The New York City Council is preparing to vote on a street design bill that some members say would save lives, though transportation officials warn it could worsen traffic collisions and drastically reduce parking across the city.
"Daylighting" is banning vehicles from parking within 20 feet of crosswalks, improving visibility for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians by removing parking spaces near intersections.the proposed legislation is known as the Universal Daylighting bill because it would apply to intersections across the city, including nearly 14,000 that have signals.
The Council’s Progressive Caucus prioritized the measure on July 30. If passed, the legislation would bring New York City in line with existing state law that prohibits parking within 20 feet of intersections
The bill would also require the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) to install physical barriers, such as planters, bike racks or other objects, to further “harden” daylighted areas — a costly job the agency estimates could total $3 billion to implement.
In a January study, the DOT found that daylighting offers only a modest improvement in traffic safety.
At an April 21 transportation hearing, DOT officials said they do not support a universal daylighting mandate, arguing it could negatively impact safety and lead to unnecessary spending in areas without a history of injury-causing crashes.
“If this unhardened daylighting were implemented citywide, we think we could expect an increase of up to 15,000 injuries in a year,” Eric Beaton, DOT’s deputy commissioner of transportation planning and management, said. “In theory we would support hardened daylighting at all corners, but that would cost in the neighborhood of $3 billion dollars, and would cover large numbers of locations without a history of injuries.”
The Council’s Progressive Caucus prioritized the measure on July 30. If passed, the legislation would bring New York City in line with existing state law that prohibits parking within 20 feet of intersections
The bill would also require the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) to install physical barriers, such as planters, bike racks or other objects, to further “harden” daylighted areas — a costly job the agency estimates could total $3 billion to implement.
In a January study, the DOT found that daylighting offers only a modest improvement in traffic safety.
At an April 21 transportation hearing, DOT officials said they do not support a universal daylighting mandate, arguing it could negatively impact safety and lead to unnecessary spending in areas without a history of injury-causing crashes.
“If this unhardened daylighting were implemented citywide, we think we could expect an increase of up to 15,000 injuries in a year,” Eric Beaton, DOT’s deputy commissioner of transportation planning and management, said. “In theory we would support hardened daylighting at all corners, but that would cost in the neighborhood of $3 billion dollars, and would cover large numbers of locations without a history of injuries.”
Just another way to make using a private car harder & more expensive.
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