Adams, DOT announce millions in funding to improve NYC roadway safety

Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Transportation announced millions of dollars in funding to help keep New Yorkers safe on the roadways as traffic fatalities and injuries increase.

News 12 Staff

May 2, 2022, 9:38 PM

Updated 884 days ago

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Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Transportation announced millions of dollars in funding to help keep New Yorkers safe on the roadways as traffic fatalities and injuries increase.
Adams met with the department in East New York, a neighborhood that has seen 35 traffic-related deaths in the last five years. The mayor says he plans to crack down on unsafe driving through engineering, enforcement and education.
The city is launching a $4 million ad campaign as part of the effort. Through the funding, messages of road safety will be broadcast in nine different languages through various platforms like commercials, billboards and the radio. There will be an emphasis on making sure the messages are distributed through ethnic and community media.
The campaign follows an initial investment of $900 million in the city's traffic safety plan to redesign intersections, among other things. It's built off the Vision Zero Initiative to create safer roads.
Adams says the police department will also do its part by properly enforcing traffic laws. He says it’s something that won't happen overnight, but the benefits will play out over the next several years.
“This is about more than just education. To the public, it's a marker that we're laying down to let people know that New York City is going to protect these streets and have zero tolerance of violence for children, for seniors, for families torn apart by vehicle violence,” Adams says.
The mayor and other city leaders say their next step is to try and get local control over enforcement tools like red light cameras. DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez says he will go to Albany Wednesday to try to push for this.