New York Families Push For Rapid Implementation Of 'Vision Zero' Initiative
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Many voices have joined as one in a call to make city streets safer for pedestrians.
Members of a new group called 'Families For Safer Streets' gathered on the steps outside of city hall on Sunday afternoon, 1010 WINS reported.
New York Families Push For Rapid Implementation Of 'Vision Zero' Initiative
Many in attendance held signs demanding that the city speed limit be lowered to 20-mph.
The organization is the outgrowth of tragedy, it was formed by people who have lost loved ones to traffic accidents.
"We demand an end to traffic violence that kills more New Yorkers than those murdered by guns," one organizer said.
Last week, CBS 2 aired an exclusive report that showed Mayor Bill De Blasio's driver blowing through stop signs and breaking speed limits.
The mayor has previously pledged to make the streets safer through a program that he has named 'Vision Zero'.
There were 286 traffic fatalities in the five boroughs in 2013, de Blasio said.
"We refuse to accept the loss of children, parents and neighbors as inevitable," the mayor said in a statement. "We are focusing the full weight of city government to prevent fatalities on our streets."
The new 62-point strategy includes:
- Increasing enforcement against speeding
- Developing borough-specific street safety plans
- Redesigning 50 intersections and corridors each year to improve safety
- Reducing the citywide speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph
- Expanding the use of speed and red light enforcement cameras
- Expanding neighborhood "slow zones"
- Putting stiffer penalties on taxi and livery drivers who drive dangerously.
De Blasio said reducing the speed will make a major difference.
"The likelihood of a fatal crash drops significantly for speeds below 30 miles per hour," the mayor said. "When you get those speeds down, it will be the difference between losing a life and saving a life."
Action taken in recent months against jaywalking at certain intersections is not part of the plan, and will be handled at a precinct or even officer level.
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