Jon Orcutt, former policy director at NYC DOT and current advocacy and communications director at TransitCenter, posted an update on fatalities at his personal Tumblr using the NYPD feed. As of the end of May, 77 people were killed in traffic in 2016 -- down from 87 at the same point last year.
All of the improvement happened in a single month -- May -- a caveat to avoid reading too much into the numbers.
One cause for concern is that total traffic injuries are up, from 18,914 in the first five months of 2015 to 22,226 through May this year. Looking only at pedestrian injuries, the number is also on the rise -- from 3,949 to 4,395. The injury statistics don't account for severity, however, so we don't know if serious injuries have increased, bucking the trend in fatalities, or if minor injuries are propelling the increase.
While 2016 will be the safest year on record in NYC if the decrease in traffic deaths holds up over the full year, the city will still not be on pace to achieve the Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2024. With legislative leaders and Governor Cuomo failing to pass a bill expanding New York City's automated speed enforcement program this session, it's even more urgent for City Hall to make changes to the streets that will reduce the loss of life.
David was Streetsblog's do-it-all New York City beat reporter from 2015 to 2019. He returned as deputy editor in 2023 after a three-year stint at the New York Post.
"In Stockholm, people really thought that congestion pricing would be the end of the world, the city will come to a standstill, no one would be able to get to work anymore and all the theaters and shops would just go bankrupt. None of that happened."