New York City transportation officials hope public school students can help convince drivers to slow down.
The Department of Transportation is calling on students to create public service announcements about street safety as part of an annual contest called “We’re Walking Here.”
Judges are asking students to track the number of blocks they walk over a two-week period, observe what makes city streets so dangerous and offer tips for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Last year, seventh graders from the Jamaica YMCA Intermediate School won with a video showing the ghost of a student killed in traffic looking at his own body in a road. An accompanying song urges motorists not to text and drive.
The video that came in second place – by a second-grade class in Queens – featured a song, “Look Around,” set to the tune of House of Pain’s “Jump Around.”
The deadline to register is Oct. 15. Winners get a cash prize.
“More so than any students in the country, New York City schoolkids rely on two feet and often two wheels as their means to get to school – and we are working hard to keep them safe,” said Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez in a release.
Street safety advocates at Transportation Alternatives say data shows a young person in the city is seriously injured in traffic near a school every other day.
According to the transportation department, there were 38 youth pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, and 7,665 injuries, between 2018 and 2022.
Last month, Gothamist reported on a school in East Elmhurst, Queens, where two students were recently killed in traffic. Parents have struggled to get safety improvements, including more crossing guards, near the school.
This week, the transportation department announced a new initiative focusing on street safety in areas with highest concentrations of youth injuries in the city. Improvements will include street redesigns, open streets near schools and reduced speed limits.
Some roads are already seeing
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