Report: 60 Percent of State’s Pedestrian Deaths in New York City

A recently released report shows that more than 60 percent of pedestrians who were struck and killed in traffic accidents in the state of New York were hit in the five boroughs of New York City.

A total of 732 pedestrian fatalities occurred between the years of 2011 and 2013, according to the report from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. Of those, 453 people died on New York City’s streets. These statistics also reveal that the state has the worst record in the country for pedestrian deaths.

The report found that most dangerous areas are the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and Woodhaven and Queens Boulevards in Queens. Called the “Boulevard of Death,” Queens Boulevard has witnessed an increase in deaths during the timespan examined in the report.

Recent efforts appear to be helping

The city began a Vision Zero program in 2014 to reduce traffic deaths, namely those to pedestrians. The report acknowledges that 138 pedestrians were killed last year in the five boroughs, which is the lowest on record, and it commends the work the city has done to design new solutions to help keep the most dangerous corridors safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. As part of the initiative, the city has lowered the municipal speed limit and installed pedestrian safety cameras, and has also penalized drivers who do not yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.

Other advocates for traffic safety assert that more needs to be done and that existing budget requests are inadequate to fix the corridors most dangerous for people traveling on foot.

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