This Week: Rally for Traffic Justice at NYPD HQ

The highlight of the Streetsblog calendar this week is Wednesday’s rally led by Transportation Alternatives calling on Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and NYPD to uphold traffic laws and hold reckless drivers accountable. You can RSVP here.

• Today: The City Council Transportation Committee will consider a pair of bills introduced by committee chair James Vacca that mandate what NYC DOT already does: consult with other city agencies before implementing street redesigns and report on the effect of those projects. However, in addition to requiring safety and traffic speed measurements, one of the bills — Intro 671 —  would also mandate reports on vehicular level of service, the discredited traffic engineering metric often used to justify road expansions or thwart pedestrian, bike, and transit improvements. The hearing starts at noon.
• Tuesday: NYU’s Wagner Center hosts a discussion with Dr. Kelly Henning, director of public health programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies, about road safety from a global perspective. Traffic injuries cause 1.27 million deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization, predominantly in developing countries. Dr. Henning will talk about the current state of road safety in low- and middle-income countries, and share information about the Bloomberg Global Road Safety Program. 8:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Reckless driving claims lives with alarming frequency in New York, but police and prosecutors almost always send the message that this behavior is acceptable. In the vast majority of cases, drivers who kill are not charged with a crime, even when they operate without a valid license or when witnesses observe them breaking traffic laws. More than 1,300 people have signed letters to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly demanding NYPD uphold traffic laws and take the investigation of traffic deaths seriously. Transportation Alternatives will deliver the letters at a rally at One Police Plaza. The public is invited to attend, and you can also add your voice by sending a letter to NYPD. 8:30 a.m.

Keep an eye on the calendar for updated listings. Got an event we should know about? Drop us a line.