Skip to main content

New York City wins ITF award

New York City has won the 2018 Transport Achievement Award of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The city’s Department of Transportation was recognised for its commitment to Vision Zero – a programme set up to help cut and eliminate traffic deaths. Mayor Bill de Blasio launched the city’s Vision Zero programme in New York in 2014. The initiative is said to have reduced the number of traffic deaths on New York’s streets by 20% and halved
May 25, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
New York City has won the 2018 Transport Achievement Award of the 998 International Transport Forum (ITF) at the 5342 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The city’s Department of Transportation was recognised for its commitment to %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Vision Zero false http://visionzero.global/ false false%> – a programme set up to help cut and eliminate traffic deaths.


Mayor Bill de Blasio launched the city’s Vision Zero programme in New York in 2014. The initiative is said to have reduced the number of traffic deaths on New York’s streets by 20% and halved pedestrian fatalities. The city saw 214 traffic deaths in 2017 – the lowest number since records began in 1910.

Additionally, Vision Zero has reportedly reduced the rate of vehicle collisions with children under 14 years to one fatality in 2017. Meanwhile, numerous safety improvements at Queens Boulevard has reached a third consecutive year without any known pedestrian or cyclist fatalities.

In a broader context, findings revealed the number of US road deaths grew by more than 13% between 2013 and 2016. Cyclist, motorcyclist and car passenger fatalities also increased in 2017.

Young-Tae Kim, ITF secretary-general, says: “New York City has created an exemplary road safety programme that is a showcase for addressing urban road safety as a public health issue.”

Related Content

  • Kuwait seeks web-based traffic demand management
    July 1, 2013
    The United Nations Development Programme in Kuwait (UNDP) has issued a tender for the development of web-based traffic demand management, road safety and enforcement project for the State of Kuwait. Tender documents and more information are available here. UNDP will arrange site visits to the State of Kuwait traffic control centre, Planning and Research Directorates, training centre, and police patrol operations centre to enable potential suppliers to obtain more information on existing traffic management
  • Uber to enter Seattle’s bike-share space
    June 22, 2018
    Uber intends to launch its newly-acquired Jump electric bikes in Seattle, US, in a move which could increase competition among rival firms. The ride-hailing company will decide on whether to apply for a permit once regulations have been mapped out by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDoT). SDoT is finalising a permit programme for bike-share operators and plans to present a proposal to the city council next month. A report by the Seattle Times says three bike-share companies operate in the city
  • ITS Leadership to engage in an exchanging of ideas meeting ahead of ITS World Congress
    October 4, 2017
    Three of the top people behind this year’s ITS World Congress will visit Montreal and Toronto before the event to meet government and business leaders in an exchange of ideas. The president and CEO of ITS America, David St. Amant and ITS Canada Chairman and CEO, Chris Philp, the chairman of the 2017 World Congress, Claude Carette and the Montreal’s Executive Committee Member for Transportation, Aref Salem will hold discussions with civic officials and key exhibitors about collaborations
  • Vitronic tackles the route to a smarter road network
    March 19, 2018
    Safety, security, road user charging, and how it all comes together as the backbone of a smart road network, are the topics that German machine vision specialist Vitronic is addressing here at Intertraffic. The company is showcasing how its product range can be applied to a host of applications, from speed and red light enforcement, average speed enforcement, wanted cars search and border control to electronic toll collection (ETC).