FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release #16-090
Scott Gastel/Alana Morales (212) 839-4850
NYC DOT Releases Strategic Plan 2016 Laying Out Vision for a Safe, Green, Smart, and Equitable Transportation Future
Plan outlines DOT’s commitment to improving traffic safety and public health, expanding travel choices, supporting New York City’s efforts to fight climate change, doubling cycling, and maintaining streets and bridges in a state of good repair
Protected bike lane along Delancey Street leading to and from the Williamsburg Bridge is among projects envisioned for 2017
New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Polly Trottenberg today released Strategic Plan 2016: Safe*Green*Smart* Equitable, which outlines the transportation challenges the City faces and the agency’s vision for aggressively facing those challenges. The plan notes that while New York City is bigger and more bustling than ever, the strains on its transportation infrastructure are evident to the record number of people who live, work, and visit here.
New York City’s sidewalks are overflowing, subway trains are packed, and our streets are full of cars, trucks, taxis, and bikes,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “The growth of our population, record tourism and the City’s booming economy have all been factors, so our ‘problems’ are the envy of most cities. DOT’s strategic plan shows how we can address these challenges head on by turning to new approaches and technologies that will make our streets work even better.”
Among the innovations in the plan, the agency will be: testing new sensors to better manage curbs and reduce double parking; developing new systems to better monitor the condition of our streets and bridges to make the most efficient use of our capital dollars; and pushing for expanded authority to use automated speed cameras that reduce speeding and save lives.
One of the higher-profile projects the plan specifically anticipates for 2017 is a new protected bike lane
along Delancey Street in Manhattan leading to the Williamsburg Bridge. Already the busiest East River crossing for cyclists, the Williamsburg Bridge's bike lane is
expected to grow even more popular in 2019 during the MTA's planned 18-month shutdown of the L train. DOT plans to develop the new Delancey Street bike lane in consultation
with the Lower East Side community next year.
The plan can be viewed online at: www.nycdotplan.nyc
The plan reiterates DOT’s commitment to improving traffic safety and public health, expanding travel choices for all New Yorkers, supporting the City’s efforts to fight climate change, doubling cycling, and maintaining our streets and bridges in a state of good repair. Building on One New York, Mayor de Blasio’s 2015 blueprint for a vibrant, equitable, sustainable, and resilient City, the plan articulates DOT’s core mission, lays out the agency’s goals for the next five years, and lists 105 specific initiatives to accomplish these goals.
Highlights from the plan’s 105 initiatives include:
Improving Street Safety
Protecting the lives of millions of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists who use New York’s streets every day is DOT’s top priority. In the next stage of Vision Zero,
DOT will test new design treatments to reduce left turn conflicts, one of the leading causes of crashes involving pedestrians, advocate for legislation to require back seat
passengers to wear seat belts, and seek state authorization to expand the use of speed cameras-which have been shown to reduce dangerous speeding by as much as 50
percent.
Expanding Cycling
Adapting best practices from Europe and across the globe, DOT seeks to double the number of active cyclists and make New York the best biking city in the United States. DOT will
create at least 10 miles of new protected bike lanes each year (double the previous target), improve bike access to bridges, and explore an expansion of the Brooklyn Bridge
pedestrian and bike path. DOT will also begin planning for Citi Bike Phase 3, bringing bike share to all five boroughs, and dramatically expand opportunities for safe and secure
bike parking, especially near transit hubs.
Enhancing Transit
Bus speeds are dropping and many riders are giving up on the system. New Yorkers deserve better. Working with the MTA, DOT will boost bus speeds and reliability by creating at
least 20 Select Bus Service (SBS) routes, implementing bus signal priority and new bus lanes on more local routes, and advocating for all-door boarding across the bus system. DOT
will conduct a citywide study of transit needs to identify the next generation of SBS routes, potential street car lines, and strategies to improve transit access to
neighborhoods underserved by the subway system.
Better Managing Freight
The explosion in online retail together with the City’s population and economic growth means more and more trucks are carrying more and more freight into the City. To
better facilitate goods movement and mitigate the impacts of trucking, DOT will significantly expand its freight mobility team, complete a comprehensive five-borough freight
plan, and, with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), test new technologies to better enforce truck routes and rules.
Developing a 21st Century Parking Policy
Following the lead of cities like Seattle, Washington D.C., and London, DOT will revolutionize how New York City manages curbside parking and loading. DOT will enable parkers to
pay for metered parking by smartphone, complete a comprehensive analysis of how our metered parking is used, better manage and price curb space to increase parking availability
and loading access in key commercial hubs, and, with the NYPD, test new technologies to better enforce parking rules.
Caring for our Assets
DOT will invest $14 billion to keep our streets, bridges, and other assets in a state of good repair. The agency will complete a comprehensive inventory of all of its assets,
invest in modern asset management systems to help guide investment decisions, take into account social, environmental, and financial costs when making investment choices, and
continue to seek state authorization to use design-build, a procurement approach that would help DOT complete capital projects at lower cost and in less time.
“Improving public infrastructure and protecting pedestrians on roadways are fundamental investments in order to keep our city strong and resilient,” said Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick. “I am particularly pleased that the City is supportive of increased speed cameras, a bill I have sponsored in the Assembly for years. With increased and focused strategies to reduce traffic and accommodate pedestrian flow, I applaud The Department of Transportation for ensuring New York City continues to innovate to guarantee safe travel for New Yorkers.”
"The goals laid out by the DOT in their strategic plan are extensive, but their methodology in accomplishing them are just as ambitious," said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. "We need to reduce congestion on streets, sidewalks and subways and the DOT is prepared to do just that. I'm looking forward to diving deeper into this plan and working to see these goals met. I applaud Commissioner Trottenberg and her team for their vision in this effort."
"This plan will make our transportation infrastructure more safe, innovative, and efficient,” said Council Member Costa Constantinides. “The new Vision Zero design treatments and advocacy for more speed cameras will bring traffic safety and public safety benefits. The planned expansion of environmentally-friendly transportation infrastructure including buses and cycling will make our city more sustainable and help in our efforts to combat climate change. I look forward to working with city agencies and community stakeholders as this plan is implemented. I thank DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg for her leadership on this important issue."
"DOT’s new strategic plan means safer streets and cleaner sidewalks for New Yorkers," said Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst), prime sponsor of Intro 411. "My legislation when passed will make it easier for DOT to rid our sidewalks of derelict news racks by bringing common sense reform to enforcement policy. I will continue to work alongside Commissioner Trottenberg on this and other measures that improve transportation in our great city."
“I’m thrilled to see that the DOT is prioritizing projects that will truly make a difference in the lives of New Yorkers every day,” said Council Member Corey Johnson. “Under the de Blasio Administration, the DOT has enhanced pedestrian and traffic safety and made New York City safer and more accommodating for cyclists. It’s clear from this Strategic Plan that they’re going to continue to forge ahead on these critical issues. I’m particularly interested to work with DOT on regulating sight-seeing buses, which creates real quality of life concerns in my district and around the City. I thank Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and her staff for their outstanding work on behalf of all New Yorkers.”
“With this strategic plan, NYC DOT, under the strong leadership of Commissioner Trottenberg, is forging a path to make sure NYC’s transportation landscape is one of the world’s safest, greenest, smartest, and most equitable,” said Council Member Brad Lander.” I’m glad to see a plan with goals ranging from continued investment in street safety and bicycling infrastructure, to essential upgrades to our parking systems, to reimagining bus service and looking seriously at bus rapid transit, and so much more. The vision that Comissioner Trottenberg laid out today is smart, balanced, and above all one that will ensure that NYC is up for the transportation challenges of the future.
“This strategic plan is a huge step forward in dealing with critical mobility issues facing the city, its employers, and residents,” said Kathryn S. Wylde, President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City. “It lays out thoughtful steps the city must take in response to changing requirements for efficiently moving people and goods through the five boroughs.”
“The challenges that New York City and the metropolitan region are facing in transportation demand, safety and infrastructure are immense, so it is encouraging that the plan tackles these issues head on and adopts smart practices from our peers around the world,” said Tom Wright, President, Regional Plan Association.
"Buses are a lifeline for millions of New Yorkers, but rides are slower than ever, service is unreliable and ridership has started to drop,” said John Raskin, Executive Director of the Riders Alliance. “Fixing our buses will take bold leadership from the MTA and the City, working together to implement reforms like new bus lanes, more Select Bus Service routes, bus signal priority and all-door boarding on local buses citywide. We applaud New York City DOT for making bus service a priority in its strategic plan, and will work hard to guarantee that Commissioner Trottenberg's leadership is matched by commitments from our elected representatives and other vital partners whose cooperation is essential for accomplishing these goals."
"The transportation challenges facing New York City require the capital, technological and legislative strategies outlined in this Plan,” says Veronica Vanterpool, executive director Tri-State Transportation Campaign. More people are coming into the five boroughs as tourists, residents and employees. We rely on the Department of Transportation to design a safe transportation network that continues to welcome people who use city streets. This Plan advances this design,"
"We applaud DOT's expanded commitment to better local bus service in its 2016 strategic plan,” said Tabitha Decker, NYC program director at TransitCenter. “We look forward to working with the Department to expand bus lanes, bus signal priority and efficient bus boarding as steps to rebuild the city's bus ridership."
The New York Building Congress applauds Mayor De Blasio and the Department of Transportation for developing a long-term strategy to improve the City’s transportation network,” said Richard T. Anderson, President of the New York Building Congress. “We look forward to working with City Hall to advance the City's important transportation responsibilities, like approval of State legislation that will streamline construction for major transportation projects, and implementation of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, the first new mass transit link outside of Manhattan in nearly eighty years.”
“The Department of Transportation’s strategic plan will help 3.6 million New York City drivers - and motorists from around the region, country, and world - navigate City streets safely and efficiently,” said Alec Slatky, Policy and Regulatory Affairs Liaison for AAA Northeast. “We applaud the continued efforts to increase safety and to invest in road and bridge infrastructure, the lifeblood of our City’s commerce. And while parking in the Big Apple may never be a breeze, this plan will help make it as convenient as possible.”
"We applaud the Department of Transportation for prioritizing sustainability as a core value in its strategic plan and long-term vision for the agency. The transportation sector is critically important for reaching our goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving our air quality, and adapting to a changing climate. This document provides a bold blueprint for implementing strategies that promote low-carbon transportation such as walking, biking, and transit," said Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. "We are also pleased to see DOT using technology, innovation, and interagency coordination to advance additional initiatives that benefit the environment from smarter freight movement to increasing green infrastructure to better management of curb space.
“On behalf of the professional engineering community, ACEC New York strongly supports the DOT and Commissioner Trottenberg’s impressive 2016 Strategic Plan to advance a vision for a safe, sustainable, equitable and efficient transportation network,” said Jay Simson, President, ACEC New York. “The use of technology to streamline the city’s procurement and contracting processes will benefit the City as well as all of our member firms who work for NYC DOT. We look forward to our continued partnerships with city agencies to improve the procurement and delivery of professional design services.”
"As DOT’s partners in maintaining and improving the public realm, the NYC BID Association appreciates DOT’s thoughtful and forward-thinking approach to managing the challenges of our City" said NYC BID Association Co-Chairs Ellen Baer, President & CEO of the Hudson Square Connection, and Michael Lambert, Executive Director of the Bed-Stuy Gateway BID
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