NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio will leave his office having seen more traffic fatalities this year than any other year in his two terms as mayor of the Big Apple, the NY Post reports.
As of December 26th, 266 people had been killed in car crashes on New York City streets, the most since 293 people died in 2013, the year before de Blasio ascended to the mayorship.
The city this year has seen 120 pedestrians, 19 cyclists, 50 motorcyclists, 61 motor vehicle occupants, and 14 users of other devices such as e-scooters, killed on city streets.
De Blasio, who instituted his signature “Vision Zero” program in New York City which reduced speed limits and imposed other measures, saw a 10% reduction in traffic fatalities over his tenure – still a far way off from the zero traffic deaths he promised by 2024.
City officials have blamed several factors for the rise traffic deaths in New York City since 2018, including pandemic-related causes, unlicensed motorists, and drivers who had previous convictions and suspensions.
“It’s been a challenging year, and we mourn every life lost on the streets. But this mayor presided over seven of the eight safest years on record because he made structural changes,” City Hall spokesman Mitch Schwartz said in a statement. “From record installations of bus lanes and bike lanes, to the largest speed camera program in North America, to reduced speed limits on dozens of miles of major corridors, we’ve made important changes to keep New Yorkers safe.”
However, safety advocates say that de Blasio is at least partially to blame for the rise in traffic deaths by failing allocate more space for cyclists and pedestrians.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
8 Responses
Good riddance
Is this the mayor that made it impossible to drive on the BQE?
Maybe he should inforce motor bike laws that do not have license plates? drivers are unlicensed? driving recklessly between cars? not stopping by traffic lights? driving on sidewalk, putting children in danger???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The most brilliant mayor in all of the the Untied States of Chelm
What about lights out on many sections of the highway?faded lane markers? blatant dangerous transgressions of traffic laws and little police enforcement?
I’ve been saying this since the start of vision zero. As long as the focus is solely on the drivers and there is no outreach to the pedestrians there will sadly be people being hit by cars. There should be a campaign to get people to wear reflectors. People walk as if the driver will see them. Be aware of sun glare, twilight, rainy weather. Drivers don’t always see you. There are tens of messages to make pedestrian walking safer, but the focus is sadly only on driving
The harder they make it to get three blocks away the wilder people will drive.
This can be seen by people moving out of NYC suddenly calm down while driving, no need to make the traffic lights or it will take a extra five minutes to get home five blocks away.
In Blasios simplistic brain: close highways, make bike lanes- voila! no more cars… no more accidents!!
This article makes clear – if you read it – that deBlasio’s Vision Zero policy was successful. His final year may be his “worst,” but it is still better than the ones that came before it.
Yes, there are tragic deaths, including many frum whose stories are reported on YWN, and some of the commenters wail and ridicule deBlasio, but deBlasio’s traffic policies have clearly reduced the number of deaths. So please embrace the advice of Rabbi Ben Stern: “Sit down, shut up.”