Boulevards Of Death: New Website Shows Crash Stats

Transportation Alternatives this week unveiled a searchable online database of reported fatal and non-fatal accidents across the five boroughs.

Called CrashStat, the website allows users to search by address, neighborhood and Council district for incidents involving motor vehicles hitting pedestrians and bicyclists dating back to 1995.

In Fort Greene, the map backs up what many pedestrians and cyclists already know all too well—namely, that there are many problem intersections dotted throughout the neighborhood.

One notoriously dangerous spot for walkers and bicyclists is a stretch of Dekalb Avenue between Vanderbilt and Clinton avenues in Fort Greene-Clinton Hill, where a total of 10 crashes occurred between 1996 and 2009 causing 9 injuries and one fatality.

Since then, the intersection was the scene of yet another tragedy when a vehicle stuck and killed a young publishing employee near the intersection of Dekalb and Vanderbilt avenues in the early morning hours of July 10.

Other intersections with a high rate of car vs. pedestrian and bicyclist incidents include a stretch of Flatbush Avenue near Atlantic Terminal with 32 crashes and 1 fatality and Myrtle Avenue at Ashland Place—also with 32 crashes and one death reported.

As a group advocating for increased funding and safety measures for transit riders, bicyclists and pedestrians, Transportation Alternatives said the database was meant to allow residents to identify crash patterns and help make roadways safer for everyone.

“CrashStat charts the way toward zero deaths on New York City streets,” said Transportation Alternatives executive director Paul Steely White. “By revealing where and why motor vehicle crashes occur, CrashStat gives all New Yorkers the information they need to demand better enforcement of our traffic laws. This is critical to changing behavior on our streets.”

According to Transportation Alternatives, the intersection with the most crashes between 1995 and 2009 in Brooklyn was a stretch of Eastern Parkway at Utica Avenue in Crown Heights. During that period, 144 incidents were reported—six of which were fatal.