POLL: Majority of Voters Support Adding Protected Bike Lanes, Bus Lanes In Their Neighborhood; Near-Universal Support For Expanding Crosswalks, Green Spaces -- Even If It Results in Less Parking
68 Percent of Voters, Including 61 Percent of Car Owners, Support Adding Protected Bike Lanes In Their Neighborhood
63 Percent of Voters, Including 57 Percent of Car Owners, Support Expanding Open Streets in Their Neighborhood
56 Percent of Voters Support Using Parking Spaces To Build Protected Bus Lanes
NEW YORK — A new poll makes clear that a majority of voters support adding protected bus lanes, wider sidewalks, greenery, and more to streets in their neighborhood, even if it would result in fewer parking spots. The survey reveals that a majority of voters from households that own cars broadly support many of these street improvements -- including adding more protected bike lanes -- too.
“While the majority of our city’s streets are devoted to moving and parking vehicles, the majority of New Yorkers want streets that prioritize people.” said Danny Harris, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director. “City streets must become fairer, healthier, safer, and put people first as we recover from the pandemic. With this latest polling, it’s clear that candidates running with bold plans to reimagine New York City’s streetscape will have public opinion on their side.”
The new survey was commissioned by Transportation Alternatives and conducted by the Siena College Research Institute of registered New York City voters from November to December, 2020. More results from the poll:
BIKE LANES: 68 percent of voters - including majorities in all five boroughs - support adding more protected bike lanes in their neighborhoods. 82 percent of Hispanic voters support adding protected bike lanes in their neighborhoods.
BIKE SHARE: 56 percent of voters believe that bike share stations are an important use of curb space in their neighborhoods, including 69 percent of voters from households with income less than $50,000 per year.
BUS LANES: 56 percent of voters support using space currently used for parking in order to have protected citywide bus lanes. New Yorkers from households with income below $50,000 a year have the strongest support, with 66 percent supporting.
OPEN RESTAURANTS: 64 percent of voters say outdoor seating for restaurants is an important use of curb space in their neighborhood, including 78 percent of voters in Manhattan.
OPEN STREETS: 63 percent of voters support the expansion of Open Streets in their neighborhood, including 76 percent of voters under age thirty-five.
CROSSWALK SAFETY: 85 percent of voters strongly or somewhat support efforts to improve crosswalk safety. 74 percent of Staten Island voters and 77 percent of Black voters strongly support these efforts, even if it results in fewer parking spaces.
WIDER SIDEWALKS: 58 percent support adding wider sidewalks to their neighborhood, including 70 percent of voters under age thirty-five. even if it results in fewer parking spaces.
PLAYGROUNDS: 84 percent of voters support adding more space for children to play in their neighborhood, including 90 percent of Bronx voters, even if it results in fewer parking spaces.
GREENERY: 83 percent of voters support adding more trees and greenery to their neighborhood, including 87 percent of Hispanic voters, even if it results in fewer parking spaces.
BENCHES: 75 percent of voters support creating more places to sit such as benches, even if it results in fewer parking spaces.
CAR OWNERS: A super-majority of voters from households that own a car support enhancing crosswalk safety (84 percent) and adding space for children to play (82 percent), even if it takes away parking spaces. 61 percent support adding more protected bike lanes in their neighborhood. 60 percent believe that outdoor seating for restaurants is an important use of curb space and 57 percent support Open Streets expansion in their neighborhood.
"We need to reimagine our streetscape to make New York a more livable city, and this poll shows that New Yorkers know that too and they want city government to act boldly to make it happen. Open Streets and Open Restaurants opened our eyes to the untapped potential when it comes to using our street space in more fun and more efficient ways for New Yorkers and the small businesses we need to support. Bike lanes and bus lanes are good policy and good politics too, and the Council will keep fighting for them,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
“As the chairman of the transportation committee, I have advocated alongside Transportation Alternatives for additional pedestrian and cyclists spaces across the City. We must continue working towards a more sustainable, pedestrians and cyclist-friendly City,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chairman of the Transportation Committee. “The data is clear, the majority of New Yorkers support adding additional bike and bus lanes as well as green spaces to our City's streets even if that means less parking for vehicles. I look forward to working alongside Transportation Alternatives and my colleagues at the council to ensure we continue reclaiming our streets and reduce the number of personal vehicles on our roads.”
“COVID-19 has decimated New York City’s restaurant industry, and the OPEN Restaurants program helped save countless small businesses and jobs throughout the five boroughs, while bringing back a critically important energy to our streetscape,” said Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance. “And through the process, outdoor dining helped us reimagine all the possibilities and creative uses for our streetscape to build a more welcoming, vibrant and livable city. As the data show, a majority of New Yorkers believe outdoor seating for restaurants is important, and as more people experience it and learn about its importance to our city’s recovery, resiliency and long-term livability, the more they fall in love with al fresco dining.”
"Citi Bike stations take up less than 0.5% of the total curb space in its current service area yet an average station accommodates about 27 bike trips per parking spot per day that would otherwise only accommodate 2.5 car trips per day," said Caroline Samponaro, Head of Micromobility Policy at Lyft. "This poll shows that a diverse majority of New Yorkers agree bikeshare is an important component of efficiently using curb space and redesigning streets around people."
“Safer and more inclusive streets aren’t just good policy, they’re good politics. Candidates who want to come out on top in this year’s elections would be wise to join the growing majority of New York City voters who embrace a vision of a city that isn’t dominated by cars and traffic," said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC.
“Two things are constant in NYC bike lane debates: small groups of noisy opponents and widespread underlying public support for safe streets for cycling. A string of independent surveys in the depths of the 2011-2012 “bikelash” found two-thirds of New Yorkers supported expanding bike lanes. Two mayoral terms later, a new survey finds the same. Many thanks to Transportation Alternatives and Siena for this important new research,” said Jon Orcutt, Advocacy Director at Bike New York.
"We need to reimagine our streetscape in order to fully address climate change and decrease emissions from the transportation sector - the leading source of climate pollution. And this survey shows New Yorkers agree that our streets should prioritize families. More open space, and more bike and bus lanes, will improve air quality, boost safety, and enhance public transportation. We thank Transportation Alternatives for their leadership,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
"New Yorkers demand street equity and will hold elected officials accountable for making streets fairer," said Stephanie Burgos-Veras, Riders Alliance Organizing Manager. "It's time leaders stand up to the loud NIMBYs who defend the status quo. Strong majorities want safer trips to transit, better bus service, and a city that makes the most of scarce public space."
“The COVID-19 pandemic has given us all a glimpse of what is possible for our streets,” said Tom Wright, President and CEO, Regional Plan Association. “Our Fourth Regional Plan outlines how we can come back stronger, including designing streets for people, saving and modernizing our transit system, and making health and equity central to recovery. A strong rebound is possible, especially with community support. Whether we are entering an era of decline or come back stronger, fairer, and more resilient than ever will depend on the choices we make now.”
The Transportation Alternatives poll was conducted by The Siena College Research Institute (SCRI) November 30 – December 14th, 2020 by random telephone calls to 805 New York City registered voters. The results have an overall margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points including the design effects resulting from weighting. Telephone sampling was conducted via a stratified dual-frame probability sample of landline and cell phone (from L-2) telephone numbers from within New York City, weighted to reflect known population patterns. Data was statistically adjusted by age, race/ethnicity, gender, party affiliation, and borough/county to ensure representativeness. SCRI, directed by Donald Levy, Ph.D., conducts political, economic, social and cultural research primarily in New York State. SCRI, an independent, non-partisan research institute, subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research Code of Professional Ethics and Practices.
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