Bicycle Safety

The mayor said he was unfamiliar with the 15-month-old bill, even though he has been asked about it many times. Then he said other bills are more urgent.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles will have to do a better job of instructing would-be drivers that they're not the only vehicles on the road, and that their fellow motorists aren't the only thing to watch out for, thanks to a long-stalled Senate bill that finally passed on Tuesday.

Lots of cyclists + narrow spaces between security bollards = mayhem.

This is the second post in a series about safety features for large vehicles. Part one examined the case for truck side guards and New York City's attempt to require them for its fleet.

Nine bicycle and pedestrian projects in New York City are receiving federal funds distributed through New York State DOT, according to an announcement late last month by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The projects range from pedestrian safety fixes on streets near busy expressways to upgraded plazas and greenways.

On Tuesday, Governor Cuomo announced that the state DOT is awarding $21.2 million in federal highway safety funds over three years to nine projects in New York City that all include big safety improvements for biking and walking. Advocates welcomed the news, but still have questions about whether the state is allocating enough money to active transportation projects statewide.

Two and a half years after he signed the state's complete streets bill into law, Governor Cuomo has again declined to write dedicated funds for pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure -- and, therefore, pedestrian and cyclist safety -- into the executive budget.

A coalition of advocacy groups and government representatives called on Governor Cuomo today to dedicate state funds toward improving infrastructure for walking and biking.

Advocates for safer streets are alarmed by a New York State DOT "blueprint" for capital investments that scarcely acknowledges walking or biking as modes of transportation.