After two years of major declines in New York City’s traffic deaths, the number of people killed in crashes dropped slightly last year while pedestrian deaths rose, leading to questions about whether Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ambitious campaign to eliminate traffic fatalities has stalled.
Making streets safer has been near the top of the agenda for Mr. de Blasio, who pledged to cut traffic deaths to zero by 2024. While city officials said traffic deaths were at their lowest level in a century, the uneven results last year suggest that the mayor’s goal will be very difficult to achieve.
The overall number of people killed in traffic crashes, including pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, drivers and passengers, was 229 last year, down from 234 in 2015, according to preliminary data from the city. Pedestrian deaths, which accounted for the largest share of fatalities, increased last year to 144, from 139 in 2015. Cyclist deaths rose last year to 18, from 14 in 2015.