FHWA-SA-17-052

Vision Zero 

in New York City

Problem

Walking and biking are two modes of travel 

that have rapidly gained in popularity in 

New York City (NYC)—in fact, NYC has seen 

bicycling activity quadruple over the last 

decade.1 Contributing to this rise is the “Citi 

Bike” program, NYC’s bikeshare system, which 

accounted for nearly 14 million bicycle trips in 

2016. However, non-motorized transportation 

modes are not without risk. In 2013, the city 

experienced 178 pedestrian fatalities and 134 

bicyclist fatalities.2 The following year, NYC 

adopted Vision Zero. 

Solution

NYC has implemented a 5-year approach (2014-2019) to achieve Vision Zero that incorporates 

“Complete Streets” design, outreach, enforcement, legislation, and informational campaigns. 

Key to successful implementation has been the cooperation and integration of efforts between 

various city departments and State agencies. These include the New York City Department 

of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the New York City Department of Transportation 

(NYCDOT), the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), the New York City Police 

Department (NYPD), the District Attorney’s Offices for the five counties located in New York City, 

the New York City Law Department, the New York City Office of Management and Budget, and the 

State-run Metropolitan Transit Authority. 

In 2016, the city spent $160 million to implement Vision Zero. Following are some of the key 

activities and achievements.

1 Mayor Bill de Blasio, Vision Zero Action Plan 2014, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/visionzero/downloads/pdf/nyc-vision-zeroaction-plan.pdf, pg. 24.

2 Mayor Bill de Blasio, Bicycle Crash Data Report 2013, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2013-bicycle-crash-datareport.pdf, pg. 2.

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Source: Getty Images
Street Design

 NYC developed a pedestrian safety plan for each 

borough. Strategies to improve pedestrian safety 

include clarifying different travel modes using pavement 

markings and road design features to separate drivers 

from pedestrians and cyclists. 

 Since 2014, NYCDOT has completed 420 safety 

reengineering projects, reflecting a 138-percent 

increase in the rate of implementation for these projects 

compared to before Vision Zero. These projects include 

more than 65 miles of protected bike lanes.

 The city is focusing on implementing more speed 

bumps, traffic signals, and leading pedestrian intervals 

than prior to the adoption of Vision Zero. 

Outreach

 NYCDOT’s Safety Education team visits 600 schools each year through its safety education 

initiatives like Cross This Way, We’re Walking Here, and helmet fittings and giveaways. 

 Senior citizens make up 13 percent of the city’s population yet account for approximately half 

of pedestrian fatalities. NYCDOT works with more than 100 senior-specific organizations to 

communicate safety information and obtain feedback on engineering changes. It also publishes a 

safety magazine geared toward seniors called StreetWise. 

 The Vision Zero View map, which is available to the public, displays the locations of fatalities, 

injuries, and safety interventions in the city. In 2017, 58,697 injuries were recorded for all modes. 

(See map.) 

 NYC solicited and analyzed 

public input on locations that 

should receive Vision Zero 

treatment, receiving more 

than 10,000 comments. 

 Major street engineering 

projects are accompanied 

by public meetings to seek 

feedback and allow local 

residents to discuss any 

concerns. 

 DCAS launched an annual 

forum with public and 

private fleet operators 

to coordinate safety 

strategies. 

Pavement markings separating pedestrians, cyclists, and 

drivers near the corner of Knickerbocker and Greene 

Avenues in Brooklyn. From the 2017 New York City Safer 

Cycling report, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/

pdf/bike-safety-study-fullreport2017.pdf. 

Vision Zero in New York City

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Vision Zero map showing all-traffic fatalities

in New York City in 2017. 

Source: http://www.nycvzv.info/. 

Vision Zero Map showing pedestrian fatalities

in New York City in 2017. 

Source: http://www.nycvzv.info/. 
Enforcement

 The TLC adjusted its disciplinary system, imposing an additional license penalty when taxi 

drivers receive red light camera citations.

 The NYPD Chief of Transportation holds weekly TrafficStat meetings at NYPD headquarters to 

review crash data and determine enforcement priorities.

 NYPD ramped up its enforcement focus on speeding, failure to yield to pedestrians, signal 

violations, improper turns, disobeying signage, and distracted driving, which are the offenses 

most likely to injure or kill pedestrians. About two-thirds of all moving violations are now 

issued for these “Vision Zero violations.” 

 NYCDOT added automated speed enforcement in 140 school zones—and is planning to 

add more.

Legislation

 Recent city bills enhanced data collection and enforcement, codified safety engineering 

commitments, and updated the legal code to strengthen penalties for dangerous driving and 

failure to yield to pedestrians.

 The city enacted a State law which authorized it to lower the default speed limit from 30 mph 

to 25 mph and establish a traffic safety camera program.

 The city is strengthening several laws to protect bicyclists and pedestrians. One such program 

requires side guards (vehicle-based safety devices designed to keep pedestrians, bicyclists, 

and motorcyclists from being run over by large trucks’ rear wheels in a side-impact collision) 

for all municipal and commercial waste trucks operating in the city by 2024,3 the largest such 

program in the country. To date, more than 2,000 trucks have side guards installed. 

Campaigns

 NYC uses extensive advertising—social media, radio, video, print, special events—targeting 

drivers to reduce the dangers posed by speeding and aggressive turns. The first Vision Zero

messaging campaign, Your Choices Matter, was followed in 2017 by Signs, which focuses on 

showing drivers that following the rules of the road is easy and saves lives.

 Dusk and Darkness is an annual partnership by NYCDOT, NYPD, and the TLC to enforce 

traffic laws and encourage safer driving during the weeks following the end of daylight 

saving time, when it becomes darker earlier in the evening and when pedestrian fatalities 

have typically risen.

3 Mayor Bill de Blasio, Vision Zero Action Plan 2014, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/visionzero/downloads/pdf/nyc-vision-zeroaction-plan.pdf, pg. 24, 25.

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Early Successes

Vision Zero is an ambitious goal. By adopting it, NYC committed to eliminating traffic fatalities 

and injuries. The city has seen very positive results in a number of areas where solutions were 

implemented, even though the program is in its early stages. A portion of funding for the Vision 

Zero program came from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), which is an FHWA 

program that provides funding for safety projects. The HSIP in New York is administered by the 

New York State Department of Transportation.

 Highlights include the following:

 The first 4 years after the adoption of Vision Zero was the safest 4-year period for traffic 

collisions in New York City’s history. Fatalities in 2018 are at their lowest rate since 1910, when 

record-keeping began.

 Pedestrian deaths have fallen 42 percent, and overall traffic-related deaths fell 26 percent from 

the year before Vision Zero began.

 NYC has seen a 60-percent decrease in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths and serious injuries in 

locations where leading pedestrian intervals were added. 

 NYC is more equitably disbursing traffic safety improvements by relying on data to identify 

locations in need of treatment rather than responding to public complaints, which often 

underrepresent social and environmental justice communities. 

 NYC established coordinated reporting of collisions and aggressive driver behavior through 

in-vehicle technology across the fleet of city government vehicles—this has improved driver 

safety and contributed to a precipitous decline in serious crashes involving the city’s fleet.

 In partnership with the U.S. DOT’s Volpe Center, in May 2017 NYC launched a Safe Fleet 

Transition Plan that mandates installation of automatic braking and other technologies in city 

fleet vehicles to further reduce the number and severity of city-involved collisions. Based on 

available crash data, rear-end crashes are the largest single cause of preventable and injurycausing collisions for the city fleet. NYC has already implemented over 15,000 additional safety 

improvements on city fleet units through this initiative.

Vision Zero in New York City

FHWA-SA-19-007 4