Testimony in opposition to Intro 606

[Justin Wood]

Hi everyone - in case it's useful, here is the testimony I e-mailed to City Council and CM Hanks yesterday:

Dear Council Members (copying my representative CM Hanks): 

I urge you to oppose Intro 606, an unnecessary bill that would do little to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety while creating additional risks for our hard-working immigrant neighbors who use e-bikes every day for their jobs.

I have cycled and walked across the boroughs of New York City almost every day for 25 years, and currently ride a bike in Staten Island and Manhattan several times a week to get to work and for exercise.

From personal experience and tragic statistics, I can tell you with certainty that cars and trucks pose far greater dangers to New Yorkers than e-bikes.

Requiring users of e-bikes, scooters, and even wheelchairs to obtain and display licenses will do nothing to address poor infrastructure, reckless driving, double parking, illegal plates, air pollution, and other health hazards posed by cars.

Meanwhile, Intro 606 would give the NYPD new power to stop e-bike riders any time on any pretext - an additional risk for a largely immigrant workforce that uses these to make food and retail deliveries under enormous time pressures from their app-based employers.

Please oppose this misguided bill and to focus instead on creating infrastructure that will allow pedestrians, cyclists, and e-bike users more space and safer conditions - especially in communities like Staten Island's North Shore, where functional bike lanes are nonexistent and many streets even lack usable sidewalks.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.

Yours,

Justin Wood

District 49 Resident