$904M bid to slow NYC traffic deaths

Amid soaring traffic deaths across the Big Apple, the city will spend more than $900 million over the next five years on expanding bike lanes and other safety measures to help New Yorkers “reclaim” their streets from dangerous drivers, Mayor Adams announced Saturday.

“This is a historical investment in making our streets safe,” Adams said during a press conference at the Albee Square pedestrian plaza in Brooklyn.

“Too many New Yorkers have lost their lives to the traffic-violence crisis, and we are seeing cities across the country struggle just like us, but this historic investment will allow New Yorkers to walk and cycle around our city without fear,” he added.

As of April 17, traffic fatalities in the city have surged by 21.6% as 62

people — including pedestrians — died in car crashes, compared to 51 over the same period in 2021, according to NYPD data.

Adams said his $904 million budget commitment will expand on goals laid out late last year under former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s NYC Streets Plan by significantly increasing the mileage of the city’s bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes and busways. That $1.7 billion plan was to cover 10 years and set ambitious targets: 150 miles of dedicated bus lanes and 250 miles of protected bike lanes within five years, signal priority for public transit at nearly 5,000 intersections and 1 million new square feet of space for pedestrians within two years.

Adams also insisted the city will get to work “immediately” installing physical barriers to five “protected” bike lanes.

He said the additions will provide half of the 20 miles of protected lanes he previously promised to deliver to New Yorkers by the end of 2023.

Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the city still has “lots of work to do to address reckless driving and the senseless traffic violence” plaguing its streets and believes the new commitment is a great start.

To celebrate the city’s Car Free Earth Day, Adams, Rodriguez and other city officials biked over the Brooklyn Bridge from City Hall to Albee Square.

The dangerous driving continued over the weekend when an 89-year-old woman was left in critical condition when struck by a driver in Queens on Saturday.

This historic investment will allow New Yorkers to walk and cycle around our city without fear.

— Mayor Adams on a $904 million road-safety plan