Vision Zero

The success or failure of a Vision Zero law intended to get reckless cab drivers off the road will depend on how often NYPD issues summonses and charges after serious crashes, the Taxi and Limousine Commission confirmed today.

An MTA bus driver killed a pedestrian in Queens last night. As with a fatal August crash in Manhattan, NYPD did not apply charges against the driver under a new Vision Zero law, despite information that suggests the victim had the right of way.

City Hall and Senator Charles Schumer announced yesterday that NYC DOT had secured a $25 million federal grant for street safety and greenway projects in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Notably, the press release announcing the funding hailed street design improvements as a "critical" component of the city's Vision Zero safety agenda. In addition, a separate $1.4 million federal grant will fund a transportation study for the Rockaways.

NYPD has not filed charges against a cab driver who killed a pedestrian on the Upper East Side last week, despite indications that the crash may warrant a misdemeanor charge under a new city law.

DOT will consider design changes at the Park Avenue intersection in East Harlem where drivers have recently killed three cyclists, but there are no plans for new bike infrastructure along the Park Avenue viaduct.

It's day two of NYPD's bike enforcement blitz, and for all its professed good intentions, image-wise the department isn't doing itself any favors.

Clarence Eckerson shot this great interview with Mary Beth Kelly of Families for Safe Streets and Claes Tingvall, director of traffic safety for the Swedish Transport Administration.

This is it -- the last day to mark dangerous street conditions on the city's official Vision Zero map. After today, agencies will start using the information from the map to make plans for safety improvements, so spend a few minutes this afternoon and tell the city where you want safer streets for walking and biking.

NYPD increased enforcement of dangerous traffic violations during the first six months of the city's Vision Zero initiative, but enforcement varied drastically from precinct to precinct, with some issuing fewer summonses than last year.