Transportation Alternatives Statement After Van Driver Hits and Kills Bike Rider in Flushing

This is the third cyclist fatality this month alone.

This is the deadliest first three years for cyclists for any mayor going back to the 1970s.

FLUSHING, NY — On Monday morning, a van driver making a left turn struck and killed a bike rider riding westbound along 41st Avenue and Browne Street in Flushing, Queens.

Flushing has been a Vision Zero priority neighborhood since 2015, and yet it has received few safety improvements and remains dangerous. Browne Street is particularly dangerous – since 2022, drivers have seriously injured pedestrians at every other intersection of Browne Street in Downtown Flushing. Just six months ago, three-year-old Quintus Chen was hit and killed by a reckless driver only three blocks west on 41st Avenue, and just month later, a tractor-trailer driver killed a senior cyclist on the adjacent Parsons Boulevard.

Congestion pricing has been proven to improve street safety. When London implemented congestion pricing, there were fewer crashes both in and out of the zone. Congestion pricing could also decrease traffic in some Queens neighborhoods by as much as 10%. 

Statement from Elizabeth Adams, Interim co-Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives:

“We are devastated to hear that a bike rider was killed in preventable traffic violence. We send our deepest condolences to their loved ones.”

“No one should fear death or injury just for riding a bike in New York City. We know how to prevent crashes from happening and yet a lack of political will to implement proven solutions is putting New Yorkers in danger.”

“Congestion pricing is a proven way to reduce traffic and save lives – and the governor’s spineless decision to stop the program will lead to more traffic, more crashes, and more fatalities in all five boroughs. As traffic violence surges across New York City – and especially in Queens – we need every tool to protect New Yorkers. We need every elected leader standing up to stop this reckless pause on congestion pricing.”