Vehicular fatalities in the Bronx rising more than ever since Vision Zero started in 2014
NEW YORK -- Vehicular fatalities in the Bronx are on the rise more than any year since Vision Zero started in 2014, and children are disproportionately affected.
Transportation Alternatives told CBS2's Alecia Reid that redesigning streets can save lives.
May 26, 2018 is etched in the minds of Shavone Bethea's family.
"It was a very devastating call. That call was, 'You need to get here,'" said Nickya Whittington, whose son was struck and killed by an MTA bus.
Whittington's youngest child was hit at Webster Avenue and East 184th Street. He died at the hospital minutes before she arrived.
"He fought. He fought to be here and I felt like he was just waiting for me to get there," she said.
Whittington's story isn't unique. In the first six months of 2022, vehicular fatalities in the Bronx have doubled since Vision Zero started eight years ago, according to Transportation Alternatives.
"What we really need to do is use investments strategically to redesign the most dangerous corridors in every borough, but especially the Bronx," said Cory Epstein, a spokesperson for Transportation Alternatives.
The agency said only 6 percent of the city's bike lanes are in the Bronx, compared to 75 percent in Manhattan and Queens.
"But we know that the same share of people bike in the Bronx as they do in Queens and Manhattan," Epstein said.
Epstein said aggressive steps need to be taken to modify the unequal investment in street designs - including more bike lanes and open spaces like the ones created to give people more room to move around during the pandemic.
Transportation Alternatives said they also create a safe space for pedestrians, which the Bronx needs more of.
"The mayor actually has a plan to improve 1,000 crosswalks across the city because we know that far and away most crashes are happening in crosswalks, in intersections," Epstein said.
In the meantime, Whittington is holding onto memories and her son's favorite pair of shoes.
"That was like the last pair of sneakers I bought him for his birthday, and it means something to me," Whittington said.
We reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment on the lack of bike lanes and the need for additional Open Streets in the Bronx, but have not heard back.