Transportation Alternatives Statement in Response to the Resignation of DOT Commissioner Trottenberg
Today, New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Polly Trottenberg announced her resignation from the de Blasio administration, effective in early December.
Statement of Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris:
“I want to thank Commissioner Trottenberg for her service. People are alive today because of the life-saving Vision Zero measures implemented under her tenure, including a lower city-wide speed limit. From 2014-18, our city bucked the national trend of increasing traffic fatalities and instead experienced five years with annual drops in the number of people killed on our streets. New York’s life-saving speed camera program stands out as a remarkable achievement under Trottenberg’s leadership -- her department becoming the preeminent stewards of any such program in the country. Other hallmarks include Citi Bike expansion, the 14th Street Busway in Manhattan, and the Open Streets program.
New York City’s streets are better today than they were eight years ago. Commissioner Trottenberg will always be the first Vision Zero Commissioner in the US, who embraced the goal towards zero deaths on our streets, and for this we are grateful.
Our next DOT Commissioner and Mayor must embrace, without reservation, that people are more important than cars and parking, and as such ensure implementation of safe and equitable streets and transportation options as a right for every New Yorker. At a minimum, we need a citywide network of protected bike lanes, implementation of the Streets Master Plan and Green Wave plans, bike parking available throughout our city, safe and equitable passage for pedestrians and bicyclists on our bridges, citywide bike share supported by public funding if necessary, rapid expansion of dedicated bus lanes and true bus rapid transit, funding and implementation of the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to address the most dangerous drivers, less enforcement by armed police officers, and an expanded permanent network of open streets.”