New York's Pedestrian Safety Program Reduces Child Injuries
With the Safe Route to School program, the city saw a significant decrease in the number of student pedestrian injuries.
According to recent findings, fewer children are injured walking to and from school following the installation of additional pedestrian safety measures in New York City. New traffic lights, pedestrian signals, and speed bumps were put in place with funding from the national Safe Routes to School program, a venture to which Congress gave $600 million in 2005.
Near 124 of the 1,471 schools in New York City, the Transportation Department used funds to improve pedestrian safety. According to a study done by Columbia University, between 2001 and 2010, there was a 44 percent drop in child pedestrians injuries at 30 schools chosen for monitoring. The number of injuries decreased from 8 children per 10,000 to 4.4 per 10,000. There was no change in the number of injuries at schools that did not have new safety measures installed.
This research states that as many as 210 injuries among students could be prevented with the expansion of Safe Routes to School program. New York received $31 million from the program.