Broadway, Third Avenue deadliest streets in NYC

Photo credit: Urbanite

Pedestrians at Herald Square Tuesday. (Jefferson Siegel)

By Marlene Naanes

mnaanes@am-ny.com

Third Avenue and Broadway are the deadliest streets in the city, with 10 pedestrians killed on each roadway in the past three years, a new report says.

In fact, New York City is home to five of the top 10 most dangerous streets in the tri-state area, according to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s report.

“The most dangerous roads are either extremely busy urban roads, such as Third Avenue in Manhattan, that handle many pedestrians and cars,” said Michelle Ernst, a staff analyst with the group. “Or … they are major suburban roadways dotted with retail destinations but designed exclusively for fast moving traffic.”Third Avenue and Broadway tied for third place in the tri-state area with two Long Island roadways, Hempstead Turnpike in Nassau County and Sunrise Highway in Suffolk County, taking the top two spots. Overall, pedestrian deaths in the city are down with 136 fatalities last year compared to 187 in 2000.

Other dangerous roadways in the city that made the list were Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island and Grand Central Parkway in Queens.

Third Avenue and Broadway’s fatalities are partially due to the fact that both are incredibly busy streets with heavy car and pedestrian traffic, the group’s spokeswoman Kate Slevin said. Broadway is a particularly long road with hotspots where it converges with other main arteries, such as Amsterdam Avenue, she added. New Yorkers yesterday said such intersections are why they believe Broadway is one of the city’s deadliest thoroughfares.

“You don’t know which way to look,” said Gina McNally, 53, a bookkeeper from Flushing who travels to Broadway frequently. “They’ve got a bike lane in there now, too, and the bikes don’t always obey the traffic signals.”

Pamela Cooper, who works around Third Avenue, was not surprised that it was named one of the most dangerous streets.

“They need to have more traffic agents out,” said Cooper, of the Bronx. “When they don’t have them here it’s like the cars are going to hit you if you don’t get out of the way really fast. It’s very, very dangerous, especially by the [Queensboro] bridge.”

However,. the city’s most dangerous streets, Broadway and Third Avenue, saw a decline in pedestrian fatalities from 2005 to 2007, according to the report. The Tri-state transportation campaign said the city’s transportation department has done a lot for pedestrians by implementing programs that reduce injuries and fatalities, including one underway that replaces two lanes of traffic on Broadway with areas where pedestrians can walk and sit.

"Pedestrian fatalities in the city have been on the decline as DOT continues to make our streets safer with initiatives such as Safe Routes to Schools and Safe Streets for Seniors, as referenced in today’s report," transportation department spokesman Scott Gastel said in a statement.

Some New Yorkers on Third Avenue agreed and said, and said as long as pedestrians can avoid traffic hazards as long as they are nimble and aware.

“It’s just a lot of common sense — you should know what to do,” said Teresa Corbett, 20, of Murray Hill.

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