Statement: Another Pedestrian Killed By Driver on Queens’ New “Boulevard of Death”

According to news reports, a 70-year-old man was killed this morning while crossing Northern Boulevard near 109th Street in East Elmhurst, Queens. He is at least the fourth pedestrian killed by a driver on Northern Boulevard this year; at least five pedestrians were killed by reckless drivers on Northern Boulevard in 2017. Transportation Alternatives calls on the City to end the carnage and urgently complete a comprehensive redesign of Northern Boulevard in the same way segments of Queens Boulevard, once known as the "Boulevard of Death," have been redesigned. 

Statement of Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White:

“This is a crisis. Northern Boulevard does not protect vulnerable street users, especially seniors, children, and the disabled. It is devastating, but not surprising, that Queens’ new "Boulevard of Death" has been the scene of at least nine pedestrians deaths since January 2017, including four already this year. Residents along the Northern Boulevard corridor from Long Island City to Bayside are still waiting for the kind of comprehensive, life-saving redesign that Queens Boulevard has undergone in recent years. Due to its car-oriented design and lack of safe accommodation for people, Northern Boulevard remains needlessly deadly for everyone who dares to use it — especially pedestrians and bicyclists. While the City has made incremental improvements, more needs to be done, including safer intersection geometry and protected bike lanes, before yet another life is taken. The lack of urgency after nine deaths in less than two years is frankly unacceptable.”