Filmmaker Jennifer Boyd Investigates Traffic Violence and Street Safety in 'The Street Project'

Dulcie Canton is a native New Yorker who survived a hit-and-run when a driver accelerated behind her on a Brooklyn street one night. After a year of recovery, Canton got back on her bike and became involved with Transportation Alternatives, eventually becoming the Brooklyn organizer.

By Helen Quinn Pasin 

"The Street Project" documentary is the story of humanity's relationship to the streets and the global citizen-led fight to make communities safer. Digging deep into the root causes of traffic violence, the filmmakers engage diverse experts, including street historians, city planners, urban designers, activists, and everyday people working to make their communities safer.

Jennifer Boyd is founder of Boyd Productions, a documentary production company that prides itself on creating films that spark curiosity, connectivity and societal change. Her multilingual, female-led team has more than 20 years of experience in filmmaking, music television and journalism.

"The Street Project" sets out to find answers to why people are getting killed on American streets at an alarming rate. "We assumed people must be staring at their cell phones and wandering into traffic," the narrator says in the film's opening scene. "We were wrong."

Emmy award-winning filmmaker Jennifer Boyd has produced and directed over 25 documentaries. She was led to the story of "The Street Project" while creating “3 Seconds Behind the Wheel,” which followed the lives of eight drivers over six months using in-car cameras and tracking technology to monitor the often-hidden behavior of distracted drivers.

In 2010, the small community of specialists who pay attention to U.S. road safety statistics picked up on a troubling trend: more and more pedestrians and cyclists were being killed on American roads. Pedestrian deaths have increased by 51% since, reaching their low point in 2009. In addition to the loss of human life, the CDC estimates that road injuries will cost the world economy $1.8 trillion from 2015–2030. 

For bike activist Dulcie Canton, stopping vehicular violence in New York City has become a life mission. "It was August 7. I felt fairly seasoned after biking for three years. I felt fairly confident," said Canton in the film. "I hear this engine rev up, and something told me, 'He's going to hit you.'" Her body was thrust into the air. She was seriously injured with multiple fractures and a concussion as she hit the ground, leaving bystanders unsure if she was still alive. The driver sped off and got away." He's still driving today," said Canton.

Dulcie Canton cautiously rides the streets today.

Both Canton and her mother were victims of hit-and-run crashes on separate occasions, 10 years apart, Canton as a cyclist, her mother as a pedestrian. "That's not a coincidence. We were both living in neighborhoods that are on the margins. Low-income communities are more susceptible to traffic violence."

"The Street Project" was filmed over four years, and during that, COVID-19 hit, and people's relationships with the streets changed even more. 

"Streets were now suddenly places for people to gather, to connect with their neighbors, to get exercise and connect safely," said Boyd in an interview with the One Earth Film Festival. "Overnight, they were able to instantly create safe spaces that worked for their communities. And so, sure enough, the first shoot I did out of COVID was this story about an open street on 34th Avenue in Queens, the epicenter of Covid in the United States." 

This shift led to more cities adopting "open streets," which restrict traffic for specific periods so pedestrians can interact safely.

On 34th Avenue in Queens, cars are barred from driving on 26 blocks, 12 hours a day; the atmosphere is welcoming and festive. Children play in blow-up pools and decorate the pavement with chalk; teens and adults play games, eat and drink, and even have dance classes and put on a circus for the neighborhood. 

Jim Burke from Queens in New York City organized locals to transform 34th Avenue into an open street (closed to cars, open to children). With $20,000 raised from neighbors and the support of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the street transformed into a safe place for sitting, strolling, and playing in blow-up pools.

"When we had COVID devastating this neighborhood and all these people are dying, you come out here, and the kids are having the best summer of their life," said Queens resident Jim Burke who organized the "open-street" movement on 34th. 

"We can create streets that work for our communities,” Boyd said. “Just because things have been done a certain way for a bunch of decades doesn't mean that it has to be that way in the future." Boyd hopes that the "The Street Project" will be used by communities to inspire change, and she encourages the public to visit www.thestreetproject.com to learn how to bring the conversation to their communities. 

“The Street Project” watch party is on Sunday, April 23, from 3 to 5 p.m. CDT at the Humboldt Park Branch of Chicago Public Library, the Austin Branch of Chicago Public Library, Big Marsh Bike Park, and virtually. Tickets are free. 

Watch out for forthcoming information about community bike rides at in-person watch party locations.