Expanded enforcement during holidays; new 25 MPH speed limit along Third and Hamilton Avenues in Brooklyn
Today, de Blasio Administration officials came together in Queens to announce increased traffic enforcement during the holiday season, and that the City will lower the speed limit from 30 MPH to 25 MPH along Third and Hamilton Avenues in Brooklyn starting next month. The period around Christmas and New Year’s Day, the darkest days of the year, has also generally been among the deadliest of the year on city streets. Officials also issued an update on traffic fatality trends for 2019: despite setbacks, this year is on track to conclude as the second-safest in New York City’s recorded history.
“While we’ve made tremendous progress over the past six years with Vision Zero, there is still undoubtedly more work to do to make our streets safer,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The recent traffic fatalities have made us even more determined to keep Vision Zero moving forward. We’re increasing our traffic enforcement efforts and lowering the speed limit on two of Brooklyn’s busiest streets to ensure that all New Yorkers arrive home safely for the holidays.”
“Any life lost is a tragedy, and while we continue to build off the progress from Vision Zero, this year’s challenges reminded us of the work still to be done,” said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin. “During this final week of 2019, which has historically proven to be one of the most dangerous times of the year, we will be cracking down on dangerous drivers so that everyone can get home to their families for the holidays.”
The Administration, in response to the recent 6 traffic fatalities, announced expanded enforcement efforts, both via the NYPD and through automated enforcement.
Dusk and Darkness, cont’d: The period between Christmas and New Year’s Day, among the darkest weeks of the year, is also usually among the deadliest of the year for pedestrians. In 2018, five people – including four pedestrians—were killed from December 23 to 31. This coming week, as part of its Dusk and Darkness campaign, NYPD will be expanding their enforcement efforts to ensure the streets are safe for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
Expanded Truck Enforcement: With increasing number of crashes in 2019 involving cyclists and pedestrians being struck by trucks, the NYPD has increased enforcement against commercial trucks to ensure these vehicles are following all traffic laws.
A Safer 25 MPH speed limit on Third Avenue and Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn: Following 6 fatalities in 2019, DOT will lower the speed limit from 30 MPH to 25 MPH along Third Avenue from Prospect Ave to 62nd St (2.3 miles), and Hamilton Ave from Luquer St to 18th St (1.9 miles), in January 2020.
More life-saving speed cameras: After a new and stronger speed camera law was enacted in Albany and took effect on July 11th, DOT has continued its unprecedented expansion of cameras. As 2019 ends, DOT has 364 camera zones now in operation, up from 140 at the beginning of 2019, and will expand cameras at a pace of 60 zones per month in the coming year. The agency is on pace to meet the Mayor’s goal of reaching each of the law’s maximum 750 school zones by next summer.
“We had a difficult and challenging year under Vision Zero, and as 2019 comes to a close, we want to make sure that this holiday season is a joyous and safe one for all New Yorkers,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “We have grieved at the loss of life on our streets this year, particularly along Third Avenue, which has seen six fatalities this year as opposed to two in 2018. The Mayor has asked DOT and NYPD to take aggressive action on this corridor with its challenging mix of residential and industrial uses and heavy traffic on and off the Gowanus Expressway. We believe that lowering the speed limit along Third and Hamilton Avenues, coupled with strong enforcement, will help calm traffic in the burgeoning neighborhoods of Gowanus, Red Hook and Sunset Park. In 2020, DOT will also install additional roadway engineering and capital improvements to help make this challenging corridor even safer.”
“As the start of 2020 approaches, the NYPD renews its commitment to protecting all New Yorkers from dangerous driving behaviors,” said NYPD Chief of Transportation William Morris. “The vision of New York as a city where all members of the community, and particularly bicyclists and pedestrians, can use roads safely without the threat of death or injury remains as compelling as ever. We will continue to work closely with our Vision Zero partners to ensure the successful implementation of the Green Wave Plan.”
Administration officials today also noted the notable Vision Zero trends of 2019:
Traffic fatalities increased for first time since Vision Zero began in 2014, but 2019 will likely be New York City’s second safest year: As of December 22, traffic fatalities are now at 215, more than the 203 recorded in all of 2018, New York City’s safest-ever year – with a year-to-year rise in fatalities of below 10 percent. Under current trends, 2019 is likely to end as the second-safest year in the City’s recorded history. Six of the seven safest years for traffic fatalities have occurred since New York City became the first American city to institute Vision Zero in 2014.
Pedestrian deaths in NYC continue to hold steady, but more SUVs/light trucks on the road create challenges: After a dramatic decline in pedestrian fatalities two years ago (when fatalities fell from 148 in 2016 to 108 in 2017), NYC pedestrian fatalities have remained at about the same level: 117 as of December 22 compared to 115 in all of 2018. Nationally, pedestrian fatalities have risen every year for the last decade, a change that has been partially attributed to the increased share of SUVs/light trucks, which are deadlier to pedestrians and cyclists in crashes. This year, DOT released new data showing that the share of deadly crashes involving SUVs/light trucks rose from 40% in 2013-17 to 46% since the start of 2018.
Cyclist deaths were up, but motorcyclist deaths were down: After a record-low year for bicycle fatalities in 2018 (10 fatalities), bicycling deaths in New York City increased in 2019 by the largest margin of any travel mode. To date this year, 28 cyclists have been killed, the most of any year since 1999. Meanwhile, motorcyclist fatalities have declined from 40 last year to 25 so far this year.
Sharp increase in Brooklyn cyclist fatalities: Of the 28 cyclist deaths in 2019, 17 happened in Brooklyn. In 2018, Brooklyn saw only 2 cyclist fatalities.
Borough breakdown: safest-year ever in the Bronx: The Bronx saw the safest year in its recorded history, with 27 fatalities thus far in 2019, compared to 38 last year. (Its previous record low was 32 in 2007.) Staten Island, which had its safest-ever year last year (with 7 fatalities) has seen its second-safest year in 2019 with 8 fatalities thus far. In Manhattan and Queens, fatality trends were largely unchanged, with only Brooklyn seeing a notable increase.
Agency officials also pointed today to a number of major initiatives undertaken by Vision Zero Task Force agencies in 2019:
Major projects for pedestrians: Noting the increased fatalities of the last few weeks, DOT has committed to studying and addressing immediate safety fixes along corridors and at intersections where those traffic fatalities occurred. Other streets have been identified for major safety upgrades in the next year are Northern Boulevard and Queens Boulevard, both identified for safety upgrades in the updated Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans, released by the Mayor last February. Meanwhile, the new Glacier Rock Pedestrian Space in Long Island City is among dozens of projects that DOT undertook in 2019 that offer safety benefits to pedestrians. Other major successful projects in 2019, some in partnership with NYPD, included new-shared streets in downtown Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan; the expansion of pedestrian space along 8th Avenue in Midtown and the increased pedestrian space around Rockefeller Center for the holiday season.
Green Wave, making cycling safer: In July, in response to the upturn in cyclist fatalities, the de Blasio Administration released its Green Wave plan to dramatically expand cycling infrastructure. DOT crews had installed 21.4 miles of new protected bike lanes (PBLs) for 2019, including the Administration’s 100th PBL mile along Fountain Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn. Under the Green Wave and with the enactment of the Safe Streets Master Plan, DOT expects to install 60 additional miles of protected bike lanes by the end of 2021 (30 miles in each of the next two years) – increasing the size of New York City’s on-street protected bike lane network by 60%. Among major protected bike lane projects completed in 2019: Central Park West, 11th Avenue, 52nd and 55th Streets in Manhattan; 4th Avenue and 7th Avenue in Brooklyn; and Willis Avenue in the Bronx. For the first time during UN General Assembly week in September, the NYPD and DOT also partnered to maintain uninterrupted PBL access along First and Second Avenues.
Better Buses: As part of the Administration’s Better Buses plan, DOT made street improvements that improve bus speeds, but those changes have also been shown to increase safety for all street users. Among the major projects undertaken in 2019 were Manhattan’s 14th Street busway, as well as Brooklyn’s Church Avenue and Fresh Pond Road in Queens, congested streets where new bus lanes were added.
Safe Fleet Transition Plan: DCAS is purchasing vehicles with improved safety features, including automatic braking, back-up cameras, driver alerts, designs that improve driver visibility, heated mirrors, and other technologies that monitor speeding and instances of reckless driving. DCAS also leads the country in installing side-guards, barriers that prevent vehicles and cyclists from sliding under large trucks during side-impact collisions. To date, 2,700 vehicles have been equipped with side-guards and more are being added every day.
TLC: The TLC connected drivers and bicyclists in its first Bike Ride and Discussion event this June. Drivers rode on Citi Bikes through Brooklyn with cyclist advocates, followed by a discussion of the experience, challenges they encountered, and safe ways to share the road. In addition, the TLC distributed over 32,000 "Look for Cyclist" stickers to driver centers across the city. Our annual Honor Roll this year recognized 433 drivers, of which 101 were repeat honorees. Over 11,000 drivers received Vision Zero education in 2019, and the TLC has held a total of 661 driver outreach meetings since 2014. The TLC also increased its enforcement in 2019 around unsafe driving behaviors, such as illegal street hails, speeding, failure to yield, and stop sign violations.
Commercial Waste Collection Reform: In past years, progress on Vision Zero has been hindered by the continued high number of fatalities caused by collisions with private carting trucks -- including eight such deaths in 2019. The plan enacted by the City Council in 2019 will dramatically reduce the number of vehicle-miles traveled by these trucks, and also gives the Business Integrity Commission (BIC) new regulatory powers -- including requirements for safer driving practices among carting drivers.
New Mayoral Vision Zero website: This week, the Mayor’s Office of Operations has unveiled a new and improved website that will help track and measure progress of Vision Zero initiatives. Please see ww.nyc.gov/visionzero.
“This year we have seen an increase in pedestrian and cyclist deaths across the City. We have also made many strides to make our streets safer for all New Yorkers. We have drastically increased speed cameras around school zones as well as the number of protected bike lane miles across the City,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chairman of the Transportation Committee.
EDITOR'S NOTE: We left in the comment from the City Council Traffic & Transportation Chair, because he and the city council have been ineffective going against drivers while not educating pedestrians to also be careful as was done in previous administrations. Cameras do not take bad drivers off the road, police officers do.
Drivers have to watch out for not only other vehicles, but pedestrians darting out from anywhere (even from behind large parked trucks) expecting the driver to see them and then stop so they can cross the street anywhere. Then there are the bike and E-Bikes riders who ignore traffic signals or signs, some with no lights or reflectors at night.
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