Streetsblog New York City

Automated traffic enforcement cameras and lockboxes to protect transit funding are at the top of the legislative agenda for transportation advocates in 2012. Image: Wikipedia.

Many of Albany’s biggest transportation issues this year — the bloated and transit-free Tappan Zee, the unfunded MTA capital plan — will be decided by Governor Cuomo. But transportation advocates also have a slate of bills they hope to see make it through the legislature. Last year, the complete streets bill passed after a few prior attempts. Here’s what’s on the table for 2012.

Transit Lockboxes

Last year, lockbox legislation sponsored by Assembly Member James Brennan and Senator Marty Golden passed the legislature unanimously, only to have Governor Cuomo “eviscerate” the bill by amendment. The sponsors have vowed to try for the original language again.

The politics of the lockbox could be different this year if downstate legislators team up with their colleagues upstate. Buffalo Republican Mark Grisanti has introduced his own lockbox meant to protect dedicated funds for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. He is amenable to working with those hoping to protect the MTA. “If we can get the upstate folks talking about a lockbox bill in the same breath as the MTA, then maybe that sends a louder message to the governor,” said Nadine Lemmon, Albany legislative advocate for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Speed Cameras

Assembly Member Deborah Glick’s legislation to allow speed enforcement using automated cameras hasn’t gone anywhere in the past, but advocates have declared it a top priority for this year. “It’s speed cams all the time when it comes to Albany,” said Juan Martinez, general counsel for Transportation Alternatives.

The bill has support not only from transportation advocacy groups, but the New York City DOT and public health organizations. “There is a good coalition that’s gotten around it,” said Lemmon. That said, the bill still doesn’t have a Senate sponsor, an indication of how much work is left to be done.

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A rendering of the Wyandanch Rising project, which used a planning grant to develop a downtown redevelopment vision that went on to win both state and federal funding.

An important heads up from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign: Towns looking to shape their future around NYC region’s extensive transit network have until the end of the week to apply for a grant from Tri-State and the One Region Funders’ Group to help turn those aspirations into a concrete vision.

This marks the second round of grants being issued by the groups. The first, given out in 2009, have helped a number of cities and towns in the region. Stratford, Connecticut turned a $50,000 grant into a plan for growth around its Metro-North train station and a draft of a new zoning code. Those plans, in turn, earned Stratford $250,000 in additional funding from the state. Wyandanch Rising, a downtown development project on Long Island, parlayed its funding into $2 million from the federal goverment and a share in the $100 million prize Long Island received from the Cuomo administration for winning its economic development competition.

Towns and cities in southwestern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester County are eligible for the grants, as is New York City. Grants will provide between $10,000 and $50,000 for planning and public outreach. You can get more information and apply on Tri-State’s website.

The passage of New York’s complete streets law was one of the year’s biggest victories for safe and sustainable transportation. At its annual benefit next Thursday, Tri-State Transportation Campaign will celebrate getting the  through Albany and honor three pivotal figures in that fight: Sen. Charles Fuschillo, the bill’s sponsor; Sandi Vega, whose daughter Brittany was killed while crossing Long Island’s Sunrise Highway and who became a tireless advocate for complete streets; and the AARP. Also speaking will be special guest Janette Sadik-Khan.

We’ll be there next Thursday and hope you will too. Tri-State is out there fighting for sustainable transportation options across the region — advocating for a highway teardown in New Haven, protecting LI Bus riders from fare hikes and service cuts, and helping to build transit-oriented communities around NJ Transit lines.

To help support Tri-State’s work, here’s where to go:

Tri-State Transportation Campaign Annual Benefit
November 3, 6pm to 9pm
Top of the Garden, 251 W. 30th St (16th floor), Manhattan
Tickets available from $150

While you’re blocking off space on your calendar for benefits and parties, don’t forget to sign up for “Streets of the Future” — the annual benefit for Streetsblog and Streetfilms, November 17 at the new Bicycle Habitat in Park Slope.

Older people are at much greater risk of being killed by a car while walking, especially in downstate New York. Image: Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Pedestrians over the age of 60 are particularly at risk when walking on the streets of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, a new report from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign shows. According to “Older Pedestrians at Risk,” an updated version of similar research from last year, the pedestrian fatality rate for those over 60 is more than 2.5 times as high as for those under 60. Senior citizens over the age of 75 are likelier still to be killed by cars while walking, with a fatality rate 3.1 times higher than for those under 60.

Between 2007 and 2009, 433 pedestrians over the age of 60 were killed in traffic crashes in the tri-state area. Two hundred and seventy one were killed on roads in downstate New York. Programs like New York City’s Safe Streets for Seniors have saved lives, said Tri-State, but they need additional funding for more widespread implementation.

Bill Ferris, the legislative director for AARP in New York, said the Tri-State report “showed some disturbing trends in how older persons are disproportionately killed walking in their own communities. This is unacceptable to AARP.”

The Tri-State authors identified four reasons that older pedestrians were disproportionately in danger from traffic. Older people are less able to quickly move out of the way of an oncoming vehicle and likely to sustain greater injuries from the same crash, two factors which contribute to an elevated pedestrian fatality rate nationwide. Design-wise, seniors suffer when streets are designed for a younger population, as when traffic lights don’t provide enough time for a slower person to safely cross the street.

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A map of New York-area pedestrian fatalities. Because so many people in the region walk, pedestrian safety measures can prevent a large number of deaths and injuries. Image: Transportation for America

Despite streets that remain far too dangerous for walking — 3,485 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes during the past decade in the New York metro area alone — efforts to pass a complete streets bill are still stalled in the state legislature.

The legislation, which would require all street projects that receive state and federal funding to accommodate the needs of everyone who uses the street, has passed the Senate Transportation Committee but hasn’t even been introduced in the Assembly yet. With less than a month left in the legislative session, a complete streets bill is going to need powerful supporters to clear the Albany gauntlet.

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign is urging complete streets supporters to go straight to the top: Governor Andrew Cuomo.

One of the most powerful letters to the governor comes from Sandy Vega. Vega’s daughter Brittany was killed last year while crossing Long Island’s Sunrise Highway, the second-deadliest road in the New York region. She wrote:

Dear Governor Cuomo,

I need your help. New York State needs a Complete Streets law, now, and I am requesting your support and advocacy to make sure this bill is passed before the legislature goes home.

New York has some of the most dangerous roads in the nation, and it is time to stop the carnage. In the fall of 2010, my daughter, Brittany Vega, a 14-year-old walking to school on Long Island, was struck and killed by a car while crossing the road. This particular road, Sunrise Highway, is a 6-lane, arterial road that bisects the central business and residential areas of our hometown in Wantagh. With no count-down clock, there was no way Brittany could tell how long she had to get across. With no pedestrian island in the roadway, she had no safe refuge. She made a guess, and it cost her life.

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Streetsblog has been gathering responses to yesterday’s release of PlaNYC 2.0. This is the third installment. Read the first and second parts.

In a phone interview yesterday afternoon, Kate Slevin, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, shared her first impressions of the city’s revised sustainability plan…

On the diminished prominence of transportation compared to the first version of PlaNYC:

So much has been accomplished on the transportation front already, it’s not entirely surprising that transportation wouldn’t be front and center.

On what’s better in the revised plan:

We’re encouraged that they addressed freight, and the way it was addressed. That was a weak point in the original. They’ll be working with the Port Authority to shift more goods onto rail, especially by the 65th Street transfer station (in Brooklyn). Obviously bike-share is a huge project and would benefit the city in a big way if they do it properly.

On the details that are lacking:

The parking section was less specific than I’d hoped.

The shortfall in the MTA capital program is going to require contributions from the city and the state and will probably involve some sort of revenue stream.

On the big picture:

Overall, take a step back from this edition of the plan and think about how far the city has come. If you think back six years ago to where we are now, it’s just remarkable. The streets are much safer. The fact that there are now bus lanes with pre-paid fares is a major step forward. These are improvements that were delayed for years.

We’re not too far away from a discussion of the next mayoral campaign. Advocates are going to be watching closely whether the candidates commit to policies that advance sustainability. Announcing this version of PlaNYC helps move that discussion forward and serves as a guidepost for whoever’s running for mayor.

To counter the full-tilt assault from the press and, as of yesterday, in the courts, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign will hold a rally Wednesday morning to thank Mayor Bloomberg and city transportation officials for making New York streets more accommodating to pedestrians, cyclists and bus riders.

On the steps of City Hall, TSTC will present the city with a thank-you card signed by over 1,700 people, and will read statements from New Yorkers who have benefited from street improvements brought about during the tenure of NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

Care of TSTC’s Steven Higashide, Here’s how you can get involved:

Stand with us at 9 a.m. at City Hall.

Send in a brief story about how NYC’s pedestrian/cycling/transit improvements have personally affected you.

To submit your stories, to RSVP or to get more information about tomorrow’s event, e-mail Steven at steven@tstc.org.

Andrew Cuomo has been governor for all of three days, but even his small first actions could have big implications. With the state’s massive deficit looming, Cuomo won’t be able to avoid tough choices and big fights, and transportation is very much in the crosshairs. Bigger news could come as early as Wednesday, when Cuomo announces his emergency financial plan — in which he could announce raids on the MTA’s dedicated finances in the hundreds of millions — but already a picture of this year’s agenda is beginning to emerge.

Since being sworn in on Saturday, Andrew Cuomo has already made moves with big implications for transit. Photo: Andrew Cuomo Flickr account.

To begin with, Cuomo is drawing a line in the sand over public sector compensation. Yesterday, a top administration official revealed that Cuomo will ask the state’s unions to accept a salary freeze for all state employees. And today, Cuomo announced that he and senior aides would take a five percent cut.

As Ben Kabak notes in a post today, New York City’s transit workers can’t help but get drawn into this battle. TWU Local 100′s contract with the MTA expires next January, meaning negotiations will start in 2011. Whether because the state budget is intertwined with the MTA’s or because one public contract sets standards for another, Cuomo’s stance will affect those talks. Concludes Kabak:

For better or worse, labor pressures will be one of the top transit storylines for 2011. If workers’ salaries and benefits keep going up, riders will be outraged. If the unions are battered or broken by Albany, the workers will be very unhappy. No matter what, this story will be have a bumpy ride and an ending that can’t be happy for everyone.

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2010 is almost over, and it’s about time to step back and assess all the progress that’s been made in just the past 12 months. This year alone, New York City has seen the transformation of Broadway near Union Square, the taming of traffic on Prospect Park West, the launch of Select Bus Service on one of the nation’s busiest bus routes, the addition of several miles of protected bike routes in Manhattan, and pedestrian safety improvements throughout the boroughs.

With a conflict-hungry press corps ready to pounce on every change and electeds willing to oblige with camera-ready political theater, livable streets improvements are catching a lot of static right now. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign is trying to cut through the noise by sending a big thank you to the mayor and leaders in his administration overseeing transportation policy.

If you want to see NYC continue to be a bold leader in green transportation and safer streets in 2011, tell the people in charge and sign on to Tri-State’s thank you letter.

This November, New York voters will elect the occupants of every seat in the State Senate and Assembly, as well as their next governor, attorney general, and comptroller. For many races in heavily Democratic New York City, the deciding moment will come a lot sooner -- on primary day. That's just two weeks away on Tuesday, September 14.

In the next few days we should get to see the responses to candidate surveys sent out by Transportation Alternatives and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, which went to everyone running in the five boroughs and the seven other counties served by the MTA.

We've also got three live debates coming up this week and next, starting tomorrow with the contenders for the 10th Senate District in southeast Queens, incumbent Shirley Huntley and challenger Lynn Nunes. The next day, Pedro Espada's opponents in the 33rd District will face off (a debate that Espada has backed out of), and next Thursday, the candidates running to succeed AG hopeful Eric Schneiderman in the 31st District will discuss where they stand on transportation issues.

Here's the full debate schedule from TA, which is organizing the events with local partners:

10th SENATE DISTRICT DEBATE (Richmond Hill)
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010, 7:00-9:00pm
Fairfield Pavilion, 131-10 101st Avenue, Richmond Hill, Queens
Partner organization: Richmond Hill EDC
Moderator: Clare Trapasso (New York Daily News)

33rd SENATE DISTRICT DEBATE (Fordham, Kingsbridge)
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010, 7:00-9:00pm
Fordham Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2430 Walton Ave., The Bronx
Partner organization: Picture the Homeless
Moderator: Alex Kratz (Bronx News Network)

31st SENATE DISTRICT DEBATE (Washington Heights, Inwood, West Harlem)
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010, 7:00-9:00pm
The Armory Foundation, 216 Fort Washington Ave (between 168th & 169th Streets), Manhattan
Partner organizations: WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Upper West Side Renaissance
Moderators: Dan Rivoli (West Side Spirit), David King (Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation)