Sunset Park residents and officials are urging New York City to enhance safety measures on Third Avenue, where 80 individuals have been killed or injured by drivers since 2018. Recent accidents intensified calls for transformative changes, including a street redesign approved for 2024 that aims to introduce protected bike lanes and reduce traffic congestion. However, the implementation has been delayed. With the roadway being busy and hazardous, particularly for family pedestrians and schoolchildren near the intersection of 60th Street and Third Avenue, advocates stress the need for urgent action to ensure public safety.
A street redesign approved by the local community board in 2024 would add protected bike lanes and reduce traffic on the street; however, implementation has stalled under Mayor Eric Adams' administration.
Since 2018, 80 people have been killed or seriously injured by drivers on a two-mile stretch of Third Avenue in the neighborhood, according to statistics compiled by Transportation Alternatives.
Drivers must share the roadways with large trucks, motorized scooters and other cars. At the same time, pedestrians have to cross nine lanes of traffic to make it across the roadway.
Councilmember Alexa Aviles said,
, noting the four schools within a block.
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