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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Bobby Felto, Vice Chair of 31st Avenue Open Street Collective, on Intro 1138
3:22:41
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122 sec
Bobby Felto, Vice Chair of the 31st Avenue Open Street Collective, testifies in support of Intro 1138, emphasizing the importance of daylighting for pedestrian safety and community well-being. He shares his experience with the Open Streets program in Astoria and argues for the implementation of daylighting measures to improve street safety.
- Highlights the positive impact of Open Streets on community engagement and children's safety
- Draws attention to the dangers of vehicles parked close to crosswalks, blocking visibility
- Cites successful daylighting implementations in Hoboken and Jersey City as examples to follow
- Urges prioritizing human lives over vehicle storage spaces
Bobby Felto
3:22:41
Thank you chair Brooks Powers and thank you council member Wan for introducing this bill.
3:22:46
My name is Bobby Felto and I am in support of intro eleven thirty eight.
3:22:51
I'm a resident of Astoria and also the vice chair of the thirty first Ave Open Street Collective, an all volunteer organization that facilitates the DOT's Open Streets program.
3:23:02
Each weekend from April to December, our first weekend is this weekend by the way for anyone who wants to come enjoy the street, we see firsthand what safer streets can do for the community when the roadway closes to traffic and opens to people with free programming and seating for all.
3:23:20
The most rewarding thing I get to experience as an OpenStreet volunteer is when parents bring their children to the space or when parents bring their children to the space so they can learn to ride a bike, run around or just draw with chalk during the brief amount of time when the street is not a dangerous place and something to be feared.
3:23:40
Too many people have been hurt or killed on our streets and especially at our intersections where vehicles parked right up against the crosswalks block visibility for drivers and pedestrians alike.
3:23:52
Every day I see drivers speeding up at yellow lights to try and beat the red which is exactly when people waiting at crosswalks are about to step into the roadway.
3:24:02
Without hardened daylight treatments at intersections, this scenario quickly becomes life threatening but it doesn't need to be.
3:24:09
Our neighbors in Hoboken and Jersey City show that daylighting can be implemented on a large scale and with great benefits to the public as shown by their excellent pedestrian safety record.
3:24:20
Something that people on this side of the Hudson deserve as well.
3:24:24
As vehicles continue to get larger and heavier, it is more important than ever to repurpose our public curb space for the benefit and safety of of everyone.
3:24:33
This problem already has proven solutions so now is the time we ask ourselves what we value as a society, a few more spaces to store vehicles or human lives.
3:24:43
Thank you.