she crossed after getting off the bus. One was proposed years ago, but nothing ever happened. There should be one at that spot because it is in front of Gateway Plaza and many of the residents jaywalk at the same spot.
My 6 year old son and I call these busses “The Killer Connection” because we’ve often seen them speed up to fly through yellow lights on Murray Street to cross Church, W. Broadway and Greenwich. We’ve seen people jump out of their way. Why this dangerous rush? It’s terrifying and very sad that we fear this community service.