Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

About Time: James Vacca Declares Traffic Safety a “Civil Rights Issue”

Keep it up, Jimmy. Photo: DNAinfo

Bravo, James Vacca.

On Wednesday Vacca joined Council Member Gale Brewer in calling attention to the needs of blind and sight-impaired pedestrians, particularly as they apply to new pedestrian plazas.

Brewer has introduced a bill requiring textured pavement around the perimeters of plazas and bike lanes, while other bills would speed up the installation of audible pedestrian signals and mandate accessible online notifications concerning changes to street design. DNAinfo reports:

“This is a serious civil rights issue,” said City Council Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca, who said he first became aware of the challenges of new street designs from his father, who was blind.

Vacca's assessment is spot on. Being able to navigate your way to the grocery store without fear of being run over is a civil rights issue. As is taking a bike ride through your neighborhood. As is crossing the street with your elderly mother. As is surviving the walk home from school. Especially so when the risk of being hurt or killed in traffic is higher for some New Yorkers than others.

Vacca has spent a lot of time on camera since taking the helm of the transportation committee, and he has yet to call attention to the hundreds of road deaths and thousands of injuries that occur annually. He has yet to credit the new pedestrian spaces, bike lanes, and street redesigns for making New York a safer city.

After a year devoted to nitpicking street safety improvements and targeting those who need them while pandering to parking scofflaws, maybe he and the council will at last turn to the business of safeguarding the rights of everyone who deserves to move about the city safely.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Amtrak’s Dithering Means Penn Access Won’t Be Done ‘Til 2030, MTA Says

Boom: The MTA's ambitious Penn Access project is delayed until 2030 at the earliest ... and Amtrak is to blame, says the MTA.

October 28, 2025

From Parking to Park: East Side Lot To Become Public Space

The East Side finally gets back some of its waterfront from cars.

October 28, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘Life After Cars’ With Doug Gordon and Saray Goodyear

Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of The War on Cars podcast on their new book, opposing views, Turtle Jesus and potential off-ramps towards car-free cities.

October 28, 2025

Vision Zero Cities: How Istanbul Builds Subways Cheap — And What U.S. Cities Can Learn

Istanbul has expanded its subway network by more than 200 miles over the past three decades.

October 28, 2025

Tuesday’s Headines: Amtrak Agonistes Edition

The MTA is blaming the national rail system for delays on the Penn Access project. Plus other news.

October 28, 2025

Ugly Truth: Feds’ Canal Street Raid Pushed Aside NYPD, Safety and Free Speech

President Trump's heavily armed and masked immigration troops are turning American cities into battlegrounds — and eliminating accountability and free speech in the public realm.

October 27, 2025
See all posts