Planter Power

Planter power is the positive impact of our beautiful new greenery on W 103rd Street. Here are some of the benefits to our neighborhood:

• Safety: Traffic calming planters are placed along curbs and at intersections, where most traffic crashes occur. They signal to vehicles to slow down and focus on their surroundings. They also provide an attractive physical barrier that prevents vehicles from cutting across the curb when turning*.
  
  Intersections are the most dangerous places for traffic accidents, with more than 100 people being injured every day in crosswalks across the city. With 31 injuries over 10 years due to car crashes occurring on 103rd St. at the 3 intersections targeted for SIP implementation/planter placement, these planters improve community safety in the most beautiful way possible.

• Beauty & Health: More plants on the street creates a more beautiful and welcoming environment, making walking, biking, wheelchair-ing, and enjoying the street an easier and more pleasant experience. The planters contain a variety of flowers and greenery, adding greenspace to the street throughout the year.

• Inclusion, Health, & Accessibility: A more welcoming and easier to use street can increase use of the street, meaning more walking, biking, and functional outdoor space for residents. Recreational outdoor activities positively impact both physical and mental health. Furthermore, a street with specific measures in place to reduce traffic crashes and pedestrian injuries is more accessible to families with young children, elderly residents, and those with mobility issues, particularly those who use wheelchairs or scooters.

• Environmental Benefits: The flowers and greenery in our street planters not only look great, they absorb greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide. Like our trees, plants clean and filter our air.  Thank you, greenery!

• Maintaining Beauty & Safety: Plants and gardens, like humans and their pets, require care. Our planters stay beautiful and free of trash throughout the year thanks to Park to Park volunteers and professional care and watering by The Horticultural Society of New York under its contract with DOT.