Statement from Transportation Alternatives after SUV Driver Hits and Kills a Pedestrian on Bedford Avenue in Bed-Stuy,

Bedford Avenue is slated to be improved in just a few weeks, but advocates have been calling for a safer Bedford Avenue for years. 

This is the second pedestrian killed this year along the stretch of Bedford Avenue that was initially slated for improvements by late 2023.

Traffic violence has killed 27 pedestrians across Brooklyn this year, 59% more than were killed by this point last year. 

BROOKLYN, NY —  Early yesterday morning, an SUV driver hit and killed a man crossing the street at Bedford and Lafayette Avenues. The SUV driver was allegedly speeding and running a red light when they hit the pedestrian and continued driving without stopping. 

Bedford Avenue’s upgrades are in process, but they haven’t yet been finished. After advocacy from Transportation Alternatives, the City’s Department of Transportation first proposed a protected bike lane along Bedford Avenue in the spring of 2023 – with plans to install it by the end of 2023 – but the street is still without the final hard infrastructure. Protected bike lanes have been proven to reduce serious injuries and deaths for pedestrians by 29%, and this is the second pedestrian to be killed on the stretch of Bedford slated for improvements since the infrastructure was initially supposed to be completed last year. This pedestrian was also the third pedestrian to be killed on Bedford Avenue this year, and the 15th pedestrian killed on Bedford Ave in the Vision Zero era.

Traffic violence has killed 55 people in Brooklyn – four more than at this point last year, and four more than average. After record-low pedestrian fatalities last year, pedestrian fatalities citywide are now above average, tied for the fourth-most dangerous year in the past decade and up 22% from this point in 2023. 27 pedestrians have been killed in Brooklyn this year, 59% more than were killed by this point last year. 

Statement from Elizabeth Adams, Interim Co-Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives:

“When it comes to safer streets, New Yorkers can’t afford to wait. TA has spent years calling for a ‘Better Bedford,’ and was hopeful when changes were announced well over a year ago – but the City ignored its own timeline, leaving the street dangerous well past the initially-promised end date of late 2023. Bedford is thankfully now in the process of being upgraded, but it’s clear that delaying projects has a real cost. We’ll never know if implementing these changes last year, as initially promised, could have saved this New Yorker’s life.”

“All projects that are delayed or moving slowly need attention today so tragedies like these are prevented across the city. This is also why we need the NYC Streets plan implemented in the timeline required by law – we can’t wait while people’s safety is put off for another year or more. New York City can and should build a better Bedford Avenue today, but also a finished Fourth Avenue, a complete Canal Street in Manhattan, a bike path on the Queensboro Bridge, and a better Boston Road in the Bronx. There are dozens of projects City Hall could start today – and instead of delaying, renegotiating, and watering down street safety projects, let’s do the work to actually protect New Yorkers from traffic violence.”

“When we know there’s a dangerous street or a deadly intersection, like we’ve known on Bedford for years – the City can’t wait or drag its feet. Delays are deadly.”