Why Vison Zero - Guest Post

I received powerful email from our good friend, Cobble Hill's stalwart street safety activist Dave "paco" Abraham this week.  It's a personal story about why we need Vision Zero now . . . and links to a comprehensive article about Vision Zero:

bklynr.com/crossing-guards/

5 years ago today, I thought I was a goner. 

I was biking back home from Queens to Brooklyn after a dinner to celebrate my mom's bday. An idiot behind the wheel wasn't looking (or caring) and slammed into me as I rode through the Montauk & Sutter intersection with the green light and right of way in my favor. The driver stopped, adrenaline picked me up, the driver sped away, and I fell back down staring at asphalt, writhing in pain. The driver was never found; there was never even an NYPD investigation. I was in the ER for days, hospitalized for a full week, and KO'ed for many months ... but still, I was thankful it wasn't more severe. Sadly, we all know in the blink of an eye collisions can be much more severe. A life is easily lost when two tons of steel comes barreling around a corner recklessly.  

WIth that heavy on my mind today, I urge you all to spend some time thinking about how far the city has come in the past 5 years and how fantastic it is that with your tireless advocacy, Vision Zero isn't an outlandish pipedream... it's our city's policy.

Below is a lengthy, but comprehensive article on the effort to get us where we are and where we need to be. It's the most comprehensive thing I've read in ages and has strong statements from electeds and activists alike, many of whom are also within our own TA BK efforts (Hilda, Michelle, Miller) or that of simailr organizations (Keegan w/ ROW, etc). 

bklynr.com/crossing-guards/

Yes, it's long but it's an important read. 

Hope everyone takes it to heart and enjoys this first spring weekend.

Paco