November 4: Vision Zero Report, Street Safety Improvements, NYC Streets Plan
We released our quarterly Vision Zero report this week, showing that New York City’s rise in traffic fatalities remains above pre-pandemic levels. We also found:
More children have been killed by traffic violence in the first nine months of this year (16) than in any full year of Vision Zero.
Reported hit and runs that involved critical injury (30) have nearly doubled compared to the previous quarter.
One in four traffic fatalities in New York City this year has occurred in the Bronx; more than two-thirds of those crashes have taken place in just five City Council districts, all of which have traffic fatality rates higher than the citywide average, according to Spatial Equity NYC.
The report also outlines actions the city can take to make streets safe in the near- and long-term, echoing our Seven Steps agenda for Mayor Adams: Fully implement the NYC Streets Plan; prioritize areas that have historically received less investment in safe infrastructure; and disincentivize people from driving massive SUVs and pickup trucks on city streets.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1️⃣ Safety improvements at more than 1,200 intersections. On Sunday, Mayor Adams announced that the city exceeded its goal of improving 1,000 intersections this year. This is a good step forward that will prevent crashes. We need to see more physical infrastructure improvements. Streetsblog has more details on the upgrades.
2️⃣ Urgent action needed to meet the NYC Streets Plan goals. With more than 1,200 intersection upgrades completed, the city has shown it can deliver on the goals it sets. We need them to meet the requirements of the NYC Streets Plan. The city still needs to install more than 20 miles of protected bike lanes and 16.5 miles of dedicated bus lanes by the end of the year.
3️⃣ In the news. Here's what we're reading this week:
Read more about our Vision Zero report in Streetsblog, amNY, Gothamist, Patch, and Welcome2TheBronx.
TA and Riders Alliance joined together for a rally on Tuesday, calling on the city to fulfill its requirements for the NYC Streets Plan; read more in amNY.
Two Halloween-themed articles: One in Vox, explaining why Halloween is the most dangerous day for children as pedestrians; and one in Curbed, highlighting NYC’s first-ever Trick-or-Streets program, which created car-free zones to keep kids safe.
TWO THINGS TO DO
1️⃣ Bicycle Film Festival New York is this weekend. Back in person for the first time in three years, the Bicycle Film Festival will have two days of short films, feature films, and Q&As at the TriBeCa Synagogue. Check out the schedule of programs for Saturday and Sunday and get tickets on the BFF NY site.
2️⃣ Ride and rally to oppose the NJ Turnpike expansion. Adding more lanes to highways only creates more traffic. Join our friends across the Hudson for a bike ride and rally to protest the New Jersey Turnpike expansion in Jersey City on Nov. 12.
ONE ACTION TO TAKE NOW
Support TA’s mission. Did you know that 50 years ago today was the first event led by Action Against Automobiles, the group that would become Transportation Alternatives the following year? (The event was a demonstration demanding a ban on private cars in Manhattan.) Make a donation today to support the decades-long work we’ve done to reclaim NYC street space from cars and make streets safer for people.
Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend,
Ted and the TA team