After platitudes about how "an effective transportation system is a key part of New York City’s economy and quality of life," we get to the meat of Lhota's plan: A bullet-point list of what he promises to do as mayor.
Take control of the MTA’s bridges and tunnels to reduce costs to commuters
Fight for funding for the MTA’s 5-year capital program
Create a feasibility study to expand the New York City subway system
Re-establish the Mayor’s Office of Transportation to communicate the city’s transportation needs and priorities to other agencies
Ensure the building of four new Metro-North stops in the Bronx with access to Penn Station
Encourage park and ride stations at the end of suitable subway lines
Ensure that New York City roads are in a good state of repair
Synchronize traffic lights to mitigate traffic and enhance mobility
Examine the use of "smart" traffic lights
Consider the expansion of right on red in certain parts of the city
Expand Select Bus Service
Support expanded Staten Island Ferry service
Make the Rockaway Ferry permanent
Support a West Shore Rail Line on Staten Island
Ensure the completion of the 2nd Avenue Subway
Of the 15 bullet points, three are just about traffic lights -- that's 20 percent of his platform. In the policy book's environment section, Lhota repeats his desire to install park-and-ride lots at the end of subway lines and promises Upper East Siders that he will not open 91st Street waste transfer station, which is part of a plan to move some of the city's trash disposal burden, including truck traffic, from poorer neighborhoods.
He doesn't have any bullet points for biking, walking, or traffic crashes, which incidentally, are the top injury-related killer of NYC children. The only mention of safety comes as boilerplate: "New York City must have the safest possible systems of transportation," the platform says. "Policies must be enacted with the understanding that roads are to be shared fairly by cars, trucks, emergency vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists."
Lhota's official transportation platform is actually a downgrade from his remarks on the John Gambling Show last month, where he said pedestrian safety would be one of his DOT's top three priorities. (The others were syncing traffic lights and keeping the roads in a state of good repair.)
In a September interview with the New York Daily News, conducted on Citi Bikes, Lhota had this to say about how the streets should be shared: "The roads are for everybody. They're not just for cars. They're for buses, and they're for pedestrians, and they're for trucks, and they're for bicyclists. In no particular order, either."
Update: Lhota held a press conference today with Assembly Member Joe Borelli calling on the Parks Department to allow through traffic on roads within Freshkills Park "to help alleviate traffic congestion" on Staten Island. The press release for today's announcement includes quotes from Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis and Council Member James Oddo urging that the park's roads be used as a traffic shortcut.
In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation.
From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.
The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.
The capitulation on Fordham Road is the latest episode in which the mayor has delayed or watered down a transportation project in deference to powerful interests.
That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.