Back to “Normal”: June Pedestrian and Cyclist Deaths Up Sharply

Mayor de Blasio’s Indifference to the Return of Traffic Has Been Disastrous for Street Safety 

At least eight pedestrians were killed on New York City streets in June, the same number killed during the previous three months (March 1 to May 31) of this year. Four people were killed while cycling in June, the same number killed in the previous five months (January 1 to May 31).

Statement of Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris:

“The reopening of New York City has been disastrous for pedestrian and cyclist safety, but it didn’t have to be this way. When traffic vanished this past spring due to stay-at-home orders, New Yorkers caught a glimpse of what their city’s streets could look like without unmitigated car and truck traffic. Not surprisingly, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, wary of using public transit, turned to bikes for commuting, making deliveries and exercising.

Since March, Transportation Alternatives, Families for Safe Streets and our partners repeatedly called on the mayor, as we have for decades, to prioritize the safety of those using our streets, to invest in bike and public transit infrastructure to support our city’s recovery, and to stave off a massive influx of cars. After weeks of pressure from advocates and others in city government, the de Blasio administration responded with a plan to turn 100 miles of streets into open space for physical distancing-compliant transportation and recreation, and launched a program to expand restaurant space into the streets. These measures, however, are largely temporary, and short of the move to make the popular 14th Street Busway permanent, we have seen little in the way of lasting change on our streets--and no sign that it’s coming.  

While mayors in London, Milan, Paris and Bogota began building networks of protected and connected bikeways and prioritized making their cities more accessible on foot and via transit, Mayor de Blasio was easing on-street parking restrictions, telling reporters he thinks “it’s reassuring to be in a traffic jam,” and rolling out poorly-protected temporary bike lanes. Moreover, he slashed the budgets for life-saving programs like the Green Wave cycling plan, Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program and Vision Zero.

Mayor de Blasio’s many past achievements on street safety are in jeopardy if the death toll in 2020, a year in which traffic all but disappeared for almost three months, meets or exceeds past years. Sadly, at the year’s halfway mark, we’re already seeing the results of not having a plan to mitigate catastrophic congestion, increased speeding, and a growing number of injuries and deaths on our streets. We’re only in phase two of the city’s reopening; what’s going to happen in the coming phases when there’s even more traffic on our streets? 

Mayor de Blasio controls our streets, and must do everything in his power to ensure that they are safe for all those who walk, bike, and take public transit. There are immediate changes that he can implement to support these goals. Advocates are united in their vision for a post-pandemic New York. If he wants to make our streets safe and support our city’s recovery, the mayor must act now."