Safe Speed Limits, Bike Match, Women’s Ride
We’ve never been closer to allowing New York City to control its own speed limits! Both Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Senate have included Sammy’s Law, legislation that allows New York City to control its own speed limits in their proposed budgets, but it still needs to be included in the final state budget.
Alongside more than 100 statewide organizations in the NYS Safe Streets Coalition, we have fought for years to give New York City control over its speed limits. When it passes, we can add lower speed limits near schools, senior centers, vulnerable communities, and other spaces to ensure our streets are safer. But we can't do it without your help.
Add your name to our campaign and let the State Assembly know they must pass Sammy’s Law in their final budget.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1️⃣ You can help fellow New Yorkers through our Bike Match program. “The bike is amazing, and it has changed my life, and made me so much less isolated,” says one recent Bike Match recipient in Brooklyn. Whether you have a bike to donate or are looking for a bike yourself, check out our Bike Match page to participate.
2️⃣ Our second-annual Women’s Ride is less than 10 days away! There’s still time to sign up for this free nine-mile ride through the Bronx and Uptown Manhattan. Join us next Saturday and kick off TA’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration.
3️⃣ In the news. Here's what we're reading this week:
TA’s Staten Island and South Brooklyn organizer Rose Uscianowski spoke about the impacts of reduced ferry service in a Staten Island Advance article.
Ben Turner, TA’s 2022 Eastern Queens Activist of the Year, writes an op-ed for Streetsblog about congestion pricing and how it will benefit the borough.
"A city’s creativity doesn’t depend on cars. That’s the 20th century," according to Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, in the Financial Times.
TWO THINGS TO DO
1️⃣ Sign our Make Morgan Safe petition. Last week, a truck driver killed a 56-year-old on a bike in a hit-and-run crash on Morgan Avenue in East Williamsburg. Our Twitter thread provides an overview of the unsafe road conditions that led to the crash, as well as the trends that make this area one of the most dangerous in the city for traffic violence. Add your name to our Make Morgan Safe petition that calls for adding protected bike lanes along this corridor.
2️⃣ Fill out Central Park’s survey on the Park Drives. Central Park Conservancy, in partnership with DOT and NYC Parks, is leading a community-informed, multi-year plan of the Park’s Drives to increase safety and mobility for the Park's 42 million annual visitors. Fill out their survey and share your thoughts on how to make the Drives safer and more user-friendly.
ONE ACTION TO TAKE NOW
Register for our Spatial Equity NYC webinar at NYC Open Data Week. Tomorrow at 1 p.m., we’re holding a live demonstration of Spatial Equity NYC, where we’ll show how we used NYC’s Open Data to build the tool and shape our advocacy efforts. Register for this free event on the NYC Open Data Week site.
Thanks for reading!
Ted and the TA team
P.S. Help fix the MTA. Ask your state representatives to support freezing the fare at $2.75, increasing service frequency, and making buses free. It’ll take less than a minute.