In Hoboken, Mayor Ravi Bhalla has worked to redesign city intersections, install bike lanes and slow traffic. The result? Six-plus years of no pedestrian fatalities.
Drunk drivers: Allow us to introduce ourselves.
He's preventing 1 death per year, and reduced injuries by 41%. This is one of the cases where the perfect is the enemy of good. If he had tried to remove all motor vehicles from the city he would have been kicked out and everything would remain as it was.
The safety angle may be overplayed but it is not the only element of this kind of change. Better and safer infrastructure for walking and cycling encourages walking and cycling.
So there are a whole host of benefits: reduced pollution, better citizen health and wellbeing, encouraging use of local walkable businesses, etc.
Also a reduction in deaths and injuries on a background of increased pedestrian and cycling is also noteworthy. I.e. not just reduced the existing injuries but also less injuries despite more people.at risk.
Did they not introduce themselves in the last 6 years?
Hoboken is a great, one square mile, walkable city. Love that town; great pizza
