Statement from Bike New York, Regional Plan Association, Riders Alliance, and Transportation Alternatives:
“During his daily briefing on Thursday, Mayor de Blasio said in response to a question regarding commuters returning to public transit, “You may see people use their cars more in the short-term, if they have a car, or use for-hire vehicles, for example, but that’s a short-term reality.”
This line of thinking follows a challenging pattern of the mayor failing to present and deliver a plan to address the transportation needs of New Yorkers as our city comes back online, and millions head back to work. If Mayor de Blasio does not act quickly to make commuting by bus or by bike a possibility for more New Yorkers, our streets will experience massive gridlock and dirtier air, which will stall our recovery and shared future.
Mayor de Blasio controls over 6,000 miles of streets, and he does not have to allow devastating congestion to take shape. The mayor can embrace the solutions being advanced across the country and around the globe, and quickly turn many miles of streets into busways or protected bike lanes that can safely transport millions of New Yorkers concerned about immediately returning to the subway, and unable to afford a car or regular trips in for-hire vehicles. It is critical that opening up New York City streets also means addressing the structural racism and inequalities in how people use open streets, and making truly safe spaces for everyone.
Fortunately, the mayor has a strong partner in the Department of Transportation, who has proven with the 14th Street busway that dedicated rights-of-way for buses can attract riders, and whose Green Wave Plan, has already outlined ambitious improvements to the city’s network of protected bike lanes.
New busways, built in partnership with the MTA, should model the success of 14th Street, which Commissioner Polly Trottenberg herself said would “be a template” for other corridors. Streets which already have heavily-used bus routes — Fordham Road in the Bronx, Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, Northern Boulevard in Queens, and 125th Street in Manhattan — should be the top priority among others.
The expansion of the cycling network should prioritize key corridors, bridges, and gaps in the existing network. These may include, but are not limited to: hard hit, dense parts of the city like Bushwick, Brooklyn and the central Bronx; major commercial corridors like 5th and 6th Avenue in Manhattan and Northern Boulevard and Queens Boulevard in Queens; East and Harlem River bridges; key connectors like Grand Concourse and Broadway in the Bronx; crosstown routes like 61st/62nd Streets, 72nd Street and the Central Park transverses in Manhattan; and South Brooklyn, which was a hotspot for cyclist crashes in 2019.
While this is an ambitious list of bike and bus improvements, the City can move quickly to secure space on these key corridors via low-cost and temporary materials like barrels, flex posts, jersey barriers and Yodocks — equipment regularly used at construction sites, and currently in use for the 11 miles of protected bike lanes installed in the months since New York went on “pause.” The City can also explore converting existing Open Streets installations into longer corridors that facilitate bike travel. In addition to creating dedicated space, the City should roll out clear signage and targeted outreach along new bike corridors to educate drivers not to park or drive inside of them.
To quickly build and maintain an extensive and temporary network, especially as our City is understaffed and budget constrained, will require help. Bike New York, Regional Plan Association, Riders Alliance, Transportation Alternatives, and our members stand ready to support our partners at the Department of Transportation to advance these necessary projects.
Mayor de Blasio controls our streets and must ensure they lead us to recovery. In accelerating the success of our bike and bus network, he will send a strong message that New York City will continue to move forward, and that all New Yorkers will have access to safe, equitable and resilient transportation alternatives.”
