Following a series of traffic fatalities late last year, City Council member Margaret Chin said she wanted the city to look at whether Canal Street should be a designated truck route. She raised concerns about pedestrian safety on the thoroughfare, which is a major artery for trucks heading across town. Today, Chin introduced legislation that would require the Department of Transportation to “conduct recurring, comprehensive studies regarding pedestrian and cyclist safety along the city’s truck routes.”
More from the press release her office put out earlier today:
Under the legislation, DOT would be mandated to conduct such a study every five years. Each study would require DOT to examine the impact of tolling policies on the city’s network of truck routes, the prevalence of crashes and traffic violations along truck routes, and information regarding any safety measures implemented on such routes. In addition, DOT would be required to develop new strategies for increasing pedestrian and cyclist safety along truck routes. Council Member Chin announced the introduction of the legislation today alongside representatives of Transportation Alternatives, the Move NY plan for toll reform and Families for Safe Streets, as well as leaders from community boards and business improvement districts within Council Member Chin’s Lower Manhattan district.
The bill is co-sponsored by Council Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez and Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer.
This is great news.