StreetsPAC Testifies at City Council Transportation Budget Hearing

Yesterday, the City Council's Committee on Transportation held a hearing on Mayor de Blasio's preliminary fiscal year 2018 budget, and we were there to testify.

The Mayor announced two months ago that he was boosting his administration's spending commitment to Vision Zero by $400 million, to a total of $1.6 billion over five years, and a fair portion of those funds will kick in during the coming fiscal year. In our testimony, we praised increased spending on replacement and refurbishment of street markings like crosswalks and bike lanes, and other important improvements like more crossing guards, safer intersection design and better street lighting.

But it wasn't all praise. We urged the City Council to push the Mayor to allocate public funds to Citi Bike expansion, to creation of a Fair Fares program that would provide half-priced Metro Cards to New Yorkers living below the poverty line, and on improving the delivery time of safe-streets capital projects.

And of course, we urged complete reform of on-street parking in New York City, which would have the double benefit of reducing congestion and increasing revenue.

You can read our complete testimony here.

StreetsPAC testified at yesterday's New York City Council Committee on Transportation hearing on the Mayor's preliminary budget for fiscal year 2018. Here's what we had to say:

The additional $400 million for Vision Zero that Mayor de Blasio announced in January provides a major boost for safety on city streets. While those funds will be spent over several years, they’ll begin to have an effect right away, especially on critical initiatives like the replacement and refurbishment of street markings. The major capital commitment to shortening the replacement cycle for crosswalks and bike lanes, and the Department of Transportation’s improved ability to handle restriping, is vital to better street safety.

Likewise, more spending on crossing guards, additional funding for implementation of hardened center lines for left turns, enhanced street lighting, and upgrades to intersections along the bike network will similarly have an immediate effect in improving safety for vulnerable street users. We applaud this commitment to Vision Zero spending.

This commitment is especially important in light of a brand new Health Department report that reveals that pedestrian fatality rates in poor neighborhoods are triple those in wealthy communities. It should be a moral imperative that we prioritize Vision Zero spending in high-poverty areas, which would be very much in keeping with the Mayor’s goals of addressing inequality.

Sign Our Petition: NYC Needs a Comprehensive Snow-Removal Protocol!

Last week's snowstorm – while thankfully not the blizzard that many outlets had predicted – served as yet another reminder that New York City lacks a comprehensive system for clearing snow from intersections, crosswalks and catch basins.

While the Department of Sanitation did its usual bang-up job of plowing and salting the city's streets, too much of that plowed snow ended up creating headaches for pedestrians – and for less able-bodied New Yorkers, dangerous and impassable obstacles.

As LTV Squad's Joseph Anastasio pointed out a year ago, snow removal at intersections falls into a responsibility black hole, while too many property owners take their time (or altogether skip) shoveling their sidewalks because fines are low and enforcement is almost nil. He offers up a plan that largely puts the onus on the citizenry, which may or may not be the ideal solution – but at least it's a plan! And here are three suggestions from Streetsblog's Ben Fried for improving upon the current situation.

Given its role in creating laws, the City Council needs to tackle this nagging problem head-on. Please take 30 seconds to sign our petition asking the Council to initiate a comprehensive plan for improving snow removal in New York City, one that puts the mobility of pedestrians, transit riders and cyclists on par with that of drivers.

Tell Albany: NO Higher Speed Limit on Ocean Parkway – or Any Other NYC Street!

As Streetsblog's Brad Aaron reported Monday, State Senator Simcha Felder has introduced a bill in Albany that would raise the speed limit on Brooklyn's Ocean Parkway to 30 miles per hour, exempting it from New York City's life-saving 25 mph speed limit.

The bill, first brought to light by City Council Member Brad Lander in a Facebook post on Saturday, has also been introduced in companion legislation in the Assembly by Brooklyn Democrat Steven Cymbrowitz.

Help Jumpstart StreetsPAC's 2017 Election Effort – Donate Today!

No beating around the bush – we need your financial support right now.

We're beginning to gear up for New York City's 2017 elections. Every citywide officeholder is up for re-election – the Mayor, Public Advocate and Comptroller – as is every member of the City Council, all five Borough Presidents, and the Brooklyn and Manhattan District Attorneys. 61 races in total. We aim to be a player in all of them.

But we can only do it with your help. In 2013, your contributions made it possible for StreetsPAC to back winning candidates in 13 of 18 Council races on primary night. Not to mention the eventual Mayor, Public Advocate and Manhattan Borough President. The message was crystal clear – support for safe and livable streets, and robust public transit, had arrived as a political force.

Our endorsees went on to fill a majority of seats on the City Council's Transportation Committee, which has been a force for progressive initiatives these past three years – and a far cry from its predecessor. Vision Zero became official city policy. Traffic deaths are at an all-time low.

But as we saw in the starkest possible terms on November 8th, life as we know it can change in an instant. You can bet that the same people who voted for Donald Trump last November would love nothing more than to tear out protected bike lanes, rip up public plazas, and restore New York City's speed limit to 30 mph. Or higher.

We can't let that happen. Which is why your financial support, today, is so critical. Money talks in elections. It allows us to hire field staff to register voters, to fund candidates in every key race, and to produce campaign literature supporting true champions for safe and complete streets. Together, we can make an enormous, and life-saving, difference.

Please give generously. Help us make our streets safe for every New Yorker.

NYC DOT Kicks off Citywide Transit Plan Workshops

Yesterday, the New York City Department of Transportation kicked off a series of public workshops aimed at developing a citywide transit plan.

The Brooklyn borough workshop took place last night at Brooklyn College, but NYC DOT will hold workshops in the other four boroughs over the next month (Queens even gets two). The goals of the Citywide Transit Plan, as it's being called, are to help guide the future of transit planning in New York City, and to understand where people want and need to go, how well they're being served currently, and where new transit options are needed.

The transit system's struggles have been well documented. While overall ridership is at an all-time high, the subways are bursting at the seams while entire lines face lengthy shutdowns for repairs, and bus ridership is actually falling, due, most likely, to the unreliability of the bus system. At the same time, there are many city residents who don't have easy access to transit. All while the city's population continues to grow.

Missing from the planning, of course, is the 800-pound gorilla: the MTA. But there's a fair amount that NYC DOT can accomplish on its own, especially when it comes to surface transit, by redesigning streets and promoting alternate modes of transportation, like Citi Bike.

You can let NYC DOT know about your vision for the future of transit in New York City by attending one of the upcoming borough workshops – more info at transitplannyc.org/events/ – or by taking the online survey today at transitplannyc.org.

Let's build a safe, convenient and reliable public transportation system that's accessible to all New Yorkers!

Mayor de Blasio Ups the Ante for Vision Zero

Yesterday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would increase its financial commitment to Vision Zero by about one-third, adding more than $400 million to a five-year budget that will now dedicate some $1.6 billion to improving the safety of city streets. He announced the new spending just steps from the notorious Brooklyn intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, one of the city's deadliest – now slated for significant safety upgrades beginning this year.



About 80% of the new spending will be dedicated to the most important work – major street safety reconstruction. According to the city's press release, these capital dollars will fund...

...major street construction projects that often include full reconstruction of the roadbed, sidewalks and underlying infrastructure. These projects can completely realign complex intersections or provide permanent safety improvements like raised medians, while enhancing the livability of communities. These dollars represent a major long-term commitment to building out safer corridors and intersections for years to come.

But there's much more. The city will commit more than $25 million over several years to hire 100 full-time crossing guard supervisors and 200 part-time crossing guards, ensuring that all school crossing posts citywide will be staffed – with enough replacement guards to cover absences.

Another $70 million over five years will be dedicated to the faster replacement and refurbishment of street markings and crosswalks, shortening the current replacement cycle by 25% and making high-visibility crosswalks the standard citywide. Faded crosswalks and bike lanes have been the bane of many a street-safety advocate, and these funds will enable the striping of 15 million linear feet per year.

In addition, the budget increase will fund intersection upgrades along the city's bike network, left-turn traffic-calming measures at hundreds of intersections, more enhanced pedestrian crossings, brighter lighting at some 1,000 dangerous intersections, and a 50% increase in speed-detection equipment for the NYPD.

We commend Mayor de Blasio for this major step up in the city's commitment to Vision Zero – and the Council Members and fellow advocates who've pushed for this increased spending. One can't put a price tag on saved lives, but it's safe to say that this new funding will be well worth the cost.

StreetsPAC Executive Director Eric McClure delivered the following testimony at today's City Council Committee on Transportation oversight hearing on Vision Zero progress and needs:

We were heartened by the news this week that Mayor de Blasio plans to budget an additional $400 million for Vision Zero.  The City Council’s call last year for more funding for Vision Zero no doubt played a role in the Mayor’s decision; thank you for your continued advocacy for increased investment in safe streets.

This additional funding is critical, because our ability to achieve Vision Zero lies first and foremost in redesigning our streets.  Vision Zero is predicated on the fact that people make mistakes, but that those mistakes should not cost someone a limb, or worse, his or her life.  A margin for human error must be part of the equation, whether that error is on the part of people using our streets, or those whose job it is to enforce the laws governing them.

Join Us! January 10 Fundraiser for City Council Member Ben Kallos

Please join us this coming Tuesday, January 10, 2017, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., for a fundraiser for Upper East Side City Council Member Ben Kallos.

Ben, who was first elected to the Council in 2013, has been a champion of improving safety for vulnerable street users, and played a critical role in bringing crosstown paired bike lanes to the Upper East Side. He can frequently be spotted riding his bicycle around his district.

All the details are below. We look forward to seeing you there! RSVP.

Save the Date: January 10, 2017 StreetsPAC Fundraiser for City Council Member Ben Kallos!

Please plan to join us on Tuesday, January 10, 2017, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., for a fundraiser for City Council Member Ben Kallos.

Ben, who was first elected to the Council in 2013, has been a champion of pedestrian safety, and was instrumental in bringing crosstown paired bike lanes to the Upper East Side. He can often be spotted riding his bicycle around his district.

All the details are below. We look forward to seeing you there! RSVP.

StreetsPAC testified at today's New York City Council Committee on Transportation oversight hearing on city parking policies, which also included discussion of bills aimed at facilitating car-sharing. Here's what we had to say:

In regard to Intro 267, which would reserve a percentage of parking spaces in public parking facilities for shared vehicles, and Intro 873, which would dedicate some number of on-street parking spaces to shared vehicles, we believe that the promotion of shared-vehicle services in New York City is generally a good thing.  Providing New Yorkers with alternatives to private car ownership makes sense.

However, we need to be cognizant of how shared vehicles are used.  If they provide options for people who might otherwise choose to own or lease a vehicle, that’s good.  But if the use of a shared vehicle replaces a trip that might otherwise have been made by public transit or bike or on foot, that’s perhaps not so good.  If the presence of shared vehicles induces car trips, that’s not good at all.  So it’s important that the dedication of space to shared vehicles comes with comprehensive study of how shared vehicles are used.  Reducing trips made by cars is just as important as reducing the total number of cars.

Additionally, while Intro 873 mentions the possibility of collecting fees for use by car-share operators of metered parking spaces, it makes no such mention of charging for “free” on-street parking spaces.  The bill needs to be explicit in mandating payment for dedicated parking.  Private companies should compensate the city for use of public space, and it begs the larger question of how we use and allocate our curbsides.

We strongly urge this committee, the Council, and the Department of Transportation to initiate a wide-ranging examination of the allocation of curb space in New York City.  The dedication of vast portions of our public streets to free private-vehicle storage is a 1950s-era concept that is ripe for change.  While we have wisely moved on from many other ideas that seemed sensible in the Fifties, our misguided parking policies have gotten a free pass.