De Blasio Signs 11 Traffic Safety Bills

By Brad Aaron
Jun 23, 2014

NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan speaks at today's bill signing. Photo: ##https://twitter.com/ydanis/status/481103315409698816##City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez/@ydanis## — NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan speaks at today’s bill signing. Photo: ##https://twitter.com/ydanis/status/481103315409698816##City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez/@ydanis##

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed 11 bills today intended to make it safer to walk, bike, and drive in New York City.

De Blasio was joined by in Queens this morning by Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan, ~~City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito~~, council transportation chair Ydanis Rodriguez, and other council members. Bills signed into law include Intro 171-A — “Cooper’s Law” — which will allow the Taxi and Limousine Commission to act against hack licenses of cab drivers who injure and kill pedestrians while breaking traffic laws, and Intro 238-A, which makes it a misdemeanor for drivers to strike pedestrians or cyclists who have the right of way.

Streetsblog will have full coverage of the presser later today.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

De Blasio Signs Traffic Safety Bills, Says 25 MPH Will Go Into Effect This Fall

By Stephen Miller | Jun 23, 2014

Earlier today, Mayor Bill de Blasio returned to the schoolyard where he launched his administration’s Vision Zero campaign in January, just feet from where 9-year-old Noshat Nahian was killed last December while walking to PS 152 with his sister. A little more than six months after announcing his intent to eliminate traffic fatalities within 10 years, […]

New Penalties for Reckless Drivers Now In Effect, But NYPD Isn’t Ready

By Stephen Miller | Aug 22, 2014

In May, the City Council passed a package of legislation to crack down on traffic violence. In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the bills. Today, one of the most important bills in that package goes into effect: Intro 238, also known as Section 19-190, creates a new criminal misdemeanor charge for reckless drivers. But […]

Rodriguez Backs Bill to Strengthen Legal Protections for People in Crosswalks

By Ben Fried | Nov 18, 2015

Momentum is building in the City Council for a bill to strengthen pedestrians’ right-of-way. Introduced by Public Advocate Tish James last week, Intro 997 picked up the support of Transportation Committee chair Ydanis Rodriguez today. The bill fixes a flawed city rule that says people should not start to cross the street at any point […]

Rory Lancman Intros Bill to Undermine NYPD Crash Investigations

By Brad Aaron | Jun 11, 2015

Rory Lancman introduced his bill to hinder NYPD crash investigations at a City Council meeting yesterday. Lancman’s proposed amendment to the Right of Way Law, Intro 813, would require NYPD to consider “visibility, illumination, weather conditions, roadway conditions, roadway design, [and] faulty vehicular equipment or design” when determining whether to charge motorists who injure or kill people […]

Scores of activists rallied at City Hall last month to argue that Mayor de Blasio has decelerated Vision Zero. Photo: Gersh Kuntzman

Safe Streets Advocates to Mayor: We’re Just Waiting For Your Signature

By Julianne Cuba | May 30, 2019

Mayor de Blasio is suddenly backing a street redesign bill he has long opposed. Why? He has no choice.

City Will Need More Than Signs to Get Drivers to Follow 25 MPH Speed Limit

By Brad Aaron | Oct 1, 2014

DOT will conduct a weeks-long publicity campaign and post thousands of signs to alert motorists to the city’s new 25 mph speed limit, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg told City Council members today. The council will soon pass legislation to enact the lower speed limit, which was enabled by Albany earlier this year. In testimony before […]