November 12: Infrastructure bill, Queens Boulevard, supporting TA
It’s infrastructure week! The bipartisan infrastructure bill, formally the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), passed the House last Friday and is headed to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. We were excited to get an update on this package directly from Senate Majority Leader Schumer yesterday at a virtual roundtable with members of New York’s bike community.
The law provides funding for transformative projects in New York City and beyond. For example, the bill allocates $1.44 billion annually to the federal Transportation Alternatives Program (we like the name!) to expand sidewalks and build bike lanes, trails, and other active infrastructure.
The IIJA also provides $200 million a year to a new Safe Streets for All program. This program will fund Vision Zero projects throughout the country, making our roads safer for all road users.
The bill will also require car companies to install impaired driving technology to stop drunk driving, update headlight standards, provide information to buyers on how dangerous their cars are to pedestrians in the event of a crash, and more. There’s a lot in the IIJA, including, unfortunately, far too many dollars for highway expansion. Streetsblog has a great recap on what the IIJA means for you.
Three Things To Know
1️⃣ Meet Felix Rojas, NYC 25x25 partner. Felix, from Holy Spirit Church and a Bronx Health REACH partner, saw parishioners could not get across Grand Concourse after mass safely due to traffic. Felix teamed up with us to advocate for street design changes to make the area safer.
2️⃣ World Day of Remembrance is coming up. Please join Families for Safe Streets in commemorating World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday, November 21, at Brooklyn Borough Hall. If you’re a faith leader, you’re invited to a Sermons for Safe Streets training on Tuesday, November 16.
3️⃣ Here’s what we’re reading this week. In the news:
Streets Master Plan: The DOT may miss a key deadline for releasing a draft of the plan. The New York Post has the story about what this may mean for the law.
Safety camera expansion: Gov. Hochul said she believes cities should have the power to expand speed safety cameras without state approval, reports Streetsblog.
The bike boom continues: amNY covers the explosion in cycling since the protected Brooklyn Bridge bike lane opened.
Reaction to the bipartisan infrastructure bill: Smart Cities Dive takes a look at how transportation leaders have responded to the passage of the bill, including Families for Safe Streets co-founder Amy Cohen.
Two Things to Do
1️⃣ Celebrate the completion of the Queens Boulevard redesign. For over a decade, hundreds of advocates and thousands of supporters have rallied and lobbied the city to prioritize safety and fix Queens Boulevard. Join us for a celebration bike ride and rally this Sunday, November 14.
2️⃣ Join us for a Willis Avenue Bridge clean up. On Saturday, November 20, from 9 a.m. to noon join the TA Bronx Activist Committee, Anti-Litter Project, DDGM, and associated deliverista groups to sweep and pick up trash from the pedestrian path/sidewalk along the Willis Ave Bridge (not the roadway where cars/trucks travel), and surrounding sidewalks.
One Action To Take Now
1️⃣ Support TA today for safer streets tomorrow. Did you know that, in addition to making a gift, there are many different ways you can support TA? You can:
Support us on Amazon Smile (0.5% of your order goes directly to TA).
Pick up some safe streets swag: Jerseys, beanies, hats and more — shipped right from our office in NYC.
See if your employer has a matching gift program: you could double your impact in just minutes.
See more ways you can support TA.
Thanks for reading!