Track data on region's aging roads to help prevent deadly crashes
The scene of Monday's deadly crash on the Cross Island Parkway near Exit 20 in Whitestone, Queens. Credit: James Carbone
Drivers and area residents know the bend in the road well.
They even call it "dead man's curve."
The path that takes drivers traveling north on the Whitestone Expressway in Queens around a curve to head south on the Cross Island Parkway is a well-known, oft-traveled alternative for Long Islanders heading home from LaGuardia Airport or Citi Field. As you approach the curve, there's some speed advisory and curve-related signage. But it's hard for a sign to tell you just how tight, steep or tricky a bend in the highway is. If you're impaired, distracted or just moving too quickly, you could misjudge the turn. And those paths just weren't made for today's cars at today's speeds, never mind for drivers that fly around them much faster than they should.
A horrific accident, in which a car hit the median and flipped over to the other side of the highway, took the lives of five individuals and injured a sixth early Monday morning and marked a terrible start to 2024. Like the narrow bends of the Southern State Parkway or the crowded bottlenecks on Hempstead Turnpike, or many of the other trouble spots across the region, the Whitestone Expressway/Cross Island Parkway connector has been a known danger zone for decades. That's only gotten worse as drivers have become more distracted, traveled faster or grown more reckless.
Response to Monday's accident, in which speeding was apparently a factor, came swiftly. Mayor Eric Adams promised to review the roadways involved, to "see how many incidents we've had there..."
"We are doing an analysis to find out what happened in that area, and how we can prevent something like that from happening again," Adams told Newsday.
But it shouldn't take the deaths of five people for anyone to conduct such an analysis. Such data review can and should be done regularly, rather than after tragedy strikes. New York City already collects extensive data, particularly in conjunction with its Vision Zero effort to eliminate traffic fatalities and increase safety. City officials regularly update a map called Vision Zero View that shows some basic information regarding where and when pedestrian-, bicyclist- and driving-related fatalities and injuries take place.
Is anyone looking at that data, analyzing trends or determining next steps? Has the city's appropriate attention on pedestrians come without a broader focus on the region's expansive, yet aging highway system?
In Monday's accident, there's also the typically tricky question of jurisdiction. The city oversees the Cross Island Parkway, but the state is responsible for the Whitestone Expressway. And the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has control over the nearby Whitestone Bridge. All three agencies have to be involved in fixing this stretch, otherwise all that will result is a lot of finger-pointing without much action.
This is, of course, about much more than just a single stretch of highway along the Nassau/Queens border. As a region, we need to start treating our roads like they are part of a potentially fatal disease. Like any medical diagnosis, we must track the data, understand the science and develop a treatment. Only then can we execute targeted fixes for each dangerous stretch of road.
There's a lot we don't yet know about Monday's accident, including whether alcohol or drugs played a role. No road improvement will stop reckless or dangerous behavior. But the more we know, and the more we can make targeted improvements, large and small, the better our chances are for less deadly spots.
And that doesn't have to wait for the next horrendous car crash.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.