Action Alert: Tell Albany to Act on Move NY, Speed Cameras & Stipulated Fines
The 2015-2016 legislative session in Albany is coming to an end tomorrow, and — surprise! — several critically important bills aimed at improving transportation and street safety are languishing in the Assembly and Senate.
The Move NY Fair Plan, which would equalize tolls on New York City's bridges and simultaneously reduce traffic congestion in and around Manhattan while creating a vital funding stream for the MTA, does not appear to be moving forward.
Nor does a truly life-saving bill that would increase the number of speed safety cameras that the New York City Department of Transportation could deploy while also expanding their hours of operation (a bill that would have permitted speed cameras at every school in New York City, and allow them to operate 24 hours a day, is already effectively dead).
And there's no news on the fate of a bill that would end New York City's stipulated fine program, which reduces or eliminates illegal-parking fines for truck fleets. Collecting the fines — which would amount to tens of millions of dollars in revenue — and in turn creating significantly more on-street loading zones, is a much better alternative.
Please contact State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (518-455-3791 or [email protected]) and State Senate Leader John Flanagan (518-455-2071 or [email protected]) today and politely ask them to move these three crucial pieces of legislation forward in this session. Our streets and transportation system can't wait another year!
The Move NY Fair Plan, which would equalize tolls on New York City's bridges and simultaneously reduce traffic congestion in and around Manhattan while creating a vital funding stream for the MTA, does not appear to be moving forward.
Nor does a truly life-saving bill that would increase the number of speed safety cameras that the New York City Department of Transportation could deploy while also expanding their hours of operation (a bill that would have permitted speed cameras at every school in New York City, and allow them to operate 24 hours a day, is already effectively dead).
And there's no news on the fate of a bill that would end New York City's stipulated fine program, which reduces or eliminates illegal-parking fines for truck fleets. Collecting the fines — which would amount to tens of millions of dollars in revenue — and in turn creating significantly more on-street loading zones, is a much better alternative.
Please contact State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (518-455-3791 or [email protected]) and State Senate Leader John Flanagan (518-455-2071 or [email protected]) today and politely ask them to move these three crucial pieces of legislation forward in this session. Our streets and transportation system can't wait another year!
Speaking of Speed Cameras: Last Week's StreetsPoll
In last week's StreetsPoll, we asked you to predict whether Albany would take action on life-saving speed safety cameras before the end of the legislative session. A majority of respondents thought that Albany would act to increase the number of cameras in New York City, but not for every school. The prediction will come true if the legislature acts on the bill currently before it, and again, your calls and emails can help make it happen.
Congratulations to Alex Rubin, the randomly selected winner of a StreetsPAC t-shirt from among last week's StreetsPoll respondents.
In last week's StreetsPoll, we asked you to predict whether Albany would take action on life-saving speed safety cameras before the end of the legislative session. A majority of respondents thought that Albany would act to increase the number of cameras in New York City, but not for every school. The prediction will come true if the legislature acts on the bill currently before it, and again, your calls and emails can help make it happen.
Congratulations to Alex Rubin, the randomly selected winner of a StreetsPAC t-shirt from among last week's StreetsPoll respondents.
NYC DOT's New York City Mobility Report
Last week, NYC DOT released the New York City Mobility Report,
its first update on city transportation trends in three years. The report outlines the significant growth in the city's population, employment and tourism, and how all those residents, workers and visitors get around.
Among the most interesting data: subways and bikes account for about 700,000 more daily trips than they did in 2000, bus ridership and for-hire vehicle trips are declining, and it's a lot faster (and cheaper!) to get around Midtown by Citi Bike than it is by taxi.
Streetsblog covered the report's release here, and followed up on some of the more interesting aspects of the report in an interview with NYC DOT Deputy Commissioner Ryan Russo here.
NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission Initiates Vision Zero Base Reports
The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission this morning released its first-ever Vision Zero Base Reports, a collection of safety statistics — including fatal crashes, injury crash rates, safety violation rates for both vehicles and bases, and other data — that can help passengers make informed decisions about the safety of for-hire vehicle companies.
StreetsPAC Executive Director Eric McClure, who proposed a safety-rating system to the TLC at an April 2014 Vision Zero Town Hall meeting, is quoted in this morning's announcement:
Last week, NYC DOT released the New York City Mobility Report,
its first update on city transportation trends in three years. The report outlines the significant growth in the city's population, employment and tourism, and how all those residents, workers and visitors get around.Among the most interesting data: subways and bikes account for about 700,000 more daily trips than they did in 2000, bus ridership and for-hire vehicle trips are declining, and it's a lot faster (and cheaper!) to get around Midtown by Citi Bike than it is by taxi.
Streetsblog covered the report's release here, and followed up on some of the more interesting aspects of the report in an interview with NYC DOT Deputy Commissioner Ryan Russo here.
NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission Initiates Vision Zero Base Reports
The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission this morning released its first-ever Vision Zero Base Reports, a collection of safety statistics — including fatal crashes, injury crash rates, safety violation rates for both vehicles and bases, and other data — that can help passengers make informed decisions about the safety of for-hire vehicle companies.
StreetsPAC Executive Director Eric McClure, who proposed a safety-rating system to the TLC at an April 2014 Vision Zero Town Hall meeting, is quoted in this morning's announcement:
"The Vision Zero Base Reports will be a tremendous tool for consumers when choosing a car service, as well as for holding TLC-licensed bases accountable for driver safety. Kudos to Commissioner Joshi and her team for this important step toward making New York City’s streets safer than ever."You can check out the Vision Zero Base Reports here, and look up for-hire providers by base name or license number. By using the Base Reports, next time you call a car service, you can know how their drivers' safety records compare with others.
Photo Credits: Speed camera rally, StreetsPAC; NYC Mobility Report, NYC DOT
Do you like this post?
