NYC Launches Major Traffic Safety Campaign

The new initiative from the city's Department of Transportation and Police Department will target speeding and failure-to-yield violations, including rogue cyclists.

1 minute read

November 3, 2010, 11:00 AM PDT

By Lynn Vande Stouwe


With funding from the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee and the federal government, the city is using a combination of public service announcements and heightened enforcement in hopes of better protecting pedestrians, writes Ben Fried. Failure-to-yield violations are a factor in 27 percent of accidents that injure or kill pedestrians in New York, and speeding is involved in 20 percent. The program will also focus on bicyclists who ride on the sidewalk, against signals and the wrong way down city streets.

The initiative is welcomed by transit advocacy groups like Transportation Alternatives, which lent its support in a statement:

"We're all neighbors, and exercising courtesy and respect will prevent crashes and save life and limb. It will also help to rein in NYC's chaotic streets and make the city a more welcoming and desirable place to live. While the DOT has done a lot of work to design safer streets, only the Police Department can enforce the rules of the road."

Thursday, October 21, 2010 in Streetsblog

Chicago Intercity Rail

Amtrak Ramping Up Infrastructure Projects

Thanks to federal funding from the 2021 infrastructure act, the agency plans to triple its investment in infrastructure improvements and new routes in the next two years.

September 25, 2023 - Smart Cities Dive

Google maps street view of San Francisco alleyway.

Ending Downtown San Francisco’s ‘Doom Loop’

A new public space project offers an ambitious vision—so why is the city implementing it at such a small scale?

September 26, 2023 - Fast Company

Google street view of yellow "End Freeway 1/4 mile" sign on 90 freeway in Los Angeles, California.

Proposal Would Transform L.A.’s ‘Freeway to Nowhere’ Into Park, Housing

A never-completed freeway segment could see new life as a mixed-use development with housing, commercial space, and one of the county’s largest parks.

September 26, 2023 - Los Angeles Times

Close-up of 'bike lane' road sign with bike logo

Report: U.S. Biking Boom Slows

The pandemic bike boom is petering out, but more Americans are biking than ever before, signaling a need for cities to keep improving bike infrastructure and make roads safer for cyclists.

34 minutes ago - Streetsblog USA

Newly constructed houses in Tempe, Arizona.

Tempe Historic Preservation Proposal Could Make it Harder to Build New Homes

Proposed changes to the city’s preservation ordinance would make two-thirds of the city’s housing stock eligible for preservation.

1 hour ago - The State Press

Blue and green city bus blurred in transit on New York City street.

How to Measure Transit Equity

A new report highlights the need to go beyond traditional equity metrics to assess how public transit systems are serving the lowest-income and most disadvantaged riders.

2 hours ago - Mineta Institute

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.