More than three-quarters of city voters think pedestrian safety is a serious issue, a reminder that if candidates for mayor neglect this vital livable streets issue, they do so at their own peril.
In the new Siena College Research Institute poll issued on Tuesday, 77 percent of voters said that "pedestrian safety on streets and sidewalks" was a "very" or "somewhat" serious problem. That result put pedestrian safety in the top four problems troubling New York City voters, behind "affordability of life" (94 percent), cost of housing (88 percent) and crime (79 percent), and ahead of the fraying of the social safety net (68 percent) and racial and ethnic discrimination (62 percent).
The crosstabs show even more detail about who is primarily concerned about pedestrian safety:
- Women, who remain the primary caregivers for both the aged and children in our society, were far more likely to say that safety is a serious issue than men, by an 82-to-72 breakdown.
- The Bronx is the borough where residents are most concerned, with 82 percent of the Boogie Down saying pedestrian safety was a very or somewhat serious matter.
- Republicans (76 percent) and Democrats (77 percent) are more or less equally concerned about pedestrian safety.
- Seniors, who are less likely to drive, are the most worried about safety, with 42 percent of people over 65 saying it is a "very" serious issue (though it is also a "very" serious issue for 39 percent of people aged 18-34).
The widespread concern over street safety is not a surprise to advocates.
"Seventy-seven percent of New Yorkers identify pedestrian safety as a critical issue facing our city. We agree," said Ben Furnas, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives. "New York leaders can improve the safety of our streets and sidewalks by passing universal daylighting legislation in NYC, and by passing legislation to stop super speeders in Albany. We need a two-pronged approach: redesigning streets to improve safety, and preventing super speeders from repeatedly putting New York families in danger. It's time for politicians to step up to protect New Yorkers and make it safe to cross the street."
So far in the mayoral contest, affordability, housing/homelessness and crime have been the main drivers of media coverage and candidate press releases. But the poll — a survey of 811 registered voters conducted between April 7 and April 10 with a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percent — shows that voters are hungry for candidates to address a singular fear: being struck and injured or killed by a car or truck driver on the street or even the less-likely scenario of encountering a moped on a sidewalk.
The AARP, which conducted the poll with Siena, said it was "not surprised" by the results of the poll, given its long-standing push for safer streets for seniors.
"New York City residents are more likely to rely on public transit and walking, and we know that older adults are at much higher risk of injury when struck by a vehicle, so the poll results did not surprise us," said Kevin Jones, the group's associate state director for advocacy.
He added that when the same question was asked the same way in the 2021 mayoral poll, the number was the same: 77 percent of respondents said pedestrian safety was "very" or "somewhat" serious.
The obvious question for the candidates is what part of "pedestrian safety" to focus on. According to city stats, cars and truck drivers have caused virtually all of the 21,652 injuries and 51 fatalities that have occurred on New York City streets and sidewalks so far this year, the most high-profile of which was the recent slaughter of a Midwood family on Ocean Parkway by a recidivist reckless driver operating her vehicle at high speed with a suspended license.
Meanwhile, some voters believe that electric bikes and mopeds constitute the greatest threat to public safety, even though statistics show that very few injuries and virtually no fatalities are caused by the operators of those vehicles.
Nonetheless, the campaign of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has focused his "safety" message on calling for a "comprehensive plan to regulate e-bikes," citing "the dangers they pose."
Cuomo has not put out a position paper on the dangers posed by car drivers, and the minuscule section of his "public safety" white paper that dealt with road safety, he did not mention car or truck drivers at all, focuses only on the supposed danger of e-bikes. (Cuomo has not filled in Streetsblog's candidate questionnaire, nor responded to follow-ups from our staff.)
Other candidates said, "Cuo-no!" to the former governor's position on pedestrian safety in their responses to Streetsblog:
- Scott Stringer said he would improve pedestrian safety by investing "in the massive expansion of protected bike lanes, so cyclists have a dedicated and safe space to traverse the streets, instead of feeling the need to utilize space designated for walking." In a follow-up question, the Stringer campaign said that its top-three issues from the list are "affordability, housing and crime" because they are all "related to quality of life. ... That's why Scott proposed QualityStat."
- Zellnor Myrie said, "The best way to promote better street safety is through more robust street designs that better separate bikers, pedestrians and drivers." In a follow-up question from Streetsblog, campaign spokesperson Olivia Lapeyrolerie added, “These issues are all interconnected, which is why Zellnor Myrie’s plans to deliver one million homes, provide free, universal afterschool and full day pre-K, deliver safer streets and sidewalks, will make our city fairer and more affordable.”
- Jessica Ramos said, "We need bike lanes designed to safely accommodate both analog and e-bikes" and called e-bikes "a vital tool for reducing car dependency." In a follow-up interview, the Ramos campaign said its main issues are addressing voters' need for "a steady home, safe streets, and an economy where one good job is enough."
- Zohran Mamdani also embraced e-bikes as a tool and said he would "regulate the [delivery] companies which create these working conditions ... paired with rapid expansion of the city’s protected cycling network to ensure we have the infrastructure needed to keep everyone safe."
- Brad Lander has a multi-pronged approach outlined in his report, "Street Safety in the Era of Micromobility." A spokeswoman for Lander said the campaign didn't want to pick its biggest concern, but emphasized that better bike lanes would be a critical part of Lander's promise to oversee a "better run city."
- Only Whitney Tilson explicitly called out e-bike riders, saying that "too many" of them "endanger cyclists and pedestrians, especially older New Yorkers and parents with young children." He said he would cap e-bike speeds to 20 miles per hour and "require all drivers to be registered and insured, putting the onus on the companies employing them to comply."
