Mobilizing the Region
Issue 43July 20, 1995



Wrong Foot Forward


The Tri-State Transportation Campaign and Transportation Alternatives released a seven-page study this week showing that over the next five years, capital spending in New York City to increase motorist safety will be 22 times greater than that devoted to greater pedestrian safety. Yet annual pedestrian fatalities in the five boroughs regularly exceed motorist fatalities. In 1994, 475 New Yorkers lost their lives in traffic accidents or collisions. 250, or 52%, of those were pedestrians. 45% (212 total) were drivers, passengers in cars or motorcyclists (the remaining 3% (13 total) were bicyclists). But over 95% of planned roadway safety spending in the will be oriented to motorist safety -- less than five percent is slated to improve pedestrian safety.

The report, entitled The Wrong Foot Forward: Projected Traffic Safety Investments for New York City--1994-1999, concedes that from an infrastructure investment perspective, preventing motorist deaths is more costly than avoiding pedestrians fatalities. Yet there are numerous capital investments transportation planners can make, including traffic calming street and intersection redesigns and stepping up the pace of meeting citizen demands for signage and traffic signal installations. The report recommends that the New York City Dept. of Transportation seek more resources for pedestrian safety projects in the federal fund allocation process organized by the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council, and that the New York State Dept. of Transportation establish means to transfer some of its highway safety spending to meet the risks encountered by NYC pedestrians. The Campaign and Transportation Alternatives say these agencies should quadruple planned capital spending for pedestrian safety between now and 1999, from $20 million to $80 million. Shifting funds of this amount would still leave about $320 million for priority motorist safety projects identified by the DOTs -- still four times the amount we propose to spend for pedestrian safety. Contact the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, 212-777-8181 or Transportation Alternatives 212-475-4600 for copies of the report.

NYC traffic fatalities 1994, Safety Invest Roads and streets





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