SAFE Streets Act, Curb Space Webinar, Bike Lane Tracker
We traveled to Albany last Tuesday to meet with elected officials and lobby for the SAFE Streets Act. Traffic fatalities are up 20% across New York State since the beginning of the pandemic, and we need this life-saving legislation to make our streets safe.
Included in this package of bills are laws that would allow New York City to lower its speed limits, mandate Complete Streets designs on new projects, set new safety standards for vehicles, and guarantee legal rights for crash victims. Show your support for ending traffic violence and sign our SAFE Streets Act petition today.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1️⃣ We’re hiring! Check out our latest listings for a Director of Development and a new Data Visualization Coordinator role, plus three positions with Families for Safe Streets, all on our careers page.
2️⃣ Spatial Equity NYC’s most viewed data. Since we launched Spatial Equity NYC in October, we’ve found that the spatial equity indicators people look up the most are tree canopy, asthma, and air pollution. Find out how your neighborhood compares to the rest of the city in these areas and more at Spatial Equity NYC.
3️⃣ In the news. Here's what we're reading this week:
President Biden announced a tax credit of up to $7,500 toward new electric vehicles (though thankfully not for that Hummer).
However, a recent study showed that e-bike rebates are more cost effective, as Greater Greater Washington reports.
Did you know curbside parking used to be illegal in New York City? Streetsblog reports on how the “struggle” to find parking goes back more than a century. (So what better time than now to implement NYC 25x25!)
TWO THINGS TO DO
1️⃣ RSVP to our webinar with Vade, Open Plans, and Families for Safe Streets. Tomorrow at 1 p.m., we’re co-hosting “The Intersection of Policy and Technology at the Curb,” where we’ll look at how we can use technology and policy to fix problems such as double parking and blocked bike lanes.
2️⃣ Watch Streetfilms’ video on the 34th Avenue Open Street. Learn about the variety of traffic calming measures that turned 34th Avenue in Queens into one of the most well-regarded Open Streets in the city. And with seven schools along the 1.3-mile stretch, those safety improvements protect thousands of children every day. Read through our School Streets Toolkit to learn how you can bring an Open Street like this to your neighborhood.
ONE ACTION TO TAKE NOW
Check out our bike lane tracker. The city pledged to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes by the end of 2022, but only completed a grand total of 18.8. With a new requirement of 50 miles by this year’s end, we’ll be keeping tabs on those projects through our updated protected bike lane tracker.
Thanks for reading!
Ted and the TA team