Abreu asks DOT about boulevards of death
Abreu cites Transportation Alternatives' list of 50 boulevards of death, which make up 4% of street miles but over 20% of fatalities. Flynn says DOT focuses on Vision Zero priority corridors and points to a 90% fatality drop on Queens Boulevard. Beaton says DOT brings the whole toolbox to those streets.
Transportation Alternatives recently identified a list of 50 boulevards of death, streets that make up just 4% of the city's street miles but that account for more than 20% of traffic fatalities.
Have you studied these boulevards of death and do you have an understanding of why these particular streets are so deadly?
You know, absolutely.
Looking at the highest crash corridors and locations is really at the core of our Vision Zero work.
And obviously, by its nature, it's always a moving target, right?
If we address one of the top most dangerous corridors, then you'll just keep going down the list.
And so I think like Queens Boulevard is a really interesting example where it was the original, I guess, Boulevard of Death, right?
And there was a sustained effort both through quicker changes and then long-term capital projects to improve it.
And we've seen a 90-plus percent drop in fatalities on Queens Boulevard since then.
Obviously, big streets like that will continue, though, to be a challenge just by their nature.
So it doesn't mean we won't come back and make more fixes.
But the short answer to your question is yes.
Really, that's the purpose of the Vision Zero priority corridors.
Can you speak to what DOT is doing to prioritize investments in the boulevards of death to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists?
Sure, and this speaks to exactly why we put out and update our Vision Zero priority corridors, because it allows us to focus our work in those places where crashes are most frequent.
And so we bring the whole toolbox to those streets, right?
Those include physical redesigns.
It includes working with NYPD on enforcement.
It includes automated enforcement.
It includes looking at the traffic signal timing.
That when we have a street that has been identified as unsafe, we don't want to leave that untouched.
We want to make sure that we are always looking at those most crash-prone streets and doing everything we can to bring it down.
And if we bring it down, then there's another most crash-prone street, and we're going to go after that one.
I mean, look, 20% is a big, it's pretty, pretty big for only 4% of the city street miles.
And so it sounds like a worthy focus and worthy investment for our city.
So I hope that this administration remains committed to addressing the 50 boulevards of death.