Safe Streets Coalition Lobbying Day

[Rose Uscianowski]

Hello all, 

I hope you're enjoying the new year 

I wanted to let you know about an upcoming lobbying day in Albany that you are invited to on Tuesday, January 28. Once again, Transportation Alternatives will join the Safe Streets Coalition to lobby for legislation to create safer streets across our city and state. Last year, we successfully passed Sammy's Law, allowing New York City the home rule to set speed limits below 25 MPH on certain local streets. 

This year, based on the same sobering facts that speeding costs too many lives, we are prioritizing a bill by Senator Gounardes that would use Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) technology to keep the most reckless drivers from creating dangers on the road. Specifically, this bill would mandate that a driver get ISA technology installed in their car if they collect more than 11 points on their license during an 18 month period or receive 6 speed camera or red light camera tickets during a twelve month period. ISA technology physically prevents a car from traveling more than 10  MPH above the local speed limit. 

Speed camera data shows that most drivers follow the speed limit. The biggest problems on our roads are caused by a small number of drivers who continuously engage in reckless driving despite the fines and the risk of losing their license. This bill would target those drivers. 

As a lesser focus, we are also pushing for three additional laws during our Albany Lobbying Day:

• The "Idaho Stop": A bill already legal in multiple states, which allows cyclists to treat stop signs as "yield" signs and red lights as "stop signs." It's based on the understanding that traffic laws that make sense for motorized vehicles don't always make sense for cyclists who aren't able to accelerate or decelerate as quickly or easily as drivers and who don't pose the same risks to pedestrians 
• The Complete Streets Maintenance Bill: a bill to incorporate, when possible, complete street design features into regularly scheduled street resurfacing or maintenance projects. For example, this bill would mandate that the DOT automatically add street features like marked pedestrian crossings where the crossings do not already exist when they repaint streets after routine resurfacing.
  
• Defined Safe Passing: requires motorists to allow at least three feet between their vehicle and pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair users when overtaking or passing them on the road, when possible. 

If you are interested in joining us in Albany on the 28th, please RSVP here!

We will be doing trainings for the lobby day Friday, January 24th, at 12pm and Monday, January 27th, at 5:30pm.
RSVP here!

Please note, that it will be a long day! Our bus will be leaving from mid-town at 6:30, and we likely won't get back to the city until around 7 PM. 

All the best,

--

Rose Uscianowski (she/her/they/theirs)

Staten Island and South Brooklyn Organizer

Transportation Alternatives

C: (347) 213-1340

@TransAlt | TransAlt.org

Our mission is to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile and advocate for better walking, biking, and public transit for all New Yorkers. Donate or become a member today!