Where Did Vision Zero Get Us?

street safety after 8 years of de Blasio [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] After Eight Years, Where Did Vision Zero Get Us? Plus: Omicron could lead to MTA staffing shortages and service cuts. Eric Adams has chosen a new transportation commissioner. And the old R-32 subway cars ride off into the sunset. By James Ramsay --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mayor de Blasio promotes Vision Zero at an event] Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office Mayor Bill de Blasio campaigned in 2013 on a promise to eliminate traffic deaths by making New York City the first American city to adopt Vision Zero, a Swedish approach to making streets safer. And while traffic deaths weren't eliminated, the program appeared to be showing results — de Blasio's first seven years in office saw the lowest traffic-related deaths in New York City history. But so far this year, the Department of Transportation reports that 255 people have been killed by drivers, the highest number of deaths since 2013, the year before de Blasio took office, when 279 people died. Critics, from street safety advocates to local elected officials, say a lack of serious charges against drivers involved in traffic collisions has hampered the city’s ability to prevent crashes. The NYPD has even admitted that its crack-downs after a cyclist is killed in traffic have been [unfairly focused on cyclists]( not drivers. Another key factor in getting to Vision Zero is through designing streets that are safer for pedestrians and cyclists. The city has made thousands of small changes in the past eight years, including changing the timers at stop lights so pedestrians can get a head start, and creating pedestrian islands at busy intersections that ideally force vehicles to slow down. The number of protected bike lanes around the city has also expanded under de Blasio. Still, the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said the mayor was too car-centric and refused to eliminate parking spots that could've been used for other things. "No one is winning on our streets because our city continues to pit us against each other," said Transportation Alternatives' Danny Harris said. "The city has us all fighting for crumbs, right? You have to decide whether you want a bike corral or a tree, or a safe place for your kids to be able to cross the street. Meanwhile, cars are able to do whatever they want." City Council member and soon-to-be Comptroller Brad Lander, who’s been a vocal advocate for street safety and holding dangerous drivers accountable [through city legislation]( pointed to the pandemic as a wasted opportunity to make major changes to street safety. "You can see in the data [an] elevation of various kinds of mental health disorders. I think dangerously reckless driving is in that category, and that there just is more of it at the moment," Lander said. "And we did not have any response to that." The mayor's office stands behind its efforts. "This administration’s most powerful legacy is that the streets of New York City, simply put, look a lot different than they used to," said de Blasio spokesperson Mitch Schwartz. "Massive bike lane infrastructure has nurtured a cycling boom. We’ve built almost half of the bus lanes that have ever existed. New Yorkers can play outside on an Open Street and enjoy a meal in an old parking spot. None of that was easy, and there’s plenty of work left to do," he said. — [This reporting by Stephen Nessen is part of our "Grading de Blasio" series.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Eric Adams Names Ydanis Rodriguez As The Next Transportation Commissioner [Ydanis Rodriguez speaks at the launch of the 18th Street busway] Marc A. Hermann/MTA Upper Manhattan City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez has been selected by Mayor-elect Eric Adams to serve as the next head of the Department of Transportation. Rodriguez will be the first Latino to hold the job. Rodriguez, who chaired the City Council's transportation committee and was a staunch supporter of Vision Zero, has previously said the city [must do more to work with prosecutors to charge drivers]( involved in crashes that injure or kill pedestrians and cyclists. He [pushed legislation to identify overcrowded sidewalks]( and address ways to reduce their congestion. And he has [proposed ways to reduce single-occupancy vehicles](. Rodriguez has also pushed for more equity in the city's transportation options, both economic, [like with Fair Fares]( and geographic, with expanding Citi Bike to underserved neighborhoods. He has hailed the 181st Street busway as a project that could be replicated elsewhere. — [Reporting by Jen Chung]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Here's What Else Is Happening New York is opening pop-up COVID testing sites at two transit hubs next Monday. Grand Central Terminal and the Times Square subway station will both offer walk-up PCR testing during select hours next week. Gov. Kathy Hochul said five other subway stations will also host pop-up testing sites, though she has yet to announce which ones. ([Gothamist]( Omicron is posing a threat to transit service as workers call out sick. The week ending with December 16th saw a 156% jump in the number of COVID infections among MTA workers compared to two weeks earlier, suggesting that the new variant is on course to cause staffing headaches for the transit agency. While the MTA said only that it's "working with our labor partners to ensure we have crews available," a representative from the bus operators' union said omicron is "putting a tremendous strain on service." ([THE CITY]( Community boards are trying their hardest to kill the Department of Transportation's Open Restaurants plan. While angry residents did not succeed at blocking the plan to make outdoor dining structures permanent, community boards have hounded the DOT, asking to be given veto power over each individual restaurant's proposal. The DOT, which recently held a five-borough listening tour, has not signaled any willingness to give community boards that power. ([Gothamist]( Canarsie residents are urging Mayor-elect Eric Adams to bring fast ferry service to southeast Brooklyn. Noting Canarsie's status as a transit desert, local residents, including incoming City Council member Mercedes Narcisse, say they want the next mayor to expand fast ferry service to Canarsie Pier and Shirley Chisholm State Park, not only to serve commuters, but also to bring tourists to the area. ([AM New York]( LaGuardia's Terminal B won a UNESCO award for best new air travel facility. The $4 billion upgrade at the airport Joe Biden once compared to a "third world country" defeated airport facilities in Germany and New Zealand, among others, to secure this prize. The award-winning terminal's neighbor, Terminal C, is now getting a $4 billion makeover that's expected to be finished in spring of 2022. ([New York Post]( See a year of subway photos. A bridal party. Buskers. Dogs. Bernie bros. Cops. The unhoused. A young woman carefully applying mascara. And, of course, transit workers themselves. They could all be found underground this past year, as the subway system crept back to life. Photographer Ali Kate Cherkis captured these images over the course of 2021. ([The New York Times]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- And Finally: Inside The Final Rides Of The Legendary R-32 Subway Cars [an MTA worker poses with an aging R-32 train car] Erica Krodman/Brooklyn Borough President's Office With their soup can-looking exteriors and overall old-timey vibes, the R-32 subway cars could not be retired from use without a proper nostalgic send-off. Beginning last Sunday and continuing on three upcoming dates — December 26th, January 2nd, and January 9th — the MTA is running these 58-year-old train cars for [their final trips]( along the F, D, and Q lines, with historical flourished added on courtesy of the Transit Museum. The R-32, which is one of the oldest subway car models still operating anywhere in the world, has more than good looks to show for itself — the fact that their retirement comes a decade after it was announced is testament to the R-32's quality and performance. "As we continue the work to modernize the transit system and improve the customer experience, it is truly bittersweet to say farewell to a fleet of historic R-32 trains that have served New Yorkers for nearly six decades," said New York City Transit Interim President Craig Cipriano. "A significant amount of history goes along with these trains." [View our photos from last weekend's kickoff of the R-32's final runs.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Service announcement: We The Commuters will be off next week, and will return on Thursday, January 6th. 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