Testimony: Oversight Hearing on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
New York City Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Hearing Testimony
Oversight Hearing on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
June 23, 2023
Good afternoon, and thank you to Chair Brooks-Powers and the members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. 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 oversight hearing on electric vehicle infrastructure.
New York City is at the forefront of our climate emergency, and we must do everything we can to prevent, prepare for, and mitigate the effects of a rapidly changing climate, and support a just transition. We must act with the urgency required by the climate crisis.
Our mobility goals are directly tied to a sustainable future. Transportation makes up about 28 percent of the city’s nitrogen oxide emissions, and contributes eleven percent of the City’s fine particulate matter. New York must take proactive steps to prepare for the future of sustainable mobility and support the shift away from vehicles powered by fossil fuels. Infrastructure and design serves as the foundation of successful policies, programs, and approaches, and we appreciate it being the focus of today’s hearing.
Additionally, with congestion pricing on the horizon, the City must help New Yorkers access mobility options that will help reduce the number of personal vehicles crowding the streets and that help people get around the city with ease and safety.
Electric vehicles are not only electric-powered cars and trucks: EVs also include buses, e-bikes, e-cargo bikes, scooters, and more, commonly known as e-micromobility, and our City must invest in supporting all modes of transportation.
EV cars and trucks cannot be the main solution of the City’s sustainable mobility efforts. As more EVs enter the market, they are increasingly larger, heavier, and faster than their traditionally powered counterparts. They cause increased wear and tear on streets, and may be too heavy for our current structures to handle. A report from the British Parking Association raised the alarm for the hazards of storing and parking heavy EVs in parking garages that cannot handle the additional weight of these vehicles. New York must implement measures, policies, and regulations to address the adverse impact these cars and trucks will have on our roadways, bridges, garages, and other infrastructure.
Additionally, less than half of New York City residents currently own a private car. Expanding green multimodal transportation options, investing in e-micromobility, and reducing vehicle miles traveled, will serve a greater number of New Yorkers while reducing congestion on our already crowded streets. The City must focus on reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in order to build a sustainable, healthy, and livable future for all New Yorkers. That means investing in public transit, improving bus and bike lanes, and making it easier for pedestrians to get around safely. As Transportation Alternatives outlined in our Spatial Equity NYC, the more NYC invests in a multimodal transportation landscape, the greater the collective benefits on mobility, sustainability, equity, and public health.
TA calls for the City to prioritize the following in its EV infrastructure efforts:
Improve infrastructure and street design: the City needs more space for more modes, helping more people get around. That means painted bus lanes and more busways, and wider protected bike lanes, like the one on 9th avenue.
Safe and secure public charging for e-micromobility devices, like the deliverista hubs. TA calls for at least 25 percent of on-street public charging stations to be dedicated to e-micromobility.
Advance low/zero emission truck loading zones, and pilot green loading zones as called for in the City’s Smart Truck Management Plan.
Speed up the electrification of the City’s bus fleet and build more bus lanes to encourage commuters to ride.
Support state legislation to legalize e-cargo bikes and incentivize delivery companies to switch to smaller electric delivery vehicles, freeing up space on the roads and reducing the number of large trucks driving through the City.
Release an RFP to pilot secure on-street e-bike parking and storage.
Last month Transportation Alternatives (TA) released “Building an E-Micromobility Future,” where we outline three key approaches for how to support e-micromobility successfully in our communities.
