Vision Zero’s decade of safer streets

Today, Feb. 18, New York City marks the 10th anniversary of the Vision Zero traffic safety program, which has had a transformative effect on our streets. From my days chairing the City Council’s Transportation Committee, when Vision Zero started, to now leading the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), I know many New Yorkers take those transformations for granted. But hearing from the families of traffic violence victims who first courageously urged New York to embrace Vision Zero, I know the importance of our efforts.

We know much work is left to do. But on this anniversary, it is worthwhile to first take stock of the incredible progress over the past decade as we took an unprecedented approach to fostering safer and more equitable streets for all New Yorkers.

Inspired by our colleagues in Europe, New York City was the first Vision Zero city in America, as we recognized that our goal should be NO traffic fatalities, and uses a mix of engineering, education, and enforcement measures to get there. Since 2014, Vision Zero has been instrumental in driving down traffic deaths in NYC by more than 10%, with pedestrian fatalities declining a dramatic 37%.

As national trends move in the opposite direction, our efforts here have saved lives, spared families from heartbreak, and made communities stronger through the collective efforts of a range of New Yorkers — from advocates to elected officials and beyond.

Those tangible results also reflect the commitment of Mayor Adams to equity: neighborhoods with the highest percentages of non-white residents actually saw a 16% decrease in overall traffic fatalities during the 10 years of the program; in just the last two years, African-American traffic fatalities have declined 36%.

Vision Zero has worked because it is driven by data. By leveraging detailed information about crashes, we make sure that each day NYC DOT deploys new safety interventions where they are needed most — by raising crosswalks to make intersections safer or adding pedestrian head-start signals, protected bicycle lanes, and much more.

Vision Zero’s greatest legacy may in fact lie in dramatic physical changes we made to the streets themselves. With more than 1,200 safety projects completed and more than 200 miles of protected bike lanes installed, New York City’s landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Iconic thoroughfares like Queens Blvd. and the Grand Concourse may stand as the best examples, with significant declines in crashes, pedestrian injuries, and deaths. But every neighborhood has seen change, and last year we built a record number of protected bike lanes, prioritizing underserved communities such as the South Bronx and East New York, and to accommodate faster e-mobility devices, we also widened lanes.

Education has also been a cornerstone of Vision Zero’s outreach efforts, as NYC DOT has fostered a new level of traffic safety consciousness. From school visits to training sessions for transportation professionals, we sparked culture change around the importance of responsible road behavior.

Finally, enforcement, too, has played a pivotal role in Vision Zero. We deployed hundreds of new speed cameras, and their expansion to 24/7 operation in 2022 led to a significant reduction in overnight speeding, dropping by an average of 30% along corridors with camera enforcement. We focus on speed because it is the key factor between life and death in most traffic crashes: a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 25 mph is half as likely to die as a pedestrian struck at 30 mph.

Looking ahead, New York City’s experience should serve as an inspiration for other American cities, especially around pedestrian fatalities — which Vision Zero has helped drive to record lows here. Last year in New York City we had the second-fewest pedestrian fatalities in 114 years of recorded data while across the country, pedestrian deaths reached 40-year highs.

Here in New York, we have now set our sights even higher, with plans to add more space at intersections (called “daylighting”) and secure more red-light cameras, which we believe can save even more lives.

Because we have not yet met Vision Zero’s ultimate goal, the 10th anniversary is a bittersweet milestone: at my agency, we are making it a reaffirmation of our sober and collective commitment to building a safer, more equitable future. As we reflect on a decade of progress, we will redouble our efforts to make every street safer.

Together, we can continue to work to honor those grieving families who have bravely turned their pain into purpose — and bring the vision of zero traffic fatalities to a reality.