Extra folks died in New York Metropolis automotive crashes within the first six months of 2021 than the first-half of every other 12 months since Mayor Invoice de Blasio took workplace, in accordance with a brand new report — regardless of Hizzoner’s vow to chop site visitors deaths to zero.
A record-setting 124 folks had died in site visitors by June 30, 2021, in accordance with bicycle and pedestrian advocates at Transportation Options.
Pedestrian and motorcar occupants suffered probably the most, the group stated — with 64 walkers and 52 motorists killed to date. Deadly crashes additionally took the lives of eight cyclists.
“Extra persons are dying on Mayor de Blasio’s streets as a result of he did not shortly and aggressively scale the protection options of Imaginative and prescient Zero… as a substitute selecting to ship piecemeal initiatives and unfulfilled guarantees,” stated the group’s director Danny Harris.
Might 2021 marked the deadliest month for site visitors fatalities since de Blasio took workplace on January 1, 2014, in accordance with the report, which used official NYPD stats.
Hit-and-runs have been particularly unhealthy, the report stated — with 47 within the first six months of 2021, greater than any half-year interval since cops started maintaining monitor in 2015. Of these 47 circumstances the place drivers fled crash scenes, NYPD made simply 11 arrests, the report stated.
The group stated the mayor should “fast-track” avenue redesigns in his last 5 months in workplace to reallocate avenue house at present for automobiles for pedestrians and bike lanes.
Reached for remark, a Metropolis Corridor spokesman directed The Submit to de Blasio’s July 2 feedback on WNYC concerning the tragic surge in site visitors deaths.
“What went unsuitable is COVID,” the mayor stated on the time of his “Imaginative and prescient Zero” program, which initially promised to chop site visitors fatalities to zero by 2024.
The feedback echoed his repeated protection of town’s ongoing surge in gun violence.
“We noticed [Vision Zero] radically decreased crashes and accidents and deaths,” de Blasio stated.
“Alongside comes COVID, and identical to with our efforts to struggle violence for six years… COVID unglued all the pieces.”
