NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – New York City experienced its deadliest start to the year since Vision Zero was put in place a decade ago—with 60 people killed in traffic crashes in the first quarter of 2024, according to a new report.
The 60 traffic-related deaths are 50% more than the lowest recorded stretch in early 2018, according to the report by Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets. The news follows a record number of bicycle deaths in 2023, when overall, 260 people died from traffic-related incidents.
“We grieve for the loss of any life on our streets,” a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
According to the new report, SUVs and larger vehicles are the leading cause of fatal accidents in NYC, accounting for 79% of deaths among pedestrians, cyclists, and moped riders, killing 21 pedestrians and four cyclists, with no fatalities caused by cyclists or mopeds. By comparison, no fatalities were caused by cyclists or mopeds.
Cars pose risks to cyclists on streets lacking bike protection. The first quarter saw double the average cyclist fatalities compared to the Vision Zero era, according to the report. The fatalities contribute to the deadliest year for cyclists since 1999. None of the cyclists killed had access to protected bike lanes, and 83% were on streets lacking bike safety infrastructure.
For pedestrian fatalities, 89% of intersections lacked any form of daylighting, while 100% lacked physical daylighting to prevent drivers from parking at crosswalks.
Brooklyn and Queens were especially hard hit, experiencing their highest number of deaths in the first quarter of the past ten years.
Queens saw more traffic deaths than any other time since Vision Zero began. Although only 27% of New Yorkers live in Queens, 37% of the traffic deaths this year occurred there, according to the report. On March 12, a woman named Natalia Garcia-Valencia was hit by a car and killed while walking, becoming the 750th person to die in traffic in Queens since the program started.
“Today’s numbers should be a sobering call to action for the Adams administration,” said Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “It is unconscionable that this is the deadliest first quarter under Vision Zero, a whole decade after the program first launched. New Yorkers don't need any more platitudes, they need and deserve real action from their leaders.”
A major contributing factor to this year's increase in traffic fatalities was a devastating crash on the Cross Island Parkway on Jan. 1, which resulted in the deaths of five people, sources told 1010 WINS.
Additionally, for the second consecutive year, there has been a concerning rise in fatalities involving motorized two-wheeled devices such as mopeds, e-bikes, e-scooters, and motorcycles, as their usage has become more popular, sources said.
“After 2023, a year that saw near-record-low pedestrian fatalities and record-high production of protected bicycle lanes in New York City, we remain dedicated to our Vision Zero goals,” the DOT said. “Through a series of ground-breaking interventions around education, enforcement and engineering -- including new daylighting at 1,000 intersections citywide -- we are continuing that good work and are hopeful that we can reverse the disturbing trends so far this year.”