Vision Zero
Streetsblog Basics
People on Bikes Take Over Fifth Ave to Demand Safe Streets From de Blasio
New Yorkers on bikes took over Fifth Avenue yesterday evening to demand stronger action from Mayor de Blasio to implement life-saving street redesigns essential to achieving his goal of zero traffic deaths by 2024. Organizers estimate that more than a thousand people participated.
September 16, 2016
City Council Unanimously Passes Bill to Expand Pedestrians’ Right of Way
The City Council voted to expand pedestrians' right of way today, unanimously supporting Intro 997-A, Public Advocate Letitia James' proposal to bolster legal protections for people in crosswalks. The legislation is expected to be enacted by the mayor, with DOT and NYPD having both endorsed it.
September 14, 2016
De Blasio Doesn’t Need to Defend His Bike Policies, He Needs to Take Action
Two days before a mass demonstration and bike ride to demand more action from the de Blasio administration to prevent cyclist deaths, the mayor and DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg made a media play that seems designed to deflect pressure, announcing that the city is on track to build a record 18 miles of protected bike lanes this year.
September 13, 2016
De Blasio Promises “More Visible Impact” on Reducing Traffic Deaths
Appearing with WNYC's Brian Lehrer for his weekly "Ask the Mayor" segment this morning, Mayor de Blasio said the city's Vision Zero effort is "still in its infancy" and that "there's a lot more to do." The remarks come at a time when the city's two-year run of reducing traffic deaths seems increasingly unlikely to continue in 2016.
September 9, 2016
De Blasio’s Office Ducks Responsibility for Erasing Eastern Pkwy Ped Islands
DOT removed pedestrian islands on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights yesterday, undoing years of street safety advocacy work on the part of local residents and community board members with no public process, and no one in the de Blasio administration is taking responsibility.
August 31, 2016
TA Calls on de Blasio to Act After Driver Kills Cyclist, 78, on Northern Blvd
NYPD filed no charges and issued no summonses after a driver struck and killed Michael Schenkman, 78, while he biked on Northern Boulevard in Bayside.
August 25, 2016
Don’t Underestimate the Street Safety Benefits of Congestion Pricing
The primary benefits of the Move NY toll reform plan are reducing congestion and funding transit -- but don't overlook the huge potential to improve street safety.
August 15, 2016
The Missing Piece in DOT’s Left-Turn Safety Plan: Real Split-Phase Signals
Split-phase traffic signals protect pedestrians and cyclists by separating them from turning drivers -- people walking and biking across the street get their own signal phase, and drivers turning into the crosswalk get another. Research indicates that split-phase signals are highly effective at preventing traffic injuries and deaths. But when DOT revealed its strategy to reduce crashes caused by left-turning drivers, there was no commitment to increase the use of split-phase signals.
August 9, 2016
DOT Lays Out a Strategy to Make Left Turns Less Dangerous
DOT will be ramping up the use of intersection treatments to protect pedestrians and cyclists from left-turning drivers, the agency announced today. The initiative is paired with a DOT study, "Don't Cut Corners" [PDF], that illustrates the disproportionate danger of left turns. Mayor de Blasio had announced in January that reducing the risk of left turns would be a focus of his administration's Vision Zero agenda this year.
August 3, 2016