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Council Passes Handful Of Vision Zero Bills
By
Lauren Evans
Published May 30, 2014
Modified May 30, 2014
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Andrew Hinderaker / Ghost Bike Project
By
Lauren Evans
Published May 30, 2014
Modified May 30, 2014
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A parcel of bills was passed yesterday aimed at strengthening Mayor de Blasio's goal for a crash-free New York.
The eleven bill package—part of de Blasio's Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic entirely by 2024—includes measures on revoking the licenses of dangerous cabbies, charging drivers who hit a pedestrian or cyclist, banning motorcycle tricks and racing, urging the TLC to report all cab-related crashes, ensuring that DOT quickly repairs busted traffic signals, and others.
"These eleven bills and six resolutions make up a comprehensive and meaningful plan of action to reduce traffic-related injuries and deaths in our city," Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said during a press conference.
Despite some grumbling that the bills unfairly target cab drivers, the package sailed smoothly through the council. But some advocates say the new measures lack the teeth necessary to induce a meaningful reduction in pedestrian, cyclist and driver fatalities. As Transportation Alternative's Paul Steely White told New York Magazine yesterday, legislative sluggishness is largely attributable to state bureaucracy. “The short answer is Albany,” he said. "The state controls most motor-vehicle laws, and enacting sensible legislation quickly is not what the Assembly does."
Advocacy group Right of Way applauded the administration for its efforts in passing the new legislation, but urged the city to continue to press forward with stricter penalties for dangerous drivers and improved safety conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. "We now call on the City, the NYPD, and Albany to follow suit and take further steps necessary to truly protect New Yorkers from driver crimes that create unsafe streets. Far more action is needed on each of today’s positive developments for NYC to seriously reduce traffic violence and fatalities," it said in a statement.
The de Blasio administration has also urged Albany to lower the city's speed limit from 30 mph to 25, simultaneously touting the new legislation as an important milestone.
“From curbing speeding to holding dangerous drivers accountable, these bills are a major step forward for our Vision Zero initiative," de Blasio said in a statement. "They will protect families and make our neighborhoods safer."
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bill de blasio
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Lauren Evans
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