“People are dying most in the neighborhoods where Mayor de Blasio has done the least.”

As 2020 traffic fatality counts surpass 2019, Transportation Alternatives demands Mayor de Blasio restore funding to Vision Zero initiatives

Statement of Transportation Alternatives’ Executive Director Danny Harris:

“In the past two days, two more New Yorkers were killed in crashes, surpassing the total number of traffic fatalities in all of last year with more than a month to go in 2020. On Wednesday, a 26-year-old driver was killed on Grand Street in Brooklyn after another driver blew out a tire and veered into the deceased’s lane. And on Tuesday, a 75-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a driver while crossing Juniper Boulevard North in Queens, one of three older New Yorkers killed crossing the street just this week. 

With these two fatalities, at least 230 people have been killed in traffic crashes since the start of 2020, more than were killed in all of 2019. These tragedies are the predictable and preventable outcome of defunding Vision Zero initiatives and prioritizing the movement of car traffic above human life. This rise in fatalities arrives at a time when fewer New Yorkers are driving and traffic has been significantly reduced.

Many of those killed were vulnerable road users -- pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists not protected by the steel shell of a vehicle -- and the vast majority died in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. These inequities are reflected in our infrastructure. The majority of protected bike lanes, which are proven to reduce speeding and fatalities not just for cyclists, but for all road users, exist in Manhattan. Only 15 percent of protected bike lanes are in Brooklyn and only three percent in the Bronx. In the Bronx, fatalities more than doubled compared to last year. More than half of pedestrian fatalities occurred in Brooklyn and Queens. People are dying most in the neighborhoods where Mayor de Blasio has done the least. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio must act now to rescue both his Vision Zero legacy and his promise to make New York City fairer. To staunch the tide of traffic fatalities, Transportation Alternatives demands Mayor de Blasio appoint a new DOT Commissioner with an unwavering commitment to safety over traffic, act on the recommendations of his Surface Transportation Advisory Council, and restore funding to Vision Zero, the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Law, the Green Wave Plan, and the Streets Master Plan, all of which have been defunded as traffic fatalities rise.”