QUESTION
How can the trend of decreased bike and bus lane installations be reversed and their prioritization reinstated?
1:50:34
·
5 min
The Mayor's Office of Operations acknowledges the decrease in bike and bus lane installations and expresses pride in maintaining Vision 0, emphasizing cross-agency collaboration and data-driven strategies.
- Operations emphasizes Vision 0’s importance and cross-agency collaboration to achieve its goals.
- Despite a decrease in bike and bus lane installations, the PMMR reported one of the highest totals of protected bike lanes installed in a quarter.
- Challenges include setting achievable targets and the political processes involved in these decisions.
- There are mentions of other Vision Zero highlights like the increase in bike parking spaces and pavement safety markings.
- The conversation touches on leadership within the city administration and the role of data in driving Vision 0 efforts.
Lincoln Restler
1:50:34
But one that's near and dear to my heart are transportation indicators.
1:50:39
We have seen The number of bike lanes installed go from I think it's 47.7 down from 62 and FY22.
1:50:54
20 point 25.9 of those miles are protected.
1:50:58
33 in FY22, so it declined there over these 2 years.
1:51:04
Bus lane miles installed just 7.8 miles of bus lanes in the PMMR down from 12.9 in FY22, down from 20.5 in FY21.
1:51:16
Bicycle fatalities are up 18 to 29 since last year and up again over the 1st 4 months of of the year.
1:51:23
Total fatalities are approximately flat 263 to 260.
1:51:28
So and I I think it's it's been widely reported.
1:51:31
It's not a PMMR indicator, but that no new biker bus lane proposals have been made by the administration in many months.
1:51:39
And so Vision 0 has been a major priority articulating the in the MMR for years.
1:51:47
It works.
1:51:47
It could save lives.
1:51:49
We're seeing the beginnings in my opinion, in in the PMMR data, if things moving in the wrong direction, and we know that the the the next set of data that you all release is gonna be far worse.
1:52:01
Are you helping to try to reverse this trend?
1:52:04
Is there anything that can be done to start making protected bike lanes and by Lane's a priority again for the Adams Administration.
Dan Steinberg
1:52:12
Operations is very proud to still have Vision 0 in our portfolio, and it's of the most important issues to have cross agency collaboration on because DOT can be as brilliant and committed as a once, but it can't achieve as they were without enforcement and and and other levers that that agencies bring to bear.
1:52:36
On the data side, you know, these are our issues that we've escalated.
1:52:40
I think the big caveat that we wanna give is that the I think it was approximately 15 Miles protected bike lanes that reported in the PMR was actually the highest total in the history of the PMR in a quarter.
1:52:53
So they did perform well in that respect.
1:52:56
They did not perform well in respect to targets that that were created, that they would that DOT would say was not with their involvement.
1:53:04
And and, you know, I I think our agencies always kind of, you know, resent when when targets are set political process that they're not engaged in.
1:53:14
And so I'm channeling DOT to some extent on on that.
1:53:17
But but just objectively that, you know, there there were I do.
1:53:21
I just want
Lincoln Restler
1:53:22
to say, I think that the now commissioner of The Department of Transportation was, like, the lead sponsor on the Street Plan legislation that sent those benchmarks.
1:53:32
And so it's a little funny for him or for them to complain that they don't like the political goals that were set that he was responsible for setting.
1:53:43
But I digress.
1:53:44
I apologize for interrupt.
Dan Steinberg
1:53:45
No.
1:53:45
It's okay.
1:53:46
I was making a broader point too because
UNKNOWN
1:53:47
I know you were.
1:53:48
Yeah.
1:53:48
It was every part of it.
Lincoln Restler
1:53:49
You gave me an opening for that one, and I took
Dan Steinberg
1:53:51
So I'm gonna take this opening that the the 1st deputy commissioner of DOT, Margaret Forgelini, started off as an analyst on our performance management team.
1:53:58
And that's how she got to know DOT, and that's how we're gonna create the next generation of a lot of city leaders.
Lincoln Restler
1:54:03
I love that.
Dan Steinberg
1:54:04
So we're very close with them.
1:54:06
And and
Lincoln Restler
1:54:06
I feel like people always tell those stories about OMD analysts that, like, go on to the CFOs that they
Dan Steinberg
1:54:11
you know, or when things will get funding if they hire them.
1:54:15
Think you're right.
Lincoln Restler
1:54:16
Well, you but the ops stories are good ones.
1:54:18
I didn't know that about Margaret.
1:54:19
I like that.
Dan Steinberg
1:54:20
I know.
1:54:20
I know.
1:54:20
And and it's really it should be an inspiration, I think, to us.
1:54:24
But the only other thing I wanted to say what else is there?
1:54:28
There isn't one other point.
1:54:30
Oh, just that there were other legitimate highlights in in the Vision Zero sense in this PMMR.
1:54:35
I think, you know, stuff like the bike parking spaces that the payment safety markings went up exponentially, like hundreds of thousands of square feet.
1:54:45
And these matter, they're they're all contribute to street safety.
1:54:50
They're not as you know, as impactful necessarily as a street redesign, you know, a major boulevard.
1:54:56
But but I think they they think very holistically about the issue and and address it.
1:55:00
From many different angles.
1:55:02
You know, we have a very strong data working group as part of vision 0, where so much of the, you know, so much of the work in vision 0 is driven by is driven by what's happening in in in the field and in our research.
1:55:16
And and so we're always happy to to dig deeper into those issues.
1:55:20
But but
Lincoln Restler
1:55:21
I hear you.
1:55:22
I look.
1:55:23
I think DOT does a great job on their street redesign work and safety improvement work.
1:55:29
The trouble is that when they need to do all approval, they can't get it anymore.
1:55:35
And that's the the fix that we need somebody whether it's operations or the mayor to to help intervene and to get these projects back on track so that we can start making Vision 0 a reality in New York City.
1:55:48
There was a whole hearing on class sizes yesterday, so I don't wanna dig into it too much.
