The Bronx is home to New York City’s deadliest roadway: report

When it comes to traffic safety, the Bronx is not the place to be. 

A report released Tuesday by the nonprofit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives identified the city’s deadliest street for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists alike: East 138th Street in the Bronx, which spans just over 1.5 miles and saw 12 deaths between 2014 and 2023. 

Only Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens had a higher death total — 18 — though its fatalities per mile was lower at 4.4, according to the report.

According to a spokesperson for the nonprofit, the intersections of East 138th and Willis Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard are particularly dangerous. In the past 10 years, these two intersections saw a combined eight deaths: five pedestrians, one cyclist and two motorists.

“Hell no, I don’t walk any of this. I take cabs,” said Jailene Vargas, 27, who works at a deli on East 138th Street and Cypress Avenue near Bruckner Boulevard but sometimes, she said, the ride that should have been six minutes away takes almost an hour to arrive. 

The deli overlooks one of the deadliest streets in the city — and Vargas said she was not surprised to learn of that statistic. From inside the deli, she has a constant view of the congested mess of traffic that begins around 4 p.m. 

“It’s crazy, that’s why I don’t walk here,” she said. 

As the city has tried over the past decade to decrease traffic deaths, recent data shows that these efforts are paying off — but only in certain neighborhoods. 

Vision Zero, founded 10 years ago during Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, brought together various agencies — including the NYPD, MTA, DOT, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, among others — to work toward the goal of zero traffic fatalities in the city. 

Transportation Alternatives recently analyzed 10 years of Vision Zero data and released a report Tuesday stating that overall traffic fatalities in the city are down — but white communities are seeing…