Safe Streets for Students
Happy back-to-school season! With millions of students heading back to school this week, Mayor Adams and our city’s leaders must create car-free spaces to learn, play, and grow outside of every school — safe from cars and trucks.
Last week, DOT announced that 71 schools will receive car-free School Streets, up from 64 and 51 in 2023 and 2022. Starting next school year, they also announced direct funding to schools to manage this program, something we called for in our School Streets campaign.
This is a great start, but there’s more work to do. The City of New York must provide support and funding to deliver high-quality, car-free space at every school.
Let's create great streets for our youth. We just have to give them — and not cars — the space and resources they need.
Three Things to Know
New York City received federal funding for 600 EV charging stations — locking in car dependency for a generation. Federal climate funding needs to be used to move us forward, not backward, and make a hard pivot to public transit and biking, including e-bikes, not further reliance on vehicles — electric or not. The decisions we make today will impact our city for generations and we can’t give it up to the further storage of vehicles. Instead we need a plan to actually build a greener, more sustainable New York City by investing in walking, biking, and public transit.
The G train is back, but we still need real plans to keep people moving on our streets. While the summer G train shutdown is over, night and weekend work will continue until 2027 to complete the much-needed signal modernization project. Our city must give New Yorkers real options to get around, including by building protected bike lanes. Let’s deliver a better
In the news. Here's what we're reading this week:
See how schools across New York City are taking advantage of car-free School Streets in the New York Times.
Gothamist reports on how the congestion pricing pause is the latest example of putting politics over people.
Supersized vehicles are making our streets more deadly. The Economist shows the extent of America’s growing car sizes has had dangerous consequences.
Two Things to Do
It’s not too late: Get your Pedestrian Prom ticket today. Double-knot those shoes, strap on that helmet, load up that MetroCard, and make your way to a summer soiree at Brooklyn Brewery on Tuesday, September 10, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. We will celebrate some of our most fearless activists from all over the city and take a moment to gather and reflect on all we have accomplished and the road still ahead. Get your ticket now!
Vision Zero Cities is back this October. Our 11th annual conference unites city officials, planners, engineers, advocates, scholars, and industry leaders to share insights, explore innovative strategies, and discover cutting-edge solutions for challenges facing our cities. Over three days, you will engage in keynotes, in-depth breakouts, immersive field tours, and personalized networking geared toward advancing safer and fairer streets and public spaces. Register now!
One Action to Take Now
Tell Mayor Adams: We need public funding for Citi Bike. All New Yorkers should have access to reliable, affordable public transportation — and that includes bike share. By providing public funding for Citi Bike, as he promised as a mayoral candidate, we can finally expand the system to all five boroughs and keep prices affordable for everyone. Send a message now.
P.S. Join us for two upcoming actions to save congestion pricing:
First, join us on Sunday, September 8, for a citywide canvassing day from 10:30 a.m until noon. We’re joining Riders Alliance and other partners to canvass all of the impacted subway stations to talk to subway riders about all we're losing (and how to fight back!) and collectively protest Governor Hochul for canceling accessible elevators!
Then, come out to Hoyt/Scherherhorn station on September 14 for a stroller march with fellow advocates to Sixteen Sycamores Playground. Whether you and your little ones walk, bike, take the bus, or ride the trains, parents need a lift, and families need help moving around the city. Let us know if you can make it.
