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According to an analysis of intersections citywide, Third Avenue and 14th Street is among the most dangerous in NYC for cyclists, new research shows.
Last week, Mayor de Blasio’s announced his "Green Wave Bicycle Plan" in reaction to a recent spate of cycling deaths. (Em Samolewicz was killed Monday morning in Sunset Park, marking the 18th cyclist to die on city streets this year — eight more than all of 2018.)
The mayor's $58.4 million initiative will ramp up enforcement at the 100 most crash-prone intersections and target enforcement on highest risk activities: speeding, failing to yield, blocking bike lanes, oversized trucks/trucks off route.
Over the next five years the city will also renovate 50 intersections with turn-calming treatments and re-design areas where fatalities occur. (The city has yet to disclose those locations.)
On Monday, the data and real-estate listings website Localize.city released the results of an analysis — using public data from 2014 to 2018 — to identify which intersections have seen the most cycling injuries and fatalities during that four-year period.
Intersections in the East Village and Lower East Side represent three slots in the top 10:
1. 6th Ave & W. 23rd St., Chelsea
21 Injuries
2 (Tied). Jay St. & Tillary St., Downtown Brooklyn
20 injuries
2 (Tied). Atlantic Ave & Bedford Ave, Crown Heights
20 injuries
4. 3rd Ave & E. 14th St., East Village
18 injuries
Per Localize.city: New separated bike lanes along East 12th/East 13th streets should offer a safer route, at least for cycling crosstown.
5 (Tied). Chrystie St. & Delancey St., Lower East Side
17 injuries
“Chrystie Street has a two-way bike lane, and the lane closest to traffic rides against traffic flow, which is a huge design flaw,” says urban planner Sam Sklar of Localize.city. “It doesn’t help that Delancey Street is extremely wide, as it accommodates car and bus travel to and from the Williamsburg Bridge. Additionally there isn’t currently any bike lane on this stretch of Delancey Street.”
5 (Tied). St. Nicholas Ave & W. 141st St., Harlem
17 injuries
[Allen at Houston]
7 (Tied). Allen St. & E. Houston St., Lower East Side
14 injuries
“Cyclists and drivers approaching this intersection often have obstructed views because of the width of East Houston Street, plus the width of East First Street along with obstructed views from street trees and bus traffic that potentially blocks views for drivers and cyclists,” says Sklar.
7 (Tied). Graham Ave. & Grand St., Williamsburg
14 injuries
7 (Tied). Jay St. & Myrtle Ave., Downtown Brooklyn
14 injuries
7 (Tied). Roebling St. & South 4th St., Williamsburg
13 injuries, 1 death
Says Sklar: "If you’re thinking about taking up cycling you should know if the intersections and streets near your home are dangerous."
Second Avenue and 14th Street is just as dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI stopped riding a bike many years ago after being run into parked cars once intentionally by an aggressive driver when confronted at a red light told me it was because "I had passed him" and a suburban mom in a giant SUV who did not see me or just thought I was in her way. The health benefits of riding did seem not enough to risk my life each day so it's back to walking.
ReplyDeleteI’m surprised second ave and 6th street didn’t make it to the list. Such a stress mess on that corner. They really should put an arrowed stoplight up for it
ReplyDeleteSame mess now at 1st ave and 7th + 9th streets.
DeleteYesterday I counted the number of cyclists not wearing their helmets here in the EV. I got to number 8 as I walked to work and walked back home after. This is worrisome. A friend of my friend was a middle aged man who actually lived in this neighborhood a few years back. He was on his bike going somewhere when a car opened their door right in his path. He fell on his head and died two days later from internal bleeding. Just 48 years of age. So young. The doctor said he would have survived had he worn a helmet. What is with people? If you want to cycle, great, go for it, have fun, be safe, and follow rules. Just please were a helmet. This is the difference between life and death. And yes, this intersection is even scary for a pedestrian.
ReplyDeleteAll bike lanes... all intersections are a threat to bicyclists. And no matter how many times Mayor Bill drops 50 mill on new bike lanes... nothing will ever help. You can't help people who won't help themselves.
ReplyDeleteIf seat belts are mandatory, it should be the same for bicyclists.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't started counting the new turn configurations at 1st ave and 7th +9th streets yet. These cause motorized traffic to take the turns more quickly now than the previous configurations. At least with the previous ones, you (as a cyclist) knew when a vehicle wanted to make a turn and could prepare yourself for it. Now vehicles swing out of nowhere trying to make the turn, usually stopping short in the bike lane.
ReplyDeleteThere are more and more cyclists (especially suburban transplants and completely unfamiliar tourists)on bicycles, most of whom flout traffic laws and/or do not know what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteIt is the "cool" urban thing to do, like waiting on line for a soup dumpling or cronut.
Walking is so old school....
Blowing through red lights, going the wrong way, weaving around pedestrians and vehicles, looking at phones while cycling, wearing flip fops etc.
And more people (same demographic) on scooters and skateboards.
Cyclists (and scooter/skateboard users) endanger themselves, endanger pedestrians, and endanger vehicles potentially causing serious chain-accidents.
Its like Mount Everest right? Everyone wanted to be cool and climb Mount. It is now overcrowded, a bunch of people died, and lots of trash in what used to be pristine nature.
Bikes may be unpopular among the geriatric evg commentariat, but they are the future. Clean, compact, and safe given proper infrastructure. Can't say any of those things about cars.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about you, but the idea of Manhattan being swallowed up by rising sea levels is starting to look good.
ReplyDelete@3:30pm: I'm with you 100% on what you've written.
ReplyDelete@4:01pm: "geriatric commentariat"? No, we're not "geriatric" we're just people who value our own lives, thanks! Stop being age-ist.
And if "bikes are the future" then bike accidents are the future as well. As with cars: if you have cars, you'll have car accidents. If you have scooters, you'll have scooter accidents. That's how it goes.
@4:01 Also unpopular is your ageism. Check it.
ReplyDeleteWith the growth of Electric Vehicles such as the Scooters, this number is bound to rise. Wonder if there's an infographic to share so more people can be aware and do their bit?
ReplyDelete@4:01- Says someone who apparently will never grow old, slow down, or become unsteady on their pins. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteSo for your information this past weekend I had a power lifter drag me out of my Rascal Mobility Scooter so I could hobble my way to Central Park and alternately take a nap on a bench or yell at children making too much noise; at one point I was waiting to cross one of the roads, the light for cyclists and runners turned red, the pedestrian Go sign lit for me, I stepped into the intersection, and a good six - eight yobs on Citibikes blew through it at top speed without even pretending to touch their brakes. Tourists all, totally unfamiliar with the laws here, and God forbid they get any kind of primer from Citibike on how to share the streets with us old fuddy-duddies who still like to walk. Any one of those sonsabitches could have knocked me, geriatric Methuselah that I am in your eyes, down and seriously injured me, regardless of my age. So stop being an arrogant twit, please.
pedestrians hurt by cyclists in 2018: 230
ReplyDeletepedestrians hurt by motorists in 2018: 10,920
killed by cyclists in 2019: 1
killed by motorists in 2019: 118
some way of showing concern for your life
Wow, NYC streets are chaotic and dangerous?
ReplyDeleteSince when?
@Gojira The next time we go catheter shopping, remind me to give you the Rascal coupon! You’ll save 10% on the latest upgrade which includes a hydraulic seat that dumps you right onto the floor. I love it and broke my hip only four times so far. But I’m 43, which is like a 119 in Cronut years, so my bones are basically dust.
ReplyDeleteMy bicycle mini-rant.
ReplyDeleteI've lived on St Marks since 1970. I'm 75 years old with excellent sight
and hearing and not excellent heart. I walk [waddle] to the right side of
the sidewalk, eyes peeled for wet newspaper, wet leaves, ice, sidewalk defects and allow younger pedestrians to easily pass me on the left. And increasingly "little old ladies" who stride past me like I'm standing still. I don't and won't ever have a cell phone.
After dark almost every bike rider is wearing black shirt, black pants, black sneakers, black bicycle and have NO front or rear lights. Crossing 1st Ave by Stromboli is a game of dodge ball.
My night rider solution:
1. Police-always the worst choice. Stop riders w/o lights, confiscate.
fine $100 and confiscate food if a delivery. "Secure" the food back at
the precinct.
2. Hose Night-invite pedestrians to douse no lights offenders with buckets of water or hose them if available.
3. Put speed bump strips on every cross street and bike lane. A proven deterrent around schools and dangerous intersections for cars.
I respect decent bike riders as much as I dislike pedestrians focused
on their cell phones.
This EVG post specifically regards cyclist safety and the dangers posed by car traffic at certain specific intersections. I totally understand that older folks get anxious about bicyclists knocking them over, but let's at least try to stay on topic here.
ReplyDeleteRegarding 3rd and 14th, I also feel it's uniquely dangerous, being the intersection of a busy two-way crosstown, and a busy two-way avenue, with bikes lanes on neither and a lot of buses going every direction, and of course a bunch of impatient pedestrians trying to get across, signal lights be damned. I avoid it, and I get the sense that most cyclists avoid it. Still I see a few people blithely rolling up or down 3rd ave, jockeying among all those M101, 102, 103, and M14 buses, usually on Citibike, sometimes with Beats headphones on, not displaying a care or concern in the world.
@6:19pm: How about providing a CONTEXT for your claimed statistics?
ReplyDeletePedestrians hurt/killed by cars ... yeah, HOW MANY CARS TOTAL were on the streets, and are you using only Manhattan numbers or 5-borough numbers? Similarly, pedestrians hurt/killed by bike riders - how many bike riders TOTAL are involved in arriving at that statistic?
It's 100% meaningless to provide the numbers you give without providing context; for instance: I can "prove" to you that airplanes are far safer for pedestrians than cars are.
@NOTORIOUS - You're on. And with that 10% discount I'll buy us an Early Bird Dinner at Denny's. 4 PM good with you?
ReplyDelete+1 to 'from the east village' on the new turn lanes, as a driver... what idiot thinks that these calming spaces work... at least with left turn lanes, i could clearly see nearly a whole avenue in front of me, and in back of me with the driver-side rear-view mirror. There's practically no visibility of the bike lane at all on left turns now. granted, cabs and garbage trucks *don't look anyway*, but i digress.
ReplyDeleteI got you. The DOT has become more political rather than practical under Deblasio. These new crazy turning lanes are far more dangerous, proving my earliet point to anyone with common sense.
Delete@9:10AM I'd like to extend your 'Put speed bump strips on every cross street and bike lane.' idea, we need to go back to cobblestones everywhere... only way to ensure that vehicles and bikes aren't traveling at unsafe speeds. I'm not joking.
ReplyDeleteYesterday at the intersection of 1st ave and 13th st I saw some dude riding a Citibike. He had one hand on the handlebars and the other holding an umbrella because it was drizzling and the look of not having a care in the world.
ReplyDeletecasualty stats are 5 borough numbers. source: streetsblog
ReplyDeleteI refuse to engage with bad-faith arguments that bikes are somehow more dangerous than cars and that the only reason they injure people is because there are ostensibly fewer of them. It's just detached from reality.
also fwiw, modern cars are equipped with location-based speed regulation technology. we could limit all vehicles in manhattan to 20mph, which would be cheaper and easier than cobblestones.
@Gojira Thank you! I prefer to early bird at 3:15PM sharp, as this gives me enough time to get lost in CVS and get home safely before dark. But if you lead the way back on your Rascal, I'll fix us a nice dessert with the Splenda I'll steal from the dinner. That reminds me, where did I leave my teeth?
ReplyDelete@4:10 Like guns, it's not the bikes that are dangerous, it's the reckless people who use them and fuck it up for all the law abiding folks.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, on my daily 'take my life into my own hands' trip to the bodega, one cyclist stopped at her red light while the man behind her, caught off guard by her responsible nature, hit her and they had words. I told him he makes responsible cyclist like her look bad and leave her the fuck alone. She thanked me, we shared a smile, and were off on our way.
Im a safe cyclist and driver, no matter what safety elements are provided. I still practise my own safety. i do not trust others with my life. Bike lanes help but i still ride on the defensive. Too many dumb things can happen. Just be aware of your surroundings, a “bike lane” does not proved protection.
ReplyDelete