Community Organizations

Children growing up in Manhattan's low-income communities are at significantly higher risk of being seriously injured or killed in traffic than their neighbors in wealthier districts, a new study from Transportation Alternatives finds [PDF]. Intersections near public housing appear to be particularly dangerous for children trying to cross the street.

Despite the millions of New Yorkers who ride subways and buses and the thousands of life-altering traffic injuries suffered by residents of the five boroughs every year, transit and safe streets are typically second- or third-tier issues in the city's big-time political campaigns. The 2013 mayoral election could be different: NYC DOT's program to re-orient city streets for transit, biking and walking has raised the profile of transportation and public space issues. And that's before any bike-share stations have hit the streets.

An important heads up from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign: Towns looking to shape their future around NYC region's extensive transit network have until the end of the week to apply for a grant from Tri-State and the One Region Funders' Group to help turn those aspirations into a concrete vision.

Want to understand why more Manhattanites don't ride the bus? Look no further than this year's Pokey awards, given out annually by the Straphangers Campaign. Manhattan buses, as usual, top the list of the year's slowest service.

The passage of New York's complete streets law was one of the year's biggest victories for safe and sustainable transportation. At its annual benefit next Thursday, Tri-State Transportation Campaign will celebrate getting the  through Albany and honor three pivotal figures in that fight: Sen. Charles Fuschillo, the bill's sponsor; Sandi Vega, whose daughter Brittany was killed while crossing Long Island's Sunrise Highway and who became a tireless advocate for complete streets; and the AARP. Also speaking will be special guest Janette Sadik-Khan.

The family of Mathieu Lefevre, the 30-year-old artist killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in East Williamsburg last week, was joined by dozens of supporters outside 1 Police Plaza today to demand that NYPD rein in deadly driving and end its policy of silence when it comes to fatal traffic crashes.

On Monday Transportation Alternatives released a report tallying pedestrian-involved crashes in each of the city's community board districts, based on numbers from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, between 1995 and 2009. Not surprisingly, the data reveal that the most collisions occurred in Midtown Manhattan, where high-density auto and foot traffic led to 8,604 crashes in District 5 alone.

Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the adoption of Hayley and Diego's Law, which established the charge of "careless driving" in New York State and gave police and prosecutors a new tool to hold motorists who injure pedestrians and cyclists accountable. Unfortunately, says Transportation Alternatives, over the past 12 months the law has gone largely unenforced by NYPD.