Thank you to Council Chair Brewer, Council Chair Brooks-Powers, and all the members of the Committee on Oversight and Investigations and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for holding this important hearing on the NYC Department of Transportation’s Streets Plan and other efforts to improve pedestrian safety, transit, and accountability across the City.

My name is Maulin Mehta, and I am the New York Director at Regional Plan Association (RPA). RPA has long sought to rethink our streets to address broader goals to improve the public realm. In our Fourth Regional Plan, we called for prioritizing people over cars on city streets, and have detailed the public benefits we could create if we re-envision(ing) our right-of-way to develop better natural, social and transportation systems. We are excited to see the council looking at ideas around planning, safety, and enforcement to further these goals.

Street design and management practice should be turned upside down to prioritize pedestrians, cyclists and transit users, followed by goods movement shared services and finally, the private automobile.

While the effort to improve our streets and sidewalks, enhance sustainability mobility and protect pedestrians are laudable, we believe a more streamlined approach is necessary. We do have some specific comments related to the pieces of legislation being considered today, but overall we think it is critical to utilize the Streets Plan to coordinate the many on-going and planned DOT projects and programs that address the concerns we all share.

We support efforts to track and organize investment and implementation of the Streets Plan. It’s clear that the NYC DOT is not meeting the targets in the Streets Plan, which is disappointing. We urge DOT to present a clear explanation of the challenges they face meeting the targets, and what they would need, in terms of resources, staffing and political support, to meet the goals. Some suggestions include:

• Allow NYCDOT to report on all efforts related to safety, enforcement, mobility, and other areas that Local Law 195 requires and explain in its update report how new projects and programs, and their related metrics, align with the original intent of the Streets Plan.

• Allow NYCDOT to utilize the Streets Plan update report to highlight critical obstacles the agency is grappling with, including staff vacancies, budgetary challenges, staff capacity and training needs, community opposition, and other relevant concerns that limit the agency’s ability to fully meet the targets set forth in Local Law 195.

• Work with NYCDOT to identify why and how legislation could amend Local Law 195 to better reflect shared objectives and provide a more flexible framework for the agency to meet targets moving forward.

Similarly, we feel strongly that any new legislation proposed should, if applicable, enhance the efficacy and comprehensive planning nature of the Streets Plan, rather than adding potentially duplicative or contradictory requirements for the Agency. Legislation should consider some key questions such as:

• Does the Streets Plan already have requirements related to the intent of this legislation?

• Does this proposal enhance or limit NYCDOT’s flexibility in addressing the core concerns we have?
• Does this legislation require additional resources - staff capacity, expertise, financial or otherwise - and is there a way to streamline existing requirements and responsibilities to reduce the net need for new resources?

Less than a quarter of all New York City street space is dedicated to sustainable modes of transportation today; by 2040, it should be 80 percent

Regarding the legislation being considered in the hearing, we offer the following comments:

• Int. No. 261-2022 is intended to create a Curb Extension program at DOT. It would specifically require the agency to identify the most dangerous intersections and implement curb extensions at five locations per borough each year. While we support the intent behind this legislation, to make our streets safer, we believe it is important to not be prescriptive in how the agency addresses intersection safety issues. Curb Extensions are one tool among many to address pedestrian safety, and we believe it is critical for the agency to maintain flexibility in addressing safety concerns on a case-by-case basis, taking into account local circumstances, traffic flows, opportunities for addressing multiple challenges, etc. RPA therefore does not support the components of this bill that provide a prescriptive engineering approach to a complex problem.

• Int. No. 0738-2022 is intended to amend DOT’s required interagency planning to improve roadway safety and reduce traffic injuries and deaths. This legislation would require consideration of placing traffic enforcement agents in areas as part of the menu of options DOT considers in addressing roadway safety. Since agents are already a tool that DOT is able to utilize, and typically these agents are part of the NYPD, we would like some clarity on how this legislation is distinct from other vision zero efforts. We would also like to see legislation more closely coordinate with the Streets Plan for a more comprehensive planning approach to roadway safety and design. RPA would support this piece of legislation to the extent it compliments and doesn’t duplicate existing efforts already in place under vision zero or the Streets Plan.

• Int. No. 1026-2023 is intended to create a task force to identify potential opportunities for a bus depot in Flushing, Queens. The idea of a bus depot has been floated over the years, and this legislation would establish a task force with agency leaders to identify the practicality of creating a depot and locations where it might make sense. Given the amount of bus traffic and transfers taking place in Flushing, studying the options make sense before deciding on a path forward. RPA supports this piece of legislation to study the feasibility of a bus depot in one of the most transit-rich neighborhoods in the City. However, we suggest that the task force and report include the following:

  • Incorporate a study of how the existing College Point bus depot might address the challenges present in Flushing.

  • Study if other opportunities exist for improving on-the-ground challenges, such as better enforcement, loading zones, etc.

  • Identify a range of other cost effective solutions for bus parking and resting areas for drivers.

  • Address how non-MTA buses could also be incorporated into the solution.

• T2023-4007 is intended to add an equity in infrastructure investment and investment roadmap component to the Streets Plan updates. RPA supports efforts to improve transit equity and address concerns related to historical disinvestment and environmental justice.

Thank you again for your time and consideration of our testimony. As always, RPA is ready to serve as a resource in furthering our shared goals of better transit, safer streets, and a better quality of life for all New Yorkers.