Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Council Member Rita C. Joseph questions DOT on daylighting implementation and signage
1:22:53
·
128 sec
Council Member Rita C. Joseph engages in a Q&A session with Eric Beaton from the Department of Transportation regarding the implementation of daylighting in NYC. The discussion covers budget allocation, staffing requirements, and the necessity of signage for universal daylighting.
- DOT estimates it would take 6 months to a year to staff up after receiving funding for daylighting implementation.
- Beaton explains the importance of signage for enforcing universal daylighting, citing concerns about public awareness and compliance.
- Joseph questions the need for signage, comparing it to other traffic rules that don't require signs at every location.
Rita C. Joseph
1:22:53
Thank you, chair.
1:22:55
I just wanted to ask another a couple of other questions.
1:22:58
In your previous hearing, you estimated to take about $10,000,000 to daylight an additional a thousand intersection annually.
1:23:06
If DOT were given that money, would you be able to daylight a thousand additional intersections this year?
1:23:40
How long would it take you to staff up the office the way you would like it?
1:24:00
And you said it would require signage at every spot, therefore it would be expensive and it would take too long just as you just testified.
1:24:06
However, we don't have signage at every hydrant.
1:24:09
We don't have signs at every intersection that say no right on red.
1:24:12
If universal daylighting is the law, why would signage be required?
1:24:52
Correct.
1:24:52
Because I'm I'm noticing there are new bus signs on the bus lanes now telling them this is only for bus, so I think that should be a rollout that you'd probably consider.
1:25:01
Thank you, chair.
Eric Beaton
1:23:13
So the answer to that is is no because we would need a little bit of time to hire the staff and to to purchase the equipment.
1:23:21
It it does take some some lead up time between when we get the money and when we're able to do that.
1:23:26
I think we're happy that there was money put in the budget as part of the January plan, which is allowing us to start ramping up now.
1:23:34
But at any moment, if we get more money, we have to work on buying the next set of things and hiring the people.
1:23:45
It varies, but something like six months to a year from when we get the money.
1:23:52
We have to post and go through the full the full process and then you know work through any hiring freeze issues that that may still be out there.
1:24:17
So that's a good question and something that we could talk more about.
1:24:21
I think what we see elsewhere in New York State is that where it's not signed, it is just it's not obeyed at all, even though it's technically on the books.
1:24:30
And so I think we would have concerns that people would not obey, and then to the extent that they got tickets would feel very upset because they didn't necessarily know the law.
1:24:40
Certainly we could do a very large educational campaign.
1:24:43
There may be other ways to get at it, but over time we feel like you would want signs out there to communicate more clearly.