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.

The City Council's Committee on Transportation held an oversight hearing this past Monday on the present and future of Citi Bike, and StreetsPAC was there to testify in favor of allocating public funds to expand the bike-share system in New York.

When Citi Bike's Phase II rollout is completed in 2017, the system will have 12,000 bikes and more than 700 stations. Much of the city, however, will still lack access to bike share, and no concrete plans have been made public for a third phase of expansion.

At the hearing, New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg estimated that it would take upwards of 70,000 Citi Bikes to fully cover the five boroughs. The 2009 Department of City Planning study that paved the way for Citi Bike's launch in 2013 envisioned a 49,000-bike system aimed at medium- and high-density neighborhoods (those with 32,000 or more people per square mile).

Either scenario – and the density-focused system makes far more sense than a buckshot attempt to cover the city's entire geography, some of which is not conducive to a successful bike-share program – would represent growth of several magnitudes from the current system, and would certainly require a substantial public investment. That said, the 2009 DCP study projects that a 49,000-bike system would require just $200 million in capital costs and $100 million in annual operating costs, the latter of which, the study predicts, could be fully offset by sponsorship and membership and user fees.

For comparison, the de Blasio administration projects that the capital cost for the proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector streetcar would be $2.5 billion, for a system that would serve at most 60,000 riders a day – a daily figure that the current Citi Bike system has topped 23 times in 2016. Even if a significantly expanded bike-share system required an ongoing operational subsidy, it would be a fraction of the subsidies consumed by ferries, commuter rail, and, to be sure, private automobiles.

Paul Steely White, testifying on behalf of Transportation Alternatives on Monday, wisely pointed out that broad expansion of New York City's bike-share system will also require a significant investment in safe infrastructure. Many of the areas of the city that a 49,000-bike system would cover lack even rudimentary bike lanes, let alone the kind of protected paths that make cycling such an attractive and accessible option. Implementing these complete-street treatments is also critical to achieving Vision Zero, however, and should be a priority regardless of Citi Bike's expansion.

The time for planning that expansion, though, is now. We urge the administration and the City Council to begin laying the groundwork for an equitable, citywide (or close to it) bike-share system without delay.

Read our full testimony from Monday's Council hearing here.

We gave the following testimony to the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation at today's oversight hearing on the present and future of Citi Bike:

After a bumpy two years following its launch in 2013, there’s little dispute that New York City’s bike share system is now on a roll.  Through the second week of November, people have taken more than 12 and a half million rides on Citi Bikes in 2016 – a more than 25% increase from all of last year – and the system now boasts 120,000 annual members.

This past summer, Citi Bike continued its planned growth, expanding northward in Manhattan to 110th Street, and throughout Community Board 6 in Brooklyn, and thanks to that increased footprint and its additional bicycles, Citi Bike set a number of daily ridership records, hitting nearly 70,000 rides on several days last month.  Next spring, it will roll out further into Harlem, Queens and Brooklyn.

However, while Citi Bike’s present is bright, its future is a bit less clear.  No concrete public plans exist for further growth of the system once the Phase II expansion is complete in 2017.  Will Citi Bike top out at 12,000 bikes?  Or will it continue to grow to serve even more New Yorkers, delivering the convenience and efficiency of bike share to neighborhoods thirsting for reliable, low-cost transit options?

Rough Road Ahead? Safer Streets and Better Transit in the Trump Years.

Whatever may come of a Trump presidency, there's little doubt that those of us who support safe-streets and pro-transit policies are in for a bit of a rough road.

That, though, is perhaps an inapt analogy. The roads might be the only things that aren't rough, given that the person appointed to lead Trump's "transportation and infrastructure" transition team is a lobbyist for the asphalt industry, as The New York Times reported, and on which Streetsblog USA elaborated, last week. In Trump's America, "transportation and infrastructure" seems to equate with roads and highways.

Which is why, when the black veils come off (assuming you are mourning the results of the election), we're going to need you more than ever to help us move ahead.

As Ben Fried wrote most eloquently in his Monday morning Streetsblog post (if you haven't read it, we suggest you stop right now and click the link), infrastructure dollars for New York City and New York State may come with some completely untenable strings attached. And if that does become our reality, it will be more important than ever for us to elect city and state leaders who will have what it takes to make streets safer and transit better, faster and more reliable for all New Yorkers – without help from Washington.

When we launched StreetsPAC in 2013, we did so with the goal of electing representatives who would make New York City's streets and transit system safe and accessible to all people, regardless of age or ability or economic means or – and we didn't think this necessary to state at the time – ethnicity or gender or religion. All means all.

And we can do this, with or without a Trump administration's help. We can rally around our blocks and our neighborhoods and communities and our city, and continue to create and implement policies that make life better for the people who live and work and visit here. We've lowered our speed limit and built great bike lanes and pedestrianized Times Square and reduced traffic fatalities and made life better for everyone.

But we need to keep and put the right people in office to continue this progress, today more than ever. The citywide elections in 2017 now take on even greater import. And we need you with us.

We're not going to ask you for money today (though if you want to give, by all means please do!). But we will soon. And repeatedly. The post-election hangover is heavy, but before too long, we'll have to shake it off and get to the critical work that lies before us. We CAN do this, but we can only do it TOGETHER.

Thank you for your past, and future, support of StreetsPAC.

We gave the following testimony to the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation at their November 15, 2016 hearing covering several pieces of legislation intended to make walking and biking safer and easier.

Int. No. 1072 – Bicyclists following pedestrian signals (Support)

We offer our strong support for Intro 1072, which would allow people on bikes to adhere to pedestrian signals at intersections.

This is a common-sense bill that would greatly improve the safety at intersections of people riding bicycles, by allowing them to proceed on green leading pedestrian intervals.  The measure should significantly reduce turning conflicts and “right-hook” collisions between motorists and people on bikes, while also allowing cyclists to safely establish themselves in drivers’ fields of vision when starting out from a signalized intersection.

This legislation would not require the installation of any type of special signal for cyclists, and would cost the city nothing, and it would normalize and codify a practice that is already common among people riding bikes, who frequently use LPIs as a head start for self-preservation.  Furthermore, it does not require any compromise in pedestrian safety, as a person crossing an intersection on foot would retain the right of way in relation to turning cyclists.

We urge you to advance Intro 1072 out of committee without delay.

Petition: Ask NYPD to Release Details of the Investigation into the Crash that Killed Matthew von Ohlen

Last week, we launched a petition asking NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neill to order the department's Collision Investigation Squad and Brooklyn's 90th Precinct to update the public on the investigation into the July 2, 2016 hit-and-run crash that killed 35-year-old Brooklyn resident Matthew von Ohlen.

Von Ohlen was struck and killed by the driver of a black, late-model Chevrolet Camaro as he was riding his bike home from work in Williamsburg's Grand Street bike lane. Police who reviewed surveillance video of the crash told WPIX TV that the driver appeared to slow down and steer into the bike lane, intentionally striking von Ohlen before running him over and dragging him 30 feet, then speeding away. Von Ohlen died in the hospital not long after, the victim of severe trauma.

Four days later, the NYPD's 90th Precinct took to Twitter to announce that police had located the car involved in the crash. But that was the last public announcement made regarding the investigation into von Ohlen's death. More than four months have passed since.

The NYPD's failure to apprehend von Ohlen's killer fits a pattern. As Gothamist reported last week, police have made arrests in just 34% of the fatal hit-and-run crashes that occurred in New York City between July 2015 and June 2016. When hit-and-run crashes in which the victim suffered an injury are included, the arrest rate drops to a meager 8%.

You can add your name to the petition here – and please share it widely. Matthew von Ohlen, and all the victims of hit-and-run crashes, deserve justice.

Two Days Left to Register to Vote in the 2017 Primary, 2016 Presidential Election

Here's an important reminder that this Friday, October 14th, is not only the deadline to register to vote in next month's Presidential election – it's also the deadline for choosing party affiliation for next September's city primaries!

New York has a byzantine electoral system, highlighted by the fact that it has the earliest registration deadline of any of the 11 states with a closed primary (which means you can only vote in the primary of the party to which you're registered), as outlined in this recent article via DNAinfo.

Registration forms must be postmarked by Friday and received by the Board of Elections no later than October 19th. Change of address for the November general election must also be received by October 19th. You can also register in person at a Board of Elections office (be sure to bring a copy of the voter registration form with you), or, if you have a valid ID issued by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, you can register online at dmv.ny.gov. The deadline to register via the DMV is also October 19th.

Of course, if you're already registered and happy with your party affiliation, you don't have to do anything. If you're unsure of your voter registration status, you can check it here.

Find all the information you need, and download a voter registration form, at the New York City Board of Elections' website.

Keep in mind that in Democratic-leaning New York City, key races are often decided in the primary. And in 2017, New Yorkers will be voting for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, the Borough Presidents and the entire City Council. Don't be left out in the cold – register today!

StreetsPAC-Endorsed Candidates Win Manhattan, Brooklyn Assembly Primaries!

StreetsPAC today announced its endorsements for candidates running in the September 13th primary races for the New York State Senate and Assembly.

In Senate races, StreetsPAC is endorsing challenger Adrienne Adams in Queens’s 10th District, and in a hotly contested battle for an open seat in Manhattan’s 31st District, StreetsPAC is supporting Micah Lasher.  In Assembly contests, StreetsPAC is backing Robert Carroll in the open race for Brooklyn’s 44th District, challenger Paul Newell in a six-way race in lower Manhattan’s 65th District, and challenger Carmen de la Rosa in upper Manhattan’s 72nd District.

In addition, StreetsPAC is endorsing incumbent Brooklyn Assembly Members Felix Ortiz (51st District) and Jo Anne Simon (52nd District), neither of whom faces a primary challenge.

“For most state legislative races, incumbents are virtually guaranteed re-election, so our focus was on the handful of races for open seats, as well as those few contests in which there were legitimate, well organized and well funded challengers,” said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC.  “With Assembly Members Ortiz and Simon, we felt it important to make a statement of support for a pair of incumbents who boast particularly distinguished records on safe streets.”

“Infusing the legislature with new ideas and fresh energy is critical,” said StreetsPAC board member Sebastian Delmont, “and our endorsement decisions certainly take that into account.  The current way of doing things in Albany is obviously ripe for improvement.”

“While most decisions affecting street safety and transportation in New York City are made in City Hall and the Council, the state government plays a major role in a few key areas, including funding of the MTA and deployment and operation of speed and red-light cameras,” said Peter Frishauf, a StreetsPAC board member.  “We’re backing candidates who are committed to leading on those issues.” 

Click through after the jump for a round up of today’s StreetsPAC endorsees, all of whom have pledged to support the Move New York Fair Plan, installation of life-saving speed cameras at all 2,000+ New York City school (without restriction on their operation), increased deployment of red-light cameras, and expansion of the MTA’s Select Bus Service.