Construction is everywhere in New York City, as older spaces are improved and maintained and newer spaces are being rapidly built. As De Zeen Magazine explains, a construction boom is going on right now — particularly in the residential market. The value of construction projects in the first half of 2015 alone was $22.2 billion, which was close to the $26.2 billion spent on construction over the entire course of 2014.
This increase in development is great news for the city, as well as developers and construction workers. However, an increase in construction does not come without risk. There is a very real danger of injuries for both people working on construction sites, as well as for people walking near construction site locations.
Sidewalk sheds aim to reduce some of the dangers for people approaching construction sites by preventing debris from falling on people and establishing a barrier between pedestrians and construction work going on around them. However, these sidewalk sheds do not always work perfectly and they can be unsightly and difficult to construct. The good news is there are efforts underway to design a newer and better sidewalk shed.
Sidewalk sheds are just one of many safety steps that should be taken to provide protection in and around construction sites. Unfortunately, sometimes safety efforts are not enough. If injuries occur to workers or to individuals passing by, New York City construction accident lawyers should be consulted by victims and their families for help obtaining compensation or benefits to cover losses and damages caused by construction accidents.
New Sidewalk Shed Designs Could Improve Safety of New York Construction Sites
According to De Zeen Magazine, there was a competition held recently to design a better sidewalk shed than the systems currently in use at construction projects throughout the city. Construction sheds presently cover in excess of 200 miles of sidewalks across the five boroughs of New York, so improving their appearance and functionality is an important goal.
There were 33 submissions from various architect and design firms and four winners were chosen. The Building Congress organized the contest and commented that the winners were selected for “their innovative approaches to reducing or eliminating the bracing that interferes with the pedestrian experience, permitting a more natural pattern for foot traffic.”
Each of the different projects had to meet strict code requirements and had to be suitable for use at commercial construction sites, as well as at the site of small and mid-sized residential construction projects. The designs make the sheds more open along the curb line to allow more natural light, which helps make them more attractive.
While innovation is a great thing, the most important thing, however, is ensuring that construction sheds serve the purpose of keeping people safe. If experiments take place and new designs are used, it will be essential to ensure that the new systems are at least as good as the old systems in stopping debris from falling on people’s heads.
If debris does fall and a victim is injured while approaching or walking through a construction zone, contact Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff today. We can help the victim or his or her surviving family pursue a claim against appropriate defendants to obtain monetary payment for medical bills, loss of earning ability and non-financial losses, including pain and suffering. Contact us as soon as possible after a construction injury to find out more.
