A newcomer among the top three Most Dangerous Roads for Walking in the region is in need of some serious attention.
Jericho Turnpike, with 15 fatalities between 2009 and 2011 (10 in 2011 alone), jumped up three spots to the third most dangerous road for pedestrians in the tri-state region (following Nassau County’s Hempstead Turnpike and Manhattan’s Broadway). Jericho Turnpike, also known as NYS Route 25, runs through both Nassau and Suffolk counties but was particularly dangerous for Suffolk County pedestrians. Eleven pedestrian fatalities occurred in Suffolk County and four took place in Nassau during the study period.
Two of the 11 pedestrians killed in Suffolk County were walking in South Huntington only three miles apart at East Jericho Turnpike and Evergreen Avenue and East Jericho Turnpike and East Deer Park Road. Another two fatalities happened just a half-mile from one another and 10 days apart in Selden.
But fatalities are only one measure of how dangerous this stretch of road has become. Earlier this year, a pedestrian was struck— though not killed —by a car at the intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Melville Road, less than a mile away from the intersection of Jericho and Evergreen.
Jericho Turnpike’s safety improvement needs mimic those of Hempstead Turnpike, both of which are multi-lane thoroughfares designed to move cars quickly through residential and commercial districts at the expense of pedestrian safety. Hempstead Turnpike has been ranked the number one most dangerous road for walking in the region since Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s first Most Dangerous Roads report in 2008. Last year, however, thanks to ongoing advocacy from pedestrian safety and livable communities advocates, NYSDOT began implementing a number of safety improvements, such as raised medians, new crosswalks, and better pedestrian crossing signals.
Jericho Turnpike has long needed pedestrian safety improvements. It shouldn’t require the dubious honor of a top three ranking in Most Dangerous Roads for Jericho Turnpike, and other similar roads throughout the region, to finally get the needed pedestrian safety attention they deserve.
[…] Complete Streets- Complete streets provide safe rights-of-way for low-or-zero-emissions travel. Walking and biking for short trips rather than driving can reduce emissions by up to 12-22 million tons annually; and up to 9 to 23 million tons annually by replacing the car with walking and biking for longer trips. While complete streets policies have been adopted in communities throughout the region, there’s still more work to be done to implement safe streets projects in places like Stamford, the Jersey Shore, and Long Island. […]
[…] annual Most Dangerous Roads for Walking report finds that Route 25 (Middle Country Road, Jericho Turnpike) in Suffolk County is the region’s most dangerous road for pedestrians, displacing Hempstead […]
[…] Country Road), Suffolk County, NY With 16 pedestrian fatalities from 2010 through 2012, Route 25 is Suffolk County’s most dangerous road for walking, and the region’s most deadly road as well. […]
[…] system has moved a bus stop that serves a Target store so that riders don’t have to cross Jericho Turnpike, the region’s most dangerous road for […]
[…] has advocated for safety improvements to Route 25 and similar roadways, known as arterials, which are often […]
[…] Streets Implementation Fund to use and for the New York State Department of Transportation to extend its safety improvement efforts on Route 25 into […]
[…] Jericho Turnpike (Route 25), a newcomer to the list of Most Dangerous Roads, should be the next deadly Long Island corridor on NYSDOT’s list. Ten pedestrians were killed on Jericho Turnpike in 2011 alone. […]