‘The NYC Streets Plan Is Not Optional’: TA, Council Members, Advocates Demand Adams Administration Comply with Legal Requirements to Build Safe Streets Infrastructure
The City has installed just 10.7 miles of protected bike lanes out of the 50 required in 2023.
DOT has been allocated over $900 million to implement the Streets Plan, but has missed key legal deadlines.
During today’s hearing, a car crash killed the 172nd New Yorker this year alone – a woman walking with a stroller in Bath Beach.
NEW YORK — Transportation Alternatives today testified before the City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Oversight Committee, demanding the Adams administration comply with the legal mandates of the NYC Streets Plan. With fewer than four months left in 2023, DOT is on track to miss many of the plan’s requirements for the second straight year.
“The NYC Streets Plan is not optional. This administration cannot ignore the legal requirements outlined in the NYC Streets Plan that require the installation of protected bus and bike lanes, safety upgrades to intersections, the creation of car-free pedestrian space, and more,” said Elizabeth Adams, Deputy Executive Director for Public Affairs at Transportation Alternatives. “New Yorkers in every neighborhood need safe places to walk, bike, and play. Last year, New York City committed more than $900 million to implement the Streets Plan and we demand answers from the administration.”
The infrastructure the NYC Streets Plan requires to be built are proven to make our streets safer for everyone who uses them. Replacing a travel lane with protected bike lanes, pedestrian space, and intersection upgrades — as the plan mandates — are proven to reduce the number of road users killed or seriously injured.
Implementing the NYC Streets Plan is vital for New York City to reach Vision Zero, which aims to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. This week, TA released a new dashboard visualizing serious injuries from traffic crashes. The dashboard shows the unequal impact of serious injuries in New York City, and the urgent need for the implementation of the NYC Streets Plan. Serious injury crashes are 21% higher in the 10 City Council districts with the greatest percentage of residents living below the poverty line and 15% higher in the 10 districts with the highest percentage of residents of color, compared to the citywide average.
Transportation Alternatives’ prepared testimony:
Joint NYC Transportation and Infrastructure & Oversight and Investigations Committee Hearing
Testimony of Transportation Alternatives
September 12, 2023
Good afternoon, and thank you to Chair Brooks-Powers, Chair Brewer, and the members of the Transportation and Infrastructure and the Oversight and Investigations committees. My name is Elizabeth Adams and I am the Deputy Executive Director for Public Affairs at Transportation Alternatives.
Transportation Alternatives believes that our streets belong to the people of New York City, and we work with New Yorkers in every borough to build a future that rises to the needs of our communities. Thank you for convening this joint hearing on the progress of the Streets Plan and the bills under consideration for today.
Streets Plan
The Streets Plan is both a legal requirement and our guiding document for mobility infrastructure improvements. A fully-implemented Streets Plan will create safer streets, support more efficient travel, advance mobility justice, and fight the climate emergency.
The Streets Plan includes yearly benchmarks, based on the requirements identified in Local Law 195. As of today, the City is far behind. In 2022, the City failed to meet the required numbers of both protected bike lanes or bus lanes. So far this year, the city continues to lag behind. DOT has built only 4.6 miles out of 30 required bus lane miles and 10.7 out of 50 required protected bike lane miles. The Streets Plan also sets requirements to expand pedestrian space, upgrade bus stops, improve the accessibility of our intersections and street space, and more – and these improvements are critical for making our streets safer and more pleasant for all. Without a public and transparent tracking system, the public is left in the dark about where many of these metrics stand.
As a legally-required mandate, DOT needs to comply this year. We recognize the challenges DOT faces, but there are projects that have been approved by community boards that have not yet moved from 2022 – and we are nearing the end of 2023.
DOT was given $900 million in taxpayer funds to implement the Streets Plan, yet is behind on multiple key metrics. What is DOT’s plan to comply this year?
Bills under consideration today:
Int 2023-4007: The public needs transparent and up-to-date information on the progress of the Streets Plan. To that end, we applaud Chair Brooks-Powers’ new bill adding an investment roadmap to the Streets Plan, especially with its focus on increasing investments in environmental justice communities and communities with low levels of current investment. Annually identifying the level of investment in each community provides much needed information to the public. TA recommends making these reports an annual requirement, to start in 2024 rather than 2026.
Int 0261-2022 requires curb extensions at certain intersections. Curb extensions are critical safety infrastructure, and are proven to reduce pedestrian injuries by more than 16%. Currently, DOT already exceeds this number of annual curb extensions and we encourage the bill to be significantly expanded beyond five intersections per borough per year.
TA supports Int 1026-2023, which establishes a task force to identify locations for a bus depot in Flushing.
The City Council rightfully recognized the crushing epidemic of traffic violence in 2021, and passed the Streets Plan to build the infrastructure needed to achieve Vision Zero. Last year, the City Council fully funded the Streets Plan to make these critical safety improvements possible. Despite a legal mandate and ample funding, DOT is failing to meet their legal requirements.
This is unacceptable.
More New Yorkers will die and be seriously injured because of this failure to act. TA’s new serious injury dashboard shows that 4,224 New Yorkers were seriously injured between only January 2022 and June 2023 – numbers that are sure to increase without street improvements. DOT must create a plan to fully comply with the Streets Plan.
Thank you to the City Council for holding this hearing and for introducing legislation to make our streets safer for all road users. We look forward to seeing improvements on our streets imminently.
