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SAFETYIntroduction30%decline in citywidetraffic fatalities since2001Public safety is the primary mission of government, andtraffic safety on NYC streets is the over–arching missionof the New York City Department of Transportation.Improving safety performance permeates all of the workthat the Department undertakes on City streets, highways,intersections and ferry infrastructure.NYCDOT has established a remarkable record of successin traffic safety. The streets of America’s largest city aredramatically safer than they were 20 and 10 years ago.From 1990 to 2012, annual fatalities involving all roadusers have dropped by 61%, and by 30% from 2001 to2012. Most impressively, since 2004, the number ofannual traffic deaths has been lower than 1910 levels, thefirst and previously lowest count on record. In 2011, theCity experienced 246 traffic fatalities, an all–time recordannual low.DOT’s challenge is to continue this success indefinitely,using all the analytical, engineering and regulatory tools atits disposal to deliver ever–safer streets.In developing its 2008 Sustainable Streets strategicplan, the NYCDOT adopted clear goals for reducing trafficfatalities in New York, with the understanding that streetdesign and other strategies can significantly affect thesafety performance of a city street network. Cities andcountries with strong, goal–oriented safety policies haveincreasingly assigned responsibility for such performanceto the designers of the transportation system, rather thanto its users.Sustainable Streets: 2013 and Beyond11