PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Mai Schultz on Intro 606 and Street Safety
7:28:01
·
128 sec
Mai Schultz strongly opposes Intro 606, arguing that it is not an effective solution to improve street safety. She emphasizes that the $19 million cost of the bill could be better spent addressing root causes of unsafe cycling behaviors and improving infrastructure.
- Schultz uses e-bikes for commuting and believes the problem lies in the car-centric transportation system and ineffective enforcement.
- She points out that many dangerous cycling behaviors are incentivized by the current system, including issues with Citi Bike placement and pricing.
- Schultz argues that licensing won't prevent crashes or improve accountability, given existing issues with car registration and enforcement.
Mai Schultz
7:28:01
Oh, sorry.
7:28:01
Can I go okay?
7:28:03
Everyone here is in agreement that our streets are not safe enough, but I vehemently disagree that intro, 606 is a solution.
7:28:10
I use city eBikes to get to and from work, which cuts my commute in half.
7:28:14
The problem here is the general landscape of our car centric transportation system, as others have said, and our reliance on the police to curb dangerous behavior through fines and other punishment, especially when the police have shown no interest in making our streets safer and are often the ones most aggressively flouting traffic laws.
7:28:29
Many of the most dangerous behaviors mentioned in these testimonials, like e bike e bikers running red lights and biking on the sidewalk or against one way traffic, are specifically incentivized for riders at the cost of riders and pedestrian safety.
7:28:42
As for Citibank riders, the high cost of the service incentivizes riders to run red lights and bike on the sidewalk and on one way street, storm way in order to dock their bikes more quickly, especially when those docks are on the sidewalk rather than in the street adjacent to a proper bike lane.
7:28:57
Plus, many city bike riders are not regular bikers, and they get no help from our car centric city in learning how to bike legally and safely.
7:29:04
The $19,000,000 that intro 606 would cost would be much, much better spending spent fixing these problems.
7:29:10
As the chair pointed out, intro 606 is squarely focused on identification, but does nothing to change the enforcement mechanisms for accountability, be it the red light camera system or the NYPD's understanding of and willingness to enforce street safety laws, which would continue even with licenses.
7:29:25
Not to mention that it does nothing to prevent the crashes in the first place.
7:29:28
There's widespread abuse of their registration system for cars already with many cars using ghost plates and obscure license plates.
7:29:34
Not to mention their license plates do not prevent hit and runs from cars and that even car drivers who remain at the scene are often let go without recourse.
7:29:41
If intro 606 passes and an unlicensed biker gets into an accident, they may be more likely to flee the scene if they're also facing licensing charges.
7:29:49
We need to cut speed for all vehicles on our streets and sidewalks.
7:29:52
We need to hold delivery apps accountable for incentivizing unsafe biking.
7:29:56
We need our neighbors to feel safe walking the streets for our city, but this costly licensing system is not the solution.
7:30:01
I encourage you to reject intro 606 and the past intro 11
UNKNOWN
7:30:06
Thank you.
UNKNOWN
7:30:06
Your time has expired.
Mai Schultz
7:30:07
Solutions.
7:30:08
Thanks.
