Transportation Alternatives, Families for Safe Streets Statements After City Council’s Vision Zero Hearing

NYC DOT failed to meet multiple benchmarks required by law under the NYC Streets Plan.

Traffic violence killed 255 people in 2022 — 24% above 2018, the safest year under Vision Zero.

NEW YORK — Today, the City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on Vision Zero as traffic fatalities remain above pre-pandemic levels.

In 2022, 33% of all fatalities and 44% of pedestrian fatalities occurred on Vision Zero Priority Corridors, which account for the most dangerous 7% of streets in New York City.

During 2022, 16 children under age 18 were killed in crashes, including three who were killed walking or biking to or from school — the most for any year under Vision Zero. This is double the number of children killed in 2020 or 2018. Crashes have killed 95 children since Vision Zero began in 2014.

Statement from Transportation Alternatives Senior Director of Advocacy & Organizing Elizabeth Adams:

“New Yorkers are demanding safe spaces to walk, bike, and gather. The NYC Streets Plan gives New Yorkers this space by reclaiming space from cars. Yet, the administration failed to deliver on the legal requirements of the plan last year and traffic fatalities remain above pre-pandemic levels.”

“We thank Chair Brooks-Powers and the City Council for holding today’s Vision Zero hearing, demanding answers from this administration, and holding them accountable to what’s legally-required and what’s been promised. The public deserves accurate, up-to-date information from DOT, and we hope today’s commitments to open data and transparency are put into practice. We look forward to working with our partners in government to get Vision Zero back on track by investing equitably in physical street redesigns across New York City.”

Statement from Families for Safe Streets member Monique Williams:

“My father Jerry was a kind, generous person who should still be here with us today spending time with his two children, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. We will forever feel his loss, which was completely preventable. My pain is shared by too many families in New York City. The proven solutions to our city’s crisis of traffic violence are right in front of us.”

“We need our city’s leadership to exercise the power they have to implement street safety redesigns and invest in projects across the five boroughs that will prevent crashes and save lives. Every year that the city falls short of implementing the legally mandated number of safe streets projects, is another year that New Yorkers are exposed to unnecessary danger on our roads. The city council legally mandated safe streets benchmarks because we know street redesigns are the most effective ways to save lives. We thank the City Council for hosting this hearing, and we look forward to attending more groundbreakings in 2023.”