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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC, on NYC Transportation Initiatives
6:42:44
ยท
135 sec
Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC, testified on the lack of progress in critical transportation areas in New York City, particularly regarding the implementation of the Streets Plan and Vision Zero program. He emphasized the need for protected bus and bike lanes, secure bike parking, and funding for various transportation initiatives.
- Highlighted the disappointing lack of progress in installing protected bus lanes and bike lanes mandated by the Streets Plan
- Criticized the DOT's staffing vacancy rate and its impact on delivering crucial projects
- Called for significant investment in safe, secure bike parking and full funding for the proposed 500-station network
Eric McClure
6:42:44
Good afternoon, chair Brooks Powers.
6:42:45
My name is Eric McClure.
6:42:46
I'm the exec executive director of StreetsPAC.
6:42:49
In preparing our testimony for today's hearing, we looked back at the testimony we delivered in 2023 and 2024 and discovered that, unfortunately, simply repeating those testimonies would be largely appropriate given the disappointing lack of progress in several critical areas, most notably in the installation of protected bus lanes and bike lanes mandated by the streets plan.
6:43:08
As the IPO reported last month, funding and staffing for the streets plans mandates have not met the need and quote, without targeted investment and strategic hiring, DOT's ability to deliver on the streets plan remains severely limited.
6:43:21
Additionally, DOTs staffing vacancy rate is double that of city government as a whole, further undermining the agency's ability to deliver these crucial and legally required projects.
6:43:31
It's a fact that streets were protected by claims are safer for everyone who who uses them.
6:43:34
So the failure to meet the streets plans benchmarks makes it harder for us to make progress toward vision zero, another critical program for which progress is stalled.
6:43:42
And with DOT reporting that city buses got slower for the third consecutive year in 2024, something robust progress on dedicated bus lanes could help rectify.
6:43:50
It's no wonder bus ridership appears to have dropped last year while subway and commuter rail trips continued to recover and cycling and other micro mobility trips boomed.
6:43:59
It's imperative that we meet the mandate for bus lane miles.
6:44:02
Having called for the city to make a significant investment in safe, secure bike parking in both twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four, we were excited by the mayor's announcement last May that the city would begin work on a network of 500 such stations this year.
6:44:14
However, more than ten months after the city issued its RFP, it is yet to identify a partner, there's been conflicting information about the status of funding for the program.
6:44:23
With a quarter of city households having lost a bike to theft, we know the lack of secure storage options is a huge barrier to unlocking the full potential of bicycles' transportation.
6:44:32
A robust secure bike parking network would also help rectify the lack of sufficient charging infrastructure for e bikes and will contribute to reducing the dangers of residential battery fires.
6:44:41
Given how big a game changer this program could be for New York City, it's essential that the council and city hall work
Mark Chen
6:44:46
Thank you.
6:44:47
Time's expired.
Eric McClure
6:44:48
Fully funded.
6:44:50
We will submit our full testimony.
6:44:52
We also wanted to point out the importance of subsidizing the bike share program and capitalizing on congestion pricing space dividend.
6:44:58
Thank you for your time.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
6:44:59
Thank you, Eric.