Council members Carlos Menchaca (Sunset Park, Red Hook), Antonio Reynoso (Bushwick, Williamsburg) and Ydanis Rodriguez (Upper Manhattan) united at the top of the steps of City Hall yesterday to advocate for bicyclists rights through Intro. 1072. The new bill will push for stronger bicycle safety measures in the city.
“The benefit of this bill is that we are going to be able to create an opportunity for safety. The real issue is between bicycles and being seen by public vehicles. This is going to limit that issue,” said Menchaca. “Pedestrians will always have the right-of-way in the crosswalk that isn’t ever going to change.”
Also known as the “LPI” bill, the measure would make it so bicyclists would have to follow control signals at intersections with leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs). Pedestrian signals are usually synchronized with motor vehicle traffic signals so that pedestrians and cars are allowed to proceed simultaneously. However, signals with an LPI, give pedestrians at least a 3-7 second head start when entering an intersection with a corresponding green signal in the same direction of travel.
Reynoso echoed the sentiments, “This bill is a step toward acknowledging that cyclists are not cars, and that we should have sensible rules that address their needs and promote their safety.”
Research has shown that LPIs decrease pedestrian-vehicle collisions as much as 60% at treated intersections. LPIs enhance the visibility of pedestrians in an intersection and reinforce their right-of-way against turning vehicles, especially in intersections with past incidents. Intro. 72 would allow for bicyclists to follow pedestrian control signals at intersections with LPIs. However, pedestrians will still have the right of way when cyclists are in motion.
“I know that a normal response when a driver crashes is that they didn’t see them. That’s the default, ‘oh I didn’t see them,” said Paco Abraham, a safer streets advocate from Prospect Lefferts Garden. “This will change because it has such great consequences. It only takes a few seconds and sometimes that is all you need to change ‘I didn’t see them and there was a crash’ to having a safe passageway.
This new piece of legislation is part of New York CIty’s Vision Zero Action Plan, a initiative by the city to decrease pedestrian mortality due to commuter traffic on the streets. According to the plan, more than 4,000 New Yorkers are seriously injured and more than 250 are killed every year due to traffic crashes.
Advocates for the bill feel that bicyclist should be given the same level of safety considerations as pedestrians. The city is hoping that Intro. 1072 will provide the security that bicyclist need to travel around the city safely and bridge the gap between pedestrian and bicyclist collisions on the roadways.
“This bill can reduce congestion, make the ride smoother for vehicles and bicyclists alike, and, most importantly, make commuting significantly safer for bicyclists in a way that has proven successful for pedestrians,” said Menchaca as a member of the Transportation Committee and bicyclist himself.
