If DOT Can Accelerate Street Repaving, It Can Accelerate Safety Projects

Mayor Bill de Blasio made a visit yesterday to one of the city's more car-dependent areas, on Staten Island's south shore, to tout an additional $242 million in his budget for street repaving. The additional money will bring the city's repaving plan to a total 1,200 lane-miles through June 2016, a 20 percent boost over previous projections.

Well-maintained streets are good news for bus riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in addition to motorists -- but will the city take this opportunity to accelerate its street redesign schedule too? Advocates are urging the city to break down the silos between its resurfacing and safety teams to quickly roll out basic improvements for walking and biking.

The mayor didn't touch on Vision Zero during his remarks yesterday, but the press release announcing the new funds did briefly mention street safety. "As DOT crews mill and repave more streets," City Hall said, "it provides opportunities to enhance safety on roadways by improving roadway markings including crosswalks, furthering the Vision Zero initiative for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists."

"More repaving supports Vision Zero because it gets us closer to a state of good repair for pavement markings, in addition to smoother roads," said DOT spokesperson Bonny Tsang. "Crosswalks and bike lane markings added to new asphalt last longer than [on] older asphalt."

Advocates say DOT can take it a few steps farther by better coordinating the agency's repaving and safety programs. "All resurfacing work should be seen as an opportunity to provide short-term safety improvements such as bike lanes, lane reductions, visibility improvements, and more room for pedestrians," said Transportation Alternatives Deputy Director Caroline Samponaro. "By integrating the repaving and the Safety Improvement Project schedule, we can dramatically increase short term safety improvements on many more streets."

"Resurfacing and street safety improvement projects serve two different functions," Tsang said. DOT does make minor adjustments after repaving, she said, for example, narrowing car lanes to add a buffer on part of the Sixth Avenue bike lane. Repaving is also often scheduled before a street safety project is implemented, such as on West End Avenue, Tsang said.

With City Hall committing more funds to resurfacing, advocates want to see a concurrent increase for street redesigns. As budget negotiations between the mayor and the City Council wrap up, TA is looking for de Blasio to expand the Vision Zero Great Streets program, which will redesign and rebuild four major arterial streets. The preliminary City Council budget proposal recommended doubling the funds for Vision Zero Great Streets. TA is also asking DOT to commit to implementing more than 50 street safety projects each year.