Suffolk County is home to some of the deadliest roads for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in the region. According to a Tri-State Transportation Campaign analysis of federal data, 122 pedestrians were killed along roads in Suffolk County from 2010-2012, with the Suffolk County portion of Jericho Turnpike seeing 16 pedestrian fatalities alone. According to Governor Cuomo’s Traffic Safety Committee, 278 motorists and passengers, and 22 cyclists were killed during the same time period. 52,000 non-fatal injuries occurred as a result of almost 90,000 crashes from 2010-2012.

Suffolk County adopted a Complete Streets law in 2012, but implementation of the law is still in its early stages. One reason for the delay is a lack of available funding. The federal transportation bill, MAP-21, cut dedicated walking and biking infrastructure investment by 30 percent while New York State plans to spend less than one percent of its transportation dollars on pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. This represents a reduction of more than $100 million — a 40 percent cut — in its 2014-2017 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) as compared to 2011-2014.  In Region 10 on Long Island, planned spending on walking and biking projects will be cut by 24 percent over the next four years, resulting in a paltry .57 percent of the regional allocation of transportation dollars for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

These funding levels persist despite the fact that pedestrians and cyclists account for 27 percent of all traffic fatalities statewide (the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council estimates that pedestrians and cyclists make up 50 percent of all traffic fatalities on Long Island).

Unfortunately, these cuts at the federal and state level put added pressure on local governments to make up the gap. As a result, Tri-State, Vision Long Island, the AARP and other advocates called on the Suffolk County Legislature to amend the proposed Suffolk County Capital Program to include funding to establish a Complete Streets implementation fund. Investments in infrastructure that force motorists to slow down and go the speed limit — like landscaped medians, road diets, raised crosswalks, pedestrian crossing islands and protected bicycle lanes — will go a long way towards creating County roadways that will be safe and accessible for Suffolk County residents and visitors of all ages and abilities.