Traffic Deaths Drop To New Low In Queens, Mayor Says

WOODSIDE, QUEENS -- Mayor Bill de Blasio touted major drops in 2017 traffic deaths for New York City - and most notably Queens - as proof that his program to eliminate traffic deaths is working.

Traffics death hit a new all-time low in Queens in 2017, leading a drop to record-low traffic death tallies for the city during the year, de Blasio announced on Monday inside the NYPD’s Central Garage in Woodside.

De Blasio said Queens saw a total of just 59 traffic deaths during the year, a new low for the borough, surpassing its previous record of 63 deaths in 2011. The number represents a 9 percent drop in the borough's fatal traffic incidents, which sat at 65 for 2016, he said.

New York City as a whole saw its traffic deaths drop nearly as much over the year. The city reported a total of 214 deaths for 2017 - about 7 percent fewer than 2016. Most notably, the city saw a 32 percent drop in pedestrian deaths for the year.

The tally for 2017 marks the city's fourth consecutive year of declining traffic deaths under Vision Zero, a project de Blasio announced in 2014 to eliminate traffic deaths in the city and encourage use of alternate transportation by installing bike lanes and other safety improvements along roadways throughout the city.

The lower speed limit, increased enforcement and safer street designs are all building on each other to keep New Yorkers safe."

Included in those updates was the Queens Boulevard redesign and the controversial bike lanes that came with it. This year, the Department of Transportation finished its third phase of the redesign - including 2.6 miles of protected bike lanes - through Rego Park and Forest Hills.

While a handful of Queens locals have argued the bike lanes are unsafe for both drivers and pedestrians and take up already-scarce parking along Queens Boulevard, de Blasio countered they've made the once-deadly roadway safer. Once known as "the Boulevard of Death," Queens Boulevard ended 2017 - its third consecutive years - without a single pedestrian or cyclist death, he said.

“Queens Boulevard is proof that longstanding notions of intractable problems can be solved with determination, perseverance and fresh thinking,” said City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside). “I am proud of our work on Queens Boulevard and throughout the City to lower the traffic fatalities."

Lead photo by Hans Pennink/Associated Press