On Tuesday, February 19th, a group of our local political representatives gathered together to reaffirm their commitment to Vision Zero. The initiative, overseen by the Department of Transportation and the NYPD, focuses on reducing traffic-related fatalities to zero. What role can Bay Ridge play in helping to improve traffic safety city-wide, and what further changes can we expect to see on our neighborhoods streets?
Today on the show we’re joined by our transit correspondent Brian Hedden, who’ll go over the political landscape of traffic safety, as well as some of the most common street calming measures the DOT will be using to address our unsafe streets. We’ll also look at the stats behind the most recent priority corridor data presented in the Vision Zero report.
Show Notes
Check Out Vision Zero Maps
You can take a glance at the most up-to-date crash and traffic safety stats on the Vision Zero website. You can check out where crashes occur, speed limits, and even the location of new street designs! For example, you can see where Leading Pedestrian Intervals have been implemented in Bay Ridge.
Watch the Full Press Conference
How Deadly Are Our Avenues?
As we mentioned on the show, 65th Street has been de-listed from the Vision Zero priority corridor program. When it was added in 2009, it had a KSI rate of 7.7. That refers to the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured (KSI) annually per mile of road. Since 2009 that number has dropped by 28%, to 5.5.
However, for 86th street, that number has only dropped 24%, from a deadlier 8.8 KSI, to 6.7.
Fourth Avenue remains the deadliest in the neighborhood at 10.2 KSI. DOT efforts have only been able to reduce this to 6.9, a significant reduction. Brian’s analysis, which he references in the show, notes that much of this reduction came from the 4th Avenue Road Diet in Sunset Park, which Bay Ridge’s Community Board 10 did not approve. In fact, our KSI rate climbed slightly.
Learn More About Common Street Designs
Check out these overviews on how some of the common New York City Department of Transportation designs work.
- Leading Pedestrian Interval
- Left Turn Traffic Calming
- Left Turn Only Phases
- Bus Boarding Islands
- Speed Cushions
- Raised Crosswalks
- Pedestrian Islands
- Road Diets
Get Involved With Traffic Safety Groups
Bay Ridge has a few local groups you should definitely get involved in, if you are concerned about pedestrian safety. Check them out!
B.R.A.K.E.S (Bay Ridge Advocates for Keeping Everyone Safe)
To underscore how important BRAKES is to Bay Ridge, we only need to point out it was co-founder Maureen Landers who introduced De Blasio at the press conference, not the other way around.
Check them out at their Facebook page, subscribe, and get notified of their upcoming events.
Bike South Brooklyn!
If you are a pedestrian or cyclist, you can also get involved in bicycle-centric activism through Bike South Brooklyn! They generally hold meetings on a monthly basis. You can check out upcoming events on their Facebook page.
Community Board 10 Street Safety Committee
After its first meeting in February, the Street Safety Committee at CB 10 doesn’t seem to have a second meeting scheduled for March. Stay up to date by checking out the Community Board 10 calendar.
Families For Safe Streets
If you or a loved one has been a victim of a traffic crash, Families for Safe Streets provides great resources not only to heal but to affect real change.
Southern Brooklyn Pedestrian Safety Task Force
Senator Andrew Gounardes announced a special pedestrian safety task force to look into traffic injuries and fatalities across the district. While it’s appointment only, we’ll bring you updates on the task force’s progress as it become available.