TESTIMONY
Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC, on Street Safety Measures and Proposed Legislation for Pedestrians and Cyclists in NYC
2:12:59
·
3 min
McClure testifies on the need to improve street safety for vulnerable street users like pedestrians and cyclists in NYC.
- He cites statistics on pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, many occurring at intersections, in 2023.
- He calls for measures like slowing vehicular traffic, investing in safer street designs, and adhering to state laws for daylighting intersections.
- He supports proposed legislation to improve medians with vegetation/stormwater management (intro 74746) and regulate news racks (intro 663).
- On jaywalking legislation (intro 346), he supports decriminalization but has concerns over language advising pedestrians to yield when crossing mid-block.
- He opposes intros 103 and 104, which he believes will hamper implementation of bike lanes and open streets.
Eric McClure
2:12:59
Good afternoon, madam chair.
2:13:00
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
2:13:02
My name is Eric McClure.
2:13:03
I am the director of Streets pack.
2:13:05
I hope you'll indulge me if I go a little long because there's a lot of legislation under consideration today.
2:13:10
Pinespirational safety, especially in intersections and on sidewalks, is a critical issue is even in 2023, a relatively safe year, more than 100 New Yorkers were killed by drivers while walking with many of those fatalities occurring in your crosswalks.
2:13:23
And while last year saw some of the lowest totals for pedestrian deaths on record, it was an unusually deadly year for people on bikes, but many of those fatalities happening in or near intersections.
2:13:32
The bottom line is that we need to do better as a city and protecting vulnerable street users.
2:13:36
We need to continue slowing in common vehicular traffic with the passage of Sammy's law earlier this year.
2:13:41
That should help.
2:13:42
We need to continue investing in street designs and improve safety, including getting the city on track to meet the benchmark set by the streets plan adhering to state law that mandates daylighting intersections and making additional investments in lifesaving infrastructure like curb extensions, collards, concrete pedestrian refuges, and hardened protected bike lanes.
2:13:59
All these steps and many more are necessary efficient 0 is ever going to be more than a slogan.
2:14:04
As a North American city with the best public transit system, and 1 of the most robust cycling networks, we must continue to get people out of cars, make walking and biking safe, and put preserving lives above all else.
2:14:15
As to the legislation under consideration today, intro 74746, we support that would require the city to improve paid meetings by planting vegetation or adding storm water management infrastructure.
2:14:25
The city should certainly do more to increase greener and reduce heat island effects and minimize runoff.
2:14:30
But we also need to make sure that we're providing the parts department with sufficient resources to install and maintain plantings.
2:14:36
Intro 663, we support New York City.
2:14:39
It We while we support free speech and understand its implications regarding news, there's no reason that in 2024, New York City can't better regulate news rack.
2:14:48
With sidewalk space at a premium in the city news rack should be orderly and well maintained.
2:14:53
Intro 346, we support with qualification.
2:14:56
Intro 346, which had decriminalized jaywalking, a construct of the advent of motoring aid.
Matthew Choi
2:15:01
The times expired.
Eric McClure
2:15:02
A gem hegemony of the automobile We support with qualification.
2:15:07
It's often safer for best use across streets mid block.
2:15:10
Away from attorney movements is so often the cause of injury in and the existing prohibition on crossing outside of Crosswalks is not applied remotely, equitably, with the vast majority of J.
2:15:18
Warden tickets issued to people of color.
2:15:20
However, we have concerned with the language of the bill that advises pedestrian's yield when crossing mid block rather than requirement yield, which would likely reduce unsafe conflict.
2:15:29
For the remainder of the the legislation, intro 79, we support in concept.
2:15:35
We're not sure about the lighting levels or the extent of the need for the sidewalk lighting outlined in the legislation into a 90 5, we also support in concept, although we don't think it's necessary to have a study, and these things are things we should just do.
2:15:51
Same goes for intro 144
Robin Felsher
2:15:55
for Ballard.
2:15:57
This connection.
2:15:58
Sorry.
Oswald Feliz
2:15:58
Your time expired.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
2:15:59
I'm just gonna ask if you could if you don't mind wrapping it up and then putting the rest and writing to me?
Eric McClure
2:16:05
Sure.
2:16:06
Just just to wrap but we also join our other colleagues who've testified and strongly opposing intros103and104, which we believe are really just designed into hamstring projects like bike lanes and open street applications, we will submit more detailed responses in our written test morning.
2:16:27
Thank you, chair.