The Public Advocate for the City of New York Letitia James Public Advocate

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL AND U.S. MAIL July 21, 2015 Polly Trottenberg, Commissioner New York City Department of Transportation 55 Water Street New York, NY 10041 Dear Commissioner Trottenberg: I want to begin by commending both yourself and Mayor Bill de Blasio for your work on implementing Vision Zero in New York City. Far too many New Yorkers are killed or injured in traffic, and it is our children and seniors that are the most vulnerable. I want to work with the Transportation Department and the administration in any way I can to make the citys streets safer for everyone. At the same time, I have some questions in relation to the Citys plans to expand the bicycle network, and in particular the addition of protected bike lanes. First, I would like to learn more about how the decision was made to not include bike lanes in the redesign of 8th Street in Manhattan, which has a width of about 34 feet. The City must take every opportunity to install bicycle lanes when there is excess width on the street. Wide streets encourage higher speeds, and bicycle lanes, by narrowing the roadway, both protect cyclists and encourage drivers to maintain safe speeds. Bicycle lanes should be the default option when a street is up for a redesign, to be excluded only when community-specific factors make a bike lane inappropriate. This is especially true of the 25 Arterial Slow Zones identified by the City, and I ask that bike lanes be the default option on these streets. I would also like to discuss whether it is possible for the Department, given its plans for future street resurfacings, coordinate its bike network planning with the schedule for resurfacing projects and include bicycle lanes as part of the resurfacing project, when appropriate. I understand this would require the cooperation and approval of local stakeholders, but this type of coordination may enable the Department to rapidly and efficiently expand the bicycle network.

Additionally, I would like to learn what factors the Department uses to determine whether it will install an unprotected, painted bicycle lane or a protected lane. Protected bicycle lanes have proven to reduce crashes and injuries for all users, including motor vehicle occupants, as data from your Department clearly shows. Total injuries are down 20 percent on the Manhattan avenues that have had protected bicycle lanes for at least three years, while the number of bike commuters has grown, and businesses have thrived. Given the success of protected bicycle lanes, and the imperative behind Vision Zero to do all that is possible to eliminate traffic deaths and injuries, the City must work harder to bring protected lanes to as many arterial streets as possible. The plan for protected lanes along Queens Boulevard is a good start, but I urge the Department to explore every opportunity to introduce these safety-enhancing measures across the five boroughs. Finally, I would like to ask whether there are any bicycle network projects in the works for the Bronx. According to the DOT website, there were no bike projects in the Bronx in 2014 and there are none planned for 2015. Currently the Bronx has the second-fewest bike lane miles among the five boroughs, with only Staten Island having fewer bike lane miles. Again, thank you for all the work your Department has done up to this point to improve safety and save lives. Overall, I would urge the Transportation Department to think ambitiously when considering new street designs. Accomplishing Vision Zero will not be an easy task and it will take bold action and careful communication with New Yorks diverse, multifaceted communities. I look forward to working with you to continue this important mission and to make Vision Zero a reality. Sincerely, Letitia James Public Advocate for the City of New York