Traffic Safety Advocates Honor 2020 Crash Victims, Demand Mayor Fully Fund Vision Zero

In coordination with World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, Families for Safe Streets honors those lost due to New York City traffic violence in 2020 and call for action from Mayor Bill de Blasio

NEW YORK — Members of advocacy group Families for Safe Streets gathered at City Hall Park on Sunday to urge Mayor de Blasio to fully fund and accelerate our path to Vision Zero in order to stem the rising tide of traffic fatalities on New York City streets. The event was held in coordination with the international World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. (SEE VIDEO AND PHOTO FROM TODAY'S EVENT)

Standing beside 214 pairs of white-painted shoes and banners reading “Mayor de Blasio: Do Something,” and “Fund Vision Zero Now,” Families for Safe Streets members read the names of the 214 New Yorkers who were killed in traffic crashes to date in 2020. This year is on pace to see more traffic fatalities than any other during Mayor de Blasio’s time in office, despite a nearly three-month period in which traffic on New York City streets all but disappeared. 

In recent years, advocates like Families for Safe Streets and Transportation Alternatives fought for and won significant policy changes in the name of saving lives on our streets. But many of these programs, such as the Streets Master Plan, the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program, and the Green Wave Plan, now face an uncertain future due to budget cuts. 

“More than 200 New Yorkers are killed on our streets every single year. These are people—not numbers—a child riding a scooter in the crosswalk, a nurse biking home from her shift at the hospital, an elderly man crossing the street. Our city faces a rise in traffic violence while at the same time the mayor has stripped funding from the programs that could stop the carnage on our streets. We need Mayor de Blasio to do something. No more vigils. No more speeches. We need action, and we need it now,” said Families for Safe Streets co-founder Amy Cohen.  

“Going to work or a neighborhood store should not mean risking life and limb. It is time for Mayor de Blasio to make good on his commitment to Vision Zero by prioritizing human life over traffic. We cry out in pain for the families like ours who have lost loved ones, and we beg the mayor to address the heartbreaking cost of traffic crashes and the desperate need for change on our streets,” said Families for Safe Streets member Julie Huntington, who emceed the event. 

“On World Day of Remembrance, we honor the memory of those lost to traffic violence and demand no more death on our streets. In New York City, we are on track to have the deadliest year for traffic violence under Mayor de Blasio’s tenure. We don’t need thoughts and prayers; we need action from the City every day until we achieve the goal of Vision Zero, where no New Yorker needs to fear death or serious injury when using our streets,” said Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris.

This year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims coincides with a tragic milestone in New York: this fall, the city eclipsed 1,000 vulnerable road user fatalities, a classification which includes pedestrians, bicyclists and others using human-powered or electric-assisted vehicles. (See a list of all vulnerable users killed since 2014 here.) 

"Working with Transportation Alternatives, Families for Safe Streets, and all the other amazing advocates to eliminate traffic violence in New York City has been one of the most important and rewarding parts of my time as Speaker of the NYC Council,” said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “Though I am proud of the work we’ve done together so far, World Remembrance Day is a painful reminder of how much there is left to do until we achieve Vision Zero. The Council looks forward to continuing the vital work of making New York City streets safe once and for all.” 

"Too many of us know firsthand the lasting impact traffic deaths and injuries have on families and entire communities," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "Hundreds of New Yorkers are injured in traffic crashes every week, and 204 people have been killed by vehicles this year. Making streets safer and achieving Vision Zero must always be central to all of our policies."

 “We need to continue working on the City, State, and Federal level to ensure we implement all the road protections necessary to prevent road fatalities. We have already surpassed the number of people killed on the road in New York City when compared to the same period last year,” said New York City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chairman of the Transportation Committee. “Today, as we remember all of those who have died in crashes, we must continue working together to ensure no other New Yorker is killed on the road. As the Chairman of the Transportation Committe, I will continue to work alongside Families for Safe Streets, Transportation Alternatives, DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, Speaker Johnsons, and my colleagues at the Council to ensure we are taking all necessary safety measures to keep pedestrians and cyclist safe.”

"New Yorkers deserve to be safe in our streets, period. On World Day of Remembrance, we must recommit ourselves to creating safer, cleaner and better streets. We have all lived the open streets that have also helped to keep small businesses open and created gathering places for communities. Let’s make them permanent, while investing in protected bike lanes and more transit alternatives. We deserve a 21st century public transit system and its one key step to getting New Yorkers where they need to go, while helping more New Yorkers to leave their cars at home," said New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley.

“While we will always mourn the loss of the nearly 1,000 pedestrians, cyclists, e-bike and e-scooter riders, today we stand firmly for safe streets and the end of traffic violence. Protecting human lives must always take precedence over vehicles. I’m happy to join others throughout the United States and the world to remember those who lost their lives in traffic, especially beloved New Yorkers, and to call for the fulfillment of all Vision Zero Commitments,” said New York City Council Member Fernando Cabrera. 

"One traffic-related death in our City is one too many; sadly as a City, we continue to have lots of work to do to save lives every year. Our City's work to make 'Vision Zero' a reality has indeed made our streets safer. However, as individuals, we can and must do more to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe," said New York City Council Member Ben Kallos. "World Day of Remembrance serves as an opportunity to reflect on those we have lost and to recommit to our work to prevent any more deaths."

"With more cars occupying our streets, 2020 has seen an uptick in crashes and tragic fatalities across New York City. On World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, we can only honor lives lost by taking action to prevent these needless tragedies. I look forward to continued work to make our streets safe for all,” said New York City Council Member Keith Powers.

"I'm grateful to Families for Safe Streets for making it possible to hold this Day of Remembrance safely in-person. These traffic accidents are 100% preventable. We all need to come together—policymakers, activists and advocates, and the driving and biking and walking public—to redouble our efforts when it comes to making our streets safer, especially against the backdrop of this pandemic when streetscapes become more vital than ever before. Now is our moment to act," said New York State Senator Brian Benjamin.

"I'm grateful to Families for Safe Streets for making it possible to hold this Day of Remembrance safely in-person. These traffic accidents are 100% preventable. We all need to come together—policymakers, activists and advocates, and the driving and biking and walking public—to redouble our efforts when it comes to making our streets safer, especially against the backdrop of this pandemic when streetscapes become more vital than ever before. Now is our moment to act,” said New York State Senator Robert Jackson.

 "Traffic fatalities are a too-often unrecognized health crisis in our city. Today, as we remember those we have lost, we must also recommit ourselves to stopping more preventable deaths in the future. New York City's progress in reducing fatalities and injuries from traffic crashes has stalled. There is so much more we can and must do to make our streets safer and truly realize the promise of Vision Zero,” said New York State Senator Liz Krueger. 

"The goal of Vision Zero is noble and we must do everything we can to eliminate death from road traffic incidents. If there was any doubt before, the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of walkable communities that are safe for pedestrians and all users of our street space. In my district as well as city wide, we are seeing an unacceptable and dramatic proliferation of drag racing incidents in recent months and I believe it is only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt – or worse. Thank you to Families for Safe Streets, Transportation Alternatives, and all who stand in solidarity on this World Day of Remembrance for the victims of road traffic and to continue fighting for a realized Vision Zero goal," said New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz.

“There is not a year that goes by without at least one of neighbors in the Bronx losing their life because of a terrible traffic accident and each one of those individuals deserves to be fittingly remembered,” said New York State Assembly Member Latoya Joyner. “My prayers go out to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives, and I appreciate the work being done by Families for Safe Streets and Transportation Alternatives on this World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. I look forward to working with our families and advocates to save lives by reducing traffic fatalities – together we are making a difference.”

"Every year, thousands of people are killed while walking and biking in New York City. Today on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims we must DEMAND Vision Zero is implemented in its entirety in order to avoid any other needless deaths. Let us remember all of the people lost in traffic crashes in 2020 and honor them by fully implementing Vision Zero!" said New York State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright 

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, and is commemorated each year on the third Sunday of November in locations around the world.

Comprised of individuals who have lost loved ones or been injured in a crash, Families for Safe Streets confronts traffic violence through advocacy and support.