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How New York City’s transportation policies are reducing traffic deaths, improving daily commutes, and reshaping neighborhoods across all five boroughs
The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) is marking four years of record accomplishments aimed at making city streets safer, improving mobility, and expanding public space for New Yorkers. Because NYC DOT oversees streets and properties that account for approximately 27 percent of all land in New York City, the agency’s policies directly affect how residents travel, work, shop, and move through their neighborhoods every day.
This milestone highlights how street redesigns, traffic enforcement, transit investments, and public space programs have changed daily life across the city as New York continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At its core, NYC DOT’s four-year review focuses on reimagining streets not just as corridors for cars, but as public assets that serve pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, small businesses, and entire communities.
Mayor Eric Adams said the administration delivered measurable results across transportation safety, affordability, and quality of life.
“We took office with a simple promise: to ‘Get Stuff Done,’ and, four years later, our administration can say that we delivered on that promise every day for working-class New Yorkers,” said Mayor Adams. “On issue after issue, we brought common-sense leadership to create a safer, more affordable city, and our work has changed our city for the better.”
NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the agency used data and equity-focused planning to modernize New York City’s transportation system.
“Over the last four years, NYC DOT has advanced a comprehensive, equity-focused strategy built on data to improve safety, expand mobility, and to prioritize streets that serve a range of public needs that go beyond the movement and storage of private vehicles,” Rodriguez said.
NYC DOT reports historic declines in traffic fatalities, including the lowest number of pedestrian deaths ever recorded in 2023. Overall traffic deaths have remained near record lows through 2025.
For residents, this translates into safer walks to school, safer bike commutes to work, and fewer deadly crashes in residential neighborhoods.
The agency also installed a record number of protected bike lanes and upgraded existing lanes, particularly in underserved communities such as Soundview and East New York. Major Manhattan corridors, including Sixth and Third avenues, now feature expanded bike infrastructure that reduces conflicts between cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers.
Expanded automated enforcement, including 24/7 speed cameras and a quadrupling of red-light cameras, has helped curb dangerous driving behaviors that contribute to serious injuries and deaths.
For decades, many New York City streets were designed primarily for cars, contributing to traffic violence, congestion, pollution, and unequal access to transportation options.
NYC DOT addressed these challenges by supporting congestion pricing through modeling and design, securing $125 million in environmental justice investments, and expanding bus lanes on major corridors such as 96th Street, Northern Boulevard, and Flatbush Avenue. These improvements are intended to speed up bus service, reduce delays, and make public transit more reliable.
The passage of Sammy’s Law also allows New York City to set safer speed limits on its own streets, giving the city greater control to respond to local safety conditions.
NYC DOT also focused on returning street space to people. Summer Streets expanded from a Manhattan-only route to a 22-mile, five-borough program that draws record participation.
New signature programs, including Car-Free Earth Day, Trick or Streets, Día de Muertos programming, and the Fifth Avenue Holiday Open Street, transformed streets into cultural and community destinations.
The launch of Dining Out NYC made permanent the outdoor dining program created during the pandemic, now supporting nearly 3,000 outdoor dining setups citywide and helping restaurants remain viable while activating neighborhood streets.
NYC DOT completed a $300 million restoration of the Brooklyn Bridge, along with major upgrades to the Queensboro Bridge, Unionport Bridge in the Bronx, and the Ocean Avenue pedestrian bridge over Sheepshead Bay.
The agency resurfaced more than 1,150 lane miles annually and repaired over 600,000 potholes, cutting repair response times nearly in half, improvements that directly affect drivers, cyclists, and bus riders.
On the water, three new Ollis-class ferries entered service, the Staten Island Ferry fleet transitioned to renewable diesel, and a new labor agreement eliminated crew-related service gaps that previously caused missed trips.
NYC DOT expanded public space and safety projects in lower-income neighborhoods at the highest rate per mile, contributing to the largest declines in pedestrian fatalities in those communities.
M/WBE contracting increased from 11 percent to 37 percent of agency spending, benefiting more than 400 minority- and women-owned businesses. Citi Bike and e-scooter share programs expanded deeper into historically underserved areas, improving access to jobs, schools, and services.
Together, these initiatives aim to solve longstanding problems of unsafe streets, uneven investment, and limited transportation options, reshaping New York City’s streets into safer, more inclusive public spaces that serve all New Yorkers.