NYC to Google Maps: Help Drivers Avoid Left Turns

Traffic engineers have long known left turns are more hazardous than rights. After a WNYC report on their danger to pedestrians, City Councilman Brad Lander wants to help other drivers do what he already does behind the wheel — minimize making them.

"Routing can make a difference and save some lives," he said, adding that recent city data bears this out. "The crash reductions and safety improvements on Fourth Avenue at the intersections where those left turns were banned is dramatic."

(According to the NYC Department of Transportation, following a 2013 redesign, there was a 61 percent decrease in pedestrian injuries along one stretch of Brooklyn's Fourth Avenue.)

Along with Transportation Committee chair Ydanis Rodriguez, Lander is asking Google Maps to add a "reduce left turns" feature, the same way the company helps drivers avoid highways or tolls. The pair also want a "stay on truck routes" feature to help keep truck drivers off residential streets.

"As you may know," they wrote in a letter to Google executives, "New York City has been taking a lead in making our streets safer for all users, with our 'Vision Zero' goal of eliminating pedestrian deaths from preventable traffic crashes. We believe that these two steps could help us achieve those goals."

We reached out to Google for comment to see how amenable the company was to making these changes, or even how possible. No word yet.