Dr. Linda Prine Featured in NY Daily News Op-Ed

In a recent opinion piece, “Bike Lanes Save Lives: Calmer Traffic is Good for All New Yorkers,” Linda Prine, M.D., the Institute’s Director of Women’s Health, and her co-author Ben Fried (a staff writer at the Daily News) describe the dangers of high-speed traffic and visually compromised drivers in New York City. Although more than 150 pedestrians are killed each year in New York City by motorists, Dr. Prine and Mr. Fried note, “these deaths are preventable -and we know how to keep them from happening.”

Through a process known as ‘traffic calming,’ which includes the use of sidewalk extensions, pedestrian islands, and bike paths, drivers are compelled to take turns more carefully, approach city driving differently, and become more aware of the pedestrians and bike riders who share the road. These “complete streets”—so named because they function better for all involved—can work to reduce injury rates, and perhaps more importantly, help residents overcome the fear of traffic. As noted by Dr. Prine, traffic can not only be dangerous, “it keeps us inactive, which is terrible for our health.” Creating complete streets and re-adjusting the flow/speed of traffic is a public health measure that runs far beyond prevention, and will hopefully become a community health and wellness priority.