Vision Zero
Streetsblog Basics
Manhattan Community Boards Want to Fix 57 Dangerous Places for Peds
Yesterday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer compiled a list of 57 pedestrian danger hotspots identified by community board district managers and sent it to city agency heads serving on Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero task force. Many of the locations in Brewer's list have a long track record as dangerous locations, including many where people have died crossing the street.
January 31, 2014
78th Precinct Targets Drivers Who Fail to Yield to Pedestrians
Last week, Police Commissioner Bratton said the 78th Precinct and its commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri, made him "proud of PD" by clearing snow from the Bergen Street bike lane. Here's something even better: The 78th has amped up enforcement against drivers committing one of the city's deadliest traffic violations -- failing to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
January 27, 2014
At Vigil for Ella Bandes, a Plea to Put an End to Traffic Violence
Yesterday, nearly 200 people gathered on the sidewalk at a busy intersection on the Brooklyn-Queens border to remember 23-year-old Ella Bandes and hundreds of other people who have lost their lives to NYC traffic since the start of last year. Victims' families, advocates, medical professionals and elected officials called for slower speed limits and more serious consequences for dangerous drivers.
January 27, 2014
Vigil in Brooklyn Sunday for Victims of Traffic Violence
A vigil will be held in Brooklyn Sunday in honor of Ella Bandes and other victims of vehicular violence.
January 24, 2014
Bratton’s Pedestrian Ticket Blitz Won’t Save Lives
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton's claim last week that 66 percent of pedestrian injuries "are directly related to the actions of pedestrians" was unsourced and at odds with existing research, but already it seems to be shaping NYPD's enforcement efforts.
January 20, 2014
At Upper West Side Vigil, Families Mourn 9-Year-Old Lost to Traffic Violence
Hours after Mayor de Blasio unveiled his administration's approach to sharply reducing traffic deaths yesterday, hundreds of New Yorkers gathered at an Upper West Side intersection to mourn 9-year-old Cooper Stock, who was killed last Friday by a turning taxi driver while crossing West End Avenue with his father.
January 16, 2014
Bratton’s Bad Data on Pedestrian Injuries Won’t Get Us to Vision Zero
Yesterday NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said that in 73 percent of crashes in which a pedestrian was struck by a motorist in 2013, the pedestrian was at fault. Bratton presented that figure as an indictment of pedestrian behavior, and the stat was later parroted by the press. But more than anything it speaks to the victim-blaming bias that permeates NYPD traffic enforcement and crash investigations -- a major obstacle Bratton will have to overcome to implement Vision Zero.
January 16, 2014
Watch Bill de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” Announcement
In 2013, NYC recorded a record-low 333 homicides, yet at least 286 people lost their lives to traffic violence. At a press conference yesterday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said it's "shocking to see how much those two numbers correspond."
January 16, 2014
De Blasio Rolls Out a Multi-Agency Approach to Reducing Traffic Violence
Calling traffic fatalities an "epidemic" that deserves immediate attention from the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched his administration's "Vision Zero" agenda this afternoon, setting out to eliminate traffic deaths within a decade. The most important news to come out of today's announcement is that his administration will enlist multiple agencies to tackle the multifaceted problem of traffic violence. A working group led by the city's police, transportation, health, and taxi commissioners is tasked with coming up with an action plan by February 15.
January 15, 2014
First Highlights From de Blasio’s Vision Zero Announcement
Mayor de Blasio is at PS 152 in Queens this afternoon with Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg to discuss the administration's initiatives to sharply reduce traffic deaths and injuries. We'll have a full report later today, but here's what reporter Stephen Miller has broadcast on Twitter so far...
January 15, 2014