A slew of Vision Zero-related bills and resolutions is going before the New York City Council in a marathon hearing Wednesday.
It's another next step in what has become a key goal of the de Blasio administration: the elimination of traffic deaths. One bill would make it a misdemeanor to hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk or sidewalk, punishable by a $250 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both. Not yielding to a pedestrian, but not hitting them, would get a $50 fine or up to 15 days in jail. Another bill would create more slow zones around the city, and others calls for studies on left turns and major arteries. And yet another would require side guards for tractors and trucks, which “shall help prevent a person from being swept beneath” the vehicle.
But New York's City Council only has so much power — so another goal of the hearing is to send a clear message to state legislators. The council will consider eight resolutions aimed squarely at Albany, including requests for control over red light and speed cameras, as well as the ability to lower the city's speed limit. (A bill authorizing the installation of more speed cameras just passed the Assembly, but the Senate has yet to vote on the proposal.) Mayor de Blasio says local control is essential to lowering the number of deaths and injuries to pedestrians.
The Vision Zero plan also calls on city agencies to collect and share more data on fatal and critical crashes, and two bills on the table tomorrow take up that mandate. One would create a website tracking traffic crashes, another requires the Taxi and Limousine Commission to report crashes involving cabs and other TLC-licensed vehicles, like ambulettes and livery cars.
A slew of taxi measures are also on the docket: One bill would require the Taxi and Limousine Commission to suspend a cabbie’s license if he or she gets a summons for a crash causing critical injury or death, and permanently revoke the license if the driver is convicted. Another connects the dots between TLC action and police crash investigations. The commission could get new powers to suspend hack licenses of drivers with a pattern of violations. And black boxes could be installed in taxis as early as next year, if a pilot program bill gets approved.
Representatives from the Mayor's Office, the NYPD, the city's Department of Transportation, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission are all expected to testify at the hearing, along with street safety advocates and family members of people killed or maimed by cars.