Putting Pedestrians First on New York City’s Streets Saves Medicaid $90 Million in Five Years

news7g2 weeks ago

2 2 minutes read

Putting Pedestrians First on New York City's Streets Saves Medicaid $90 Million in Five Years

Car accident in the Bronx — The aftermath of a fatal accident that occurred in the Bronx last month

After decades of dedicating city roads to ensuring drivers can get wherever they want quickly and as convenient as possibleCities across the country have slowly begun to realize that not necessarily the best way to do things. While the number of deaths from traffic accidents in every other developed country in the world is trending down, the United States is the only place where they are still going up. Convincing drivers to consider others may be an uphill battle, but perhaps the prospect of saving tens of millions of dollars could change their minds.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI is a great first car | WCSYB?

The New York Times report that when New York City began implementing pedestrian-friendly programs they call Vision Zero in 2014, traffic deaths decreased. Those programs also saved Medicaid more than $90 million in just the first five years of Vision Zero, according to a new study. New York City’s traffic deaths may not yet be zero, but when you combine lower traffic fatality rates with tens of millions of dollars in savings, the only reasonable conclusion is There are more cities doing similar things.

From 2014 to 2019, traffic injuries decreased by 30%. That means fewer people’s days are ruined, but also fewer traffic jams caused by first responders, fewer people with disabilities, and lots of other positive outcomes. The programs, which follow a Swedish model from the 1970s, also greatly benefit low-income New Yorkers who rarely drive in the city, as well as Black residents who witnessed the most significant reduction in traffic injuries.

One of the big questions researchers have is whether Vision Zero initiatives only reduce low-speed crashes like fender benders without doing anything to prevent them. Is the impact more serious? By comparing Medicaid data from NYC with six surrounding counties that did not implement any traffic mitigation measures, they were able to look at the long-term impact of the wreck, even including things like spending Physical therapy fees and prescriptions after an accident. Ultimately, they discovered that walking on New York City streets not only saved Medicaid nearly $100 million but also reduced serious crashes.

Road injuries increased in 2017 and 2018, but similar trends were observed in surrounding counties. Yet last year, New York City recorded its second-lowest number of road deaths since the Department of Transportation began tracking that statistic in 1910. Obviously, whether you care about people don’t get hurt or killed trying to cross the street, or if you just care about saving taxpayers money, giving pedestrians priority over cars is the right thing to do.