A Round and a Roundy: Extreme Makeover Edition
Why does it take so many deaths before the city Department of Transportation tames the monster?
By
Streetsblog
1:37 PM EDT on June 15, 2021

This week’s question is, “Why does it take so many deaths before the city Department of Transportation redesigns a roadway to be safer?”
We started asking that question anew last month after the death of teacher Matthew Jensen on McGuinness Boulevard, where 11 pedestrians and three cyclists have been killed since 1995.
Jensen’s death encouraged Mayor de Blasio to quickly commit $40 million for a redesign of the roadway, which is great, but also long overdue.
And it made our national treasure cartoonist remember all the other deadly roadways — depicted above as monsters — that are long overdue for the kind of makeover that will soon tame the McGuinness monster.
All of Bill Roundy’s cartoons are archived here.
This piece was the work of the Streetsblog staff.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog New York City
Council Speaker Slams Amazon For Delivery Worker Layoffs
Speaker Julie Menin said that the firing of 200 workers shows the need to regulate Amazon.
November 13, 2026
A Brooklyn Artist Built A Tower To Memorialize Victims Of Road Crashes
The landscape of New York City is really a crashscape.
November 13, 2026
Friday’s Headlines: Make Delivery Work Edition
Council Member Harvey Epstein wants to force delivery apps to provide rest areas, bathrooms and e-bike charging for their workers. Plus more news.
November 13, 2026
Transportation Advocates Split on Senate’s Big Permitting Bill
Would the BAAJA blast multimodal projects out of bureaucratic purgatory, make it a breeze to expand highways ... or both? Advocates sound off.
November 13, 2026
City to Close Bus-Clogged Lane on the Manhattan Bridge
Bus drivers love to block the lane, but it’s an opportunity to think much bigger.
November 12, 2026