A recent study of New York City pedestrian fatalities has helped shed light on which of the city’s numerous intersections is the most dangerous. The study, which was completed by three groups, Transportation Alternatives, Families for Safe Streets, and Open Plans, highlighted 116 intersections that had at least five fatalities since 2022. You can see the data in its entirety on the Transportation Alternatives website.
The study places an importance on realizing how many New Yorkers walk for work, to the grocery store, or just as their main form of transportation. The population of New York City is around 8.5 million, and, according to the study, nearly three million residents live within a half mile of one of the 116 dangerous intersections.
Of the 116 intersections, the most obstructed in each borough according to the study are the West 120th Street & Lenox Avenue intersection in Manhattan, the Northern Boulevard & 48th Street intersection in Queens, the Flatbush Avenue & Avenue H intersection in Brooklyn, the Bruckner Boulevard & St. Ann’s Avenue intersection in the Bronx, and the Hunton Street & Richmond Road intersection in Staten Island. The Manhattan and Queens intersections both had nine fatalities over the course of the study, the Brooklyn and Bronx intersections had eight, and the Staten Island intersection had 7.
What is being done about it?
The study featured on the Transportation Alternatives website also discussed some of the issues that contribute to these fatalities. Currently, the New York City Council is looking at proposals that would help improve upon the current obstructions. The introduced proposal, titled 1138, would put into law that drivers are not allowed to park within 20 feet of an intersection.
The process in which the curb space is repurposed to improve visibility is called daylighting, and it’s the action the study groups want to see. Currently, most areas of New York City allow drivers to park right next to the sidewalk, creating blind spots where pedestrians can’t see drivers and drivers can’t see pedestrians.
The proposal, which was first brought to the New York City Council on December 5, 2024, has yet to have a vote called for it. The report also states that the council has now gone over 370 days without a vote and 230 days without a hearing.
Ben Furnas, Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives, placed an importance on the need for safe intersections. “Every day, over a million students go to school across New York City, and every day they have to cross dangerous intersections,” he stated.
However, as of writing the New York City Council has yet to make any progress regarding the proposal.
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