Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Media Watch

NYPD Transpo Chief Breaks Down Street Safety Basics for Local Press

At a press conference this morning unveiling a street safety redesign at 96th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side, the first three questions from reporters were all about what the police are doing to deter jaywalking. So it was no surprise when, after a discussion of NYPD's crackdown this week on drivers who text and fail to yield to pedestrians, Juliet Papa of 1010 WINS cut right to the chase for her drive-time audience.

NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan. Photo: NYC DOT
NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan. Photo: NYC DOT
NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan. Photo: NYC DOT

"Will texting pedestrians also be part of the crackdown?" she asked over the roar of trucks on Broadway. "I just find this is very motorist-driven. Pedestrians and bicyclists must abide by the law."

Setting aside that Papa implied texting while walking is a punishable offense (it is not), this was clearly an opportunity to explain street safety basics to the local press corps, and NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan hit his marks.

"Motorists are operating a 4,000 pound vehicle. And we cannot be distracted while we're operating that vehicle," he said. "When a collision occurs between a motorist and a pedestrian, the pedestrian loses 100 percent of the time. So again, it's very important that our motorists, who are obligated to be licensed, that they operate in a way that's not distracted."

Later, I asked Chan for more details about the department's enforcement efforts. Currently, monthly updates on moving violations are aggregated at the precinct level and released to the public in PDF and Excel documents. NYPD says it will step up enforcement along arterial slow zones, but there's no way for the public to track the department's progress on that promise.

Precincts often cite the number of tickets issued on a particular stretch of road at public meetings, and this type of information is part of Chan's weekly TrafficStat meetings. But Chan claimed that releasing geographically-tagged data on moving violations is beyond the department's current technical capabilities.

Whenever the department cites summonses issued on a specific street, officers are spending time tracking hand-written summonses, he said, rather than pulling information from a database. "Right now, we don't capture that type of information. It's not inputted into the computer by location in terms of where summonses are issued. That's something that we can possibly look at to develop," he said. "They would have to develop a whole system for that."

Last week, the department improved the way it releases crash data, showing individual entries updated daily in an easy-to-use format. Chan called it a "great start," so I asked if there are other traffic data improvements in the works.

"Not right now," he said.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Open Streets Are Shrinking Thanks to ‘Lukewarm’ City Support: Lander

Another silver lining from the pandemic retreated under Mayor Adams.

April 27, 2025

Trump DOT Sec. Sean Duffy Is Dead Wrong About New York City’s Bike Lanes

Sean Duffy says he hasn't seen enough data to believe in the benefits of bike lanes. So we put together this cheat sheet to help him out — mostly using information from his own department.

April 25, 2025

Friday Video: Check Out Lorde On a Bike!

The Kiwi singer is on the top of the charts — and in our bike-riding hearts.

April 25, 2025

RELAX: A New City Rule for Private Seating in Public Space Is More of the Same

A proposed new rule governing how much space restaurants can occupy on open streets is hardly controversial, John Surico writes.

April 25, 2025
See all posts