Commissioner's Corner

Commissioner Sadik-Khan's monthly letter to DOT staff and the residents of New York City.

Putting a Lid on Potholes in 2011 - January 2011

Winter struck early this season, and we’re striking back with a five-borough pothole blitz. Keeping our streets safe and in a state of good repair is critical to maintaining the health of our transportation network, and our crews are putting everything we’ve got into this effort and will remain there throughout the season.

Safe Streets All Year Long - December 2010

The holiday season is a time for celebration citywide, whether it means an office party with coworkers, holiday parties with friends, gatherings with family or celebrating the ball drop in Times Square to ring in the New Year. But just as important as spending time with those close to us is making sure we do so safely and responsibly.

Car Sharing – October 2010

This month, Mayor Bloomberg announced the beginning of DOT's agency car-sharing program. Covered in both the New York Post and the Daily News, as well as on the television evening news, this news made headlines and stirred conversations among New Yorkers, many of whom already use Zipcar or services like it. So why is it such a big deal for a City agency to give it a go? From using recycled asphalt to our previous efforts to reduce our agency’s vehicle fleet, DOT is constantly looking for ways to do more with less.

Safety in Action – September 2010

Last month, I stood with the Mayor at the report’s release on Northern Boulevard in Queens and announced plans to install 1,500 new pedestrian countdown signals citywide. Since then, the first wave of installations has already begun in all five boroughs, with new signals being installed to help pedestrians take the guesswork out of how many seconds remain before the light turns red. This has brought real change to intersections like Targee Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in Staten Island, where Borough President Jim Molinaro recently joined me to unveil this newest safety upgrade to his borough’s streets. We’re also making progress on projects across the city large and small to enhance mobility and safety.

The New York City Pedestrian Safety Study & Action Plan – August 2010

How many of us still instinctively call traffic crashes "accidents"? While it is true that accidents do happen, we know that smart planning and design can prevent many crashes…but only if we know what causes them. This month, DOT released a report that examined over 7,000 records of traffic crashes that resulted in serious injury or death to pedestrians in New York City. It is the largest study of its kind ever undertaken by a U.S. city. Pedestrians account for over half of all traffic fatalities in New York City, so the results provide important guidance to our efforts as we continue towards our ambitious goal of halving traffic fatalities by 2030.

Off-Hour Delivery – July 2010

Traffic congestion is a major concern for New Yorkers, and costs our City billions every year as people and goods are stuck in slow-moving traffic. A lot of daytime congestion is caused by trucks on our streets making deliveries. These trucks are clearly a crucial part of the economic engine that keeps our city going, but they are also part of our region's traffic profile — costing us all in wasted time, lost revenue, missed deliveries and parking tickets. Over 100,000 freight deliveries are made in Manhattan daily, 80% of them to wholesale, retail and food enterprises. In order to combat congestion, help businesses control costs and improve air quality, we worked with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and a group of stakeholders and research partners to implement a Manhattan Off-Hour Truck Delivery Pilot program, funded by USDOT, which ran from late 2009 through early 2010

Paving a Greener Future for DOT – May/June 2010

This week, Mayor Bloomberg and I opened the Harper Street Asphalt Plant in Corona, Queens, a quantum leap that will help make DOT’s roadway repairs more efficient, greener and less expensive. The Harper Street Asphalt Plant will allow us to increase our in-house production of asphalt from 50% to 75%, ensuring a steadier supply of asphalt at a more stable cost. That means as we work toward DOT’s target of repaving 1,000 lane miles of roadway next year, and as we fill each pothole every day, we are doing so in a fiscally responsible manner, saving taxpayer dollars while keeping our streets smooth.

Work Zone Awareness – April 2010

This is the month of National Work Zone Awareness Week, a time to highlight just how crucial it is to this agency that our workers—and all road workers nationwide—be allowed to work safely and securely, without the risk of harm. Motivated in part by the memory of DOT's own Nick Antico, a highway repairer who was run down and killed by an SUV that sped through his closed work zone on Staten Island in 2005, we continue to push for legislation that will increase the penalties for those that recklessly endanger the lives of our employees in their haste.

Green Light for Safety – March 2010

As DOT gears up for a new slate of projects for 2010, safety remains at the top of the agenda. We stand atop a growing list of achievements, crowned by the historic accomplishments of the Green Light for Midtown project, but we can still do more. The work our staff does is based on proven traffic engineering principles, guided by a balanced approach to our transportation network, and with safety as the top priority. Starting with these principles, high-quality, effective transportation projects follow. We have many exciting and challenging projects ahead of us once the weather changes and the implementation season begins.

Safety – February 2010

I am thrilled to report that New York City’s streets are safer than they’ve ever been in the city’s recorded history. Since 2001, traffic-related deaths have plunged 35%, culminating in this historic milestone. In fact, 2009 is the safest year since 1910 when the City first tracked traffic fatalities, and when horses-and-buggies shared the streets of New York with the first automobiles. And while we have to be encouraged by these numbers, we can never take for granted our hard-won safety gains, and we must continue to make improvements. We will aggressively continue to engineer our streets for the safety of everyone who uses them.

Liven Up the Streets – January 2010

In the past year DOT has made many changes big and small to our City streets. While projects like the transformation of Times and Herald Squares grab headlines, there are many others that touch the lives of New Yorkers in neighborhoods across the five boroughs. Since its beginning in 2008, DOT's Urban Art Program has facilitated the installation of 25 temporary art projects. Some of these installations have been very temporary performances lasting a few hours to a week, while others are displayed for up to 11 months. With very small investments, these programs enhance our city's streets and make them more inviting places. Photos from the Urban Art Program, which we look forward to expanding in 2010, are on display on DOT's very own Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycstreets/.

DOT in the Community – December 2009

Building and maintaining strong relationships with our customers, the residents of New York, is a vital part of the process we use as we implement all of our projects. During any given month our staff attends nearly 200 community meetings, gathering input on new projects, listening to community concerns and providing updates on projects in the works. Thousands of people learn about our current projects from our website. Each day we take up the challenge of continuing to look for ways to work with the people of New York and together make our streets the safest and most sustainable in the world.

Strategic Progress – November 2009

In 2008 we released Sustainable Streets, the first ever strategic business plan for NYCDOT. People from across the agency helped us to develop goals and more than 164 detailed actions to meet those goals. I am proud to announce that we are making progress on every single one of those goals.

Welcoming Walk21 to New York City – October 2009

We recently had the honor of hosting the 10th Annual Walk21 Conference, bringing together some of the leading minds on transportation policy for three days of discussions on how to effectively create more sustainable communities — ones where walking is a safe, simple way for people to get around. While New York City is already one of the most pedestrian-friendly places in the world, the conference gave us an opportunity to hear about steps other cities are taking to improve their streets for pedestrians and learn about new ideas that might help us make New York an even more livable, walkable community.

Gearing Up for Climate Week – September 2009

Next week, discussions about tackling climate change will be front and center worldwide as Climate Week kicks off. As the host city, all eyes will be on New York and its efforts championing sustainable practices. Thanks to the ambitious goals mapped out in Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's PlaNYC initiative, New York is seizing opportunities to define the role of cities in the 21st century and leading the charge against global warming.

Summer Streets Is Back – August 2009

Summer Streets is back for its second year and, based on the public response so far, it's better than ever. Last year over 50,000 people came to Summer Streets each week and this year there may be even more people walking, running, biking, and skating along seven miles of open streets. Summer Streets has quickly become a New York tradition in just its second year. The success of Summer Streets and Weekend Walks demonstrates that, by simply rethinking our public space, New Yorkers are happy to use their streets in a different way.

DOT Hits a New Kind of Lane-Milestone – June 2009

DOT will soon complete the task of creating the 200 new miles of bike lanes that was announced in September 2006. The program has transformed City streets in a subtle but profound way. It has created a much more interconnected and safer cycling system, and that has led to big increases in bicycling. The bike lane program’s implementation has touched neighborhoods across the city. We know of no other city that has ever attempted such an ambitious expansion of their bicycle network in such a short time, never mind completed it on time.

DOT Leading the Way - April 2009

Visitors from around the country and the world have come in the past month to tour our public plazas, learn about our innovative bike facilities and hear how we have been able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. Commissioner Sadik-Khan thanks DOT staff for their hard work and dedication as we start to evaluate our one-year progress on our strategic plan.

Green Light for Midtown - March 2009

As it cuts across the avenues, Broadway causes complicated intersections, delays traffic movement through midtown and compromises the safety of the people who travel along it. The "Green Light for Midtown" plan will work with the grid instead of against it, correcting the complicated intersections that create traffic congestion, while creating enough space to enhance safety. DOT staff will be hard at work transforming this historic corridor from late spring through the summer.

DOT and the Economic Recovery Act - February 2009

The stimulus bill signed by President Obama provides significant funds for DOT's work, and we've identified projects around the city that can benefit from them. The projects we select will be fast-tracked to avoid losing funds to other parts of the state — or even to other states. Getting these projects in the ground will get the men and women of the construction industry back to work that much faster. They also are an investment in a stronger city in the future.

Greening Our Streets - January 2009

Our work in taking street space that used to belong to motorists and turning it into plazas, bike lanes and more public space yields both environmental and economic returns. Studies have shown that investments in streetscapes, bike lanes and public plazas can do well by both the economy and the environment.

Economic Recovery - December 2008

While we are in a time of crisis, we also have an opportunity to make a huge investment in our transportation infrastructure. But we must invest wisely to build a green infrastructure and one that can compete in the 21st Century. DOT has already identified over $1 billion worth of repair and maintenance projects that are ready to be contracted with a few months.

Thanksgiving - November 2008

Commissioner Sadik-Khan reflects on the many new DOT projects in every borough that are transforming our streets to improve safety and fight congestion, and thanks her dedicated team of employees.

Welcome ITS World Congress – October 2008

New York will play host to the world's largest gathering of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) leaders, policy makers and other industry professionals at the ITS World Congress from November 16 - 20. Bringing the ITS World Congress to New York City is part of DOT's continuing efforts to stay at the forefront of the transportation industry and part of our strategic plan to maintain a global leadership role.

NACTO: Putting City Transportation in the Spotlight - September 2008

As the President of NACTO - the National Association of City Transportation Officials - Commissioner Sadik-Khan has taken a leading role in the federal debate over meeting the needs of our nation's transportation infrastructure. NACTO released its platform for the next federal transportation bill. We will fight for a new federal bill that provides the funding needed to truly support city transportation systems across the country, the lifeblood of our economy.

When Trucks Strike Back – August 2008

Commissioner Sadik-Khan describes how DOT responds to truck accidents on the City's bridges and highways and how we are taking steps to prevent such incidents.

Ahead of the Field – July 2008

Commissioner Sadik-Khan updates DOT's progress and ongoing efforts to keep New York City's roadways and bridges in a state of good repair.

Re-imagining the Public Realm – June 2008

DOT launched the NYC Plaza Program, an open space initiative in which DOT will work with community partners to create neighborhood plazas throughout the City. We will do this by transforming underused streets into vibrant, public spaces. The NYC Plaza Program is a new element in our strategy to re-invent New York City’s public realm.

"Sustainable Streets" - DOT's New Strategic Plan - May 2008

On April 28, Commissioner Sadik-Khan released the DOT's new Strategic Plan, "Sustainable Streets," at an overflowing reception at the Municipal Art Society's Urban Center on Madison Avenue. The plan is our handbook for taking transportation in New York City to new heights. The 70-page plan is structured around a set of visions, policies and actions that define DOT's priorities and will guide our actions in the coming years. The plan's seven chapters are followed by a detailed set of benchmarks that both DOT personnel and the public can and should refer to, both as we launch new initiatives and as we tend to our day-to-day responsibilities.

Workzone Safety – April 2008

Commissioner Sadik-Khan describes DOT's activities during National Work Zone Awareness Week, an annual observance to raise attention about the need for greater safety for workers on our streets and bridges. An alarming number of motor vehicle crashes occur in work zones nationwide. There were 1,010 fatalities in 2006. An additional 40,000 people are injured in work zones each year.

The 350 Million Dollar Question - March 2008

Commissioner Sadik-Khan discusses PlaNYC, a plan for the long-term sustainability of New York City, and the most controversial, seemingly most challenging initiative in PlaNYC -implementing congestion pricing.

Getting Buses Moving - February 2008

Commissioner Sadik-Khan describes DOT's plan to make our streets work better for buses through the Bus Rapid Transit and Bus Mobility Demonstration Program, which will provide faster, more reliable, and more attractive bus service on routes across the City.

National Transportation Leadership - January 2008

Commissioner Sadik-Khan and other DOT officials spoke at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board about New York City’s initiatives to manage transportation and congestion, which have placed NYC DOT on the cutting edge of transportation innovation.

It's the Little Things - December 2007

Commissioner Sadik-Khan describes DOT's street furniture program, including new bus shelters, newsstands, sheltered bike parking structures and the first automatic public toilet in New York City.

Six Month Round-Up - November 2007

Commissioner Sadik-Khan reflects on her first six months leading DOT.

Information is Power - October 2007

Commissioner Sadik-Khan discusses DOT's use of ITS technology to advance our transportation programs.

"LOOK": Public Safety - September 2007

Commissioner Sadik-Khan discusses DOT's multi-faceted approach to safety on New York City streets.

City of Good Repair - August 2007

Commissioner Sadik-Khan discusses DOT's progress and ongoing efforts to keep New York City's roadways and bridges in a state of good repair.

Read Commissioner Sadik-Khan’s testimony on bridge safety before the City Council Committee on Transportation, September 17, 2007.

Traveling Outside the Street Grid - July 2007

Commissioner Sadik-Khan describes the City's plans to expand private ferry service and to make environmental improvements in ferry operations.