N.Y. Report Identifies Region’s Most Dangerous Roads for Pedestrians

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a policy watchdog group based in New York, released its annual report listing the region’s most dangerous roads for pedestrians.

The report analyzed federal data from 2008 to 2010. It found that overall, more than 1,200 pedestrians are killed in New Jersey, downstate New York, and Connecticut each year.

The analysis showed that, for the second year in a row, the tri-state region’s most dangerous road for pedestrians is the Hempstead Turnpike in Nassau County, N.Y. Between 2008 and 2010, 15 pedestrians were killed along the 16-mile stretch of roadway, with most of those fatalities occurring in the six miles between Franklin Square and East Meadow.

“Our analysis has shown again and again that the Hempstead Turnpike is a deadly road for pedestrians, and we welcome New York DOT’s recent commitment to short and long term safety fixes for it,” said Ryan Lynch, policy director with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

The group said the analysis found that arterial roads – roads with two or more lanes in each direction that are designed to accommodate vehicle speeds of 40 mph or higher – are the most deadly for pedestrians.

“These roads are not traditionally designed with pedestrians’ needs in mind, yet they run throughout the tri-state region, from parts of Manhattan’s Broadway to US-1 in Connecticut,” said Renata Silberblatt, report author and staff analyst.

Following Hempstead Turnpike, Broadway in Manhattan, N.Y., Sunrise Highway in Suffolk County, N.Y., and Burlington Pike in Burlington County, N.J., were the region’s most dangerous roads.

The group noted that making dangerous roads safer is often a matter of simply adding pedestrian infrastructure – from a well-defined crosswalk to a timed pedestrian countdown signal to a sidewalk extension.

“Time and time again, we have seen that small scale pedestrian improvements have great impacts on communities,” said executive director Kate Slevin. “These improvements save lives, promote health and contribute to local economies.”

The full report including factsheets and maps of the region’s most dangerous roads is available online at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign website.

Topics New York