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Six weeks ago, I had the privilege to be at City Hall for the signing of @bradlander’s Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Act.
Due to a conference and coronavirus fears having set in by then, I didn’t take the time to celebrate this victory (and my very small part in it).
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Due to a conference and coronavirus fears having set in by then, I didn’t take the time to celebrate this victory (and my very small part in it).
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I stood next to @bblytherss, whose legal analysis demonstrated the city’s authority to act, @BicyclesOnly, who pushed back against city attorneys who dragged their feet, and @Naparstek, who made the case that reckless driving, and not just bad street design, required action.
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Many people who played critical roles in bringing this idea to fruition, including @amylcohen (and other members of @NYC_SafeStreets) and @marco_conner and @JoeCutrufo from @TransAlt were also in attendance.
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This law takes its place alongside other hard-fought safe streets laws: Right-of-Way, Vision Zero design standards, the streets master plan, etc., but what sets it apart is its focus on preventive action:
stop reckless driving *before* people die or end up in hospitals.
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stop reckless driving *before* people die or end up in hospitals.
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Backed by (preliminary) data showing that drivers with several camera violations are significantly more likely to be involved in injury crashes, the law seeks to prevent instead of punish, to create empathy rather than incarceration.
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Relying solely on drivers’ prior actions, the law seeks to prevent nightmares like the 9th Street crash instead of the angry, traumatic, and fragmented legal responses that normally follow, and which, in that case, took another life.
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Having attended dozens of community board and neighborhood meetings where safety was only one of several competing priorities, for a moment that afternoon, it seemed like the city finally understood the value of data in preventing death and injury.
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Instead of a political street redesign process, one where the biggest potential safety improvements dictated where and how quickly our streets could be remade seemed possible.
Rather than a per-block and per-street view of the city, a vision and doctrine for its entirety.
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Rather than a per-block and per-street view of the city, a vision and doctrine for its entirety.
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All that seems a world away now.
Our streets are emptier than they’ve ever been, but the possibility that we might put them to the best possible current use never really existed.
The city’s commitment to data, like our own, perhaps only materializes when it is forced to.
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Our streets are emptier than they’ve ever been, but the possibility that we might put them to the best possible current use never really existed.
The city’s commitment to data, like our own, perhaps only materializes when it is forced to.
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I wonder how we’ll get back to that place and who will lead us there. Until then, I’ll be counting the days until the law takes effect.
Thank you, most of all, to @bradlander for accepting this charge and making it a reality.
And thank you for one of the signing pens.
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Thank you, most of all, to @bradlander for accepting this charge and making it a reality.
And thank you for one of the signing pens.
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