Daylighting makes strange bedfellows!
Two hundred local groups joined the growing chorus this week for banning parking at corners in order to improve safety and visibility in hopes of pushing forward a stalled Council bill to mandate the street redesign known as daylighting.
The parking ban is so popular that its supporters include the usual suspects at Transportation Alternatives but also a rare collection of fellow travelers such as the Trucking Association of New York, the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Staten Island Conservative Party.
The organizations wrote a letter [PDF] to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams this month calling for the passage of Intro 1138 to prohibit car storage within 20 feet of crosswalks citywide.
"There is growing recognition that daylighting – the removal of parking spaces immediately adjacent to a crosswalk – is a common-sense and effective way of improving visibility for everyone," the groups' letter said. "We wholeheartedly endorse this practical, straightforward, and proven measure that will make our streets safer for all users."
Daylighting is common practice across the United States and is already state law, but the city has long exempted itself from the provision in favor of more parking, while other jurisdictions from Hoboken to Hong Kong have reaped the designs safety benefits.
The bill would also require the Department of Transportation to add hard infrastructure to 1,000 intersections annually, and the groups said that the Big Apple should embrace the change and capitalize on the newly car-free spaces.
"The space that is recovered around crosswalks can be repurposed for a number of public realm enhancements, including amenities like curb extensions, planters, benches, bike racks, and stormwater retention green infrastructure," the letter continued. "Taken together, these initiatives help to beautify the neighborhood while managing flooding and physically blocking drivers from parking their cars dangerously close to crosswalks."
There's been more than two years grass-roots organizing by advocates across the city in response to a rash of children at getting killed by drivers intersections with poor visibility, gathering support from 23 of the city's usually car-friendly community boards and a more than 90 elected officials.
Council Member Julie Won (D-Queens) introduced a bill to undo the city's exemption late last year, and it crossed the majority mark over the summer and its supporters are trying to get it over the line before the end of this year. But Speaker Adams has so far declined to bring it up for a vote, which would likely need a two-thirds majority to overcome a likely veto from Mayor Adams.
Last month Council Member Gale Brewer (D-Upper West Side) yanked her support following a lengthy campaign by DOT to scuttle the efforts and preserve more parking. The agency has tried to make the case that it's actually safer to have a car blocking visibility at a corner than an empty spot, since some drivers would take advantage of the space to make careless turns.
DOT's reasoning comes from a flawed study the agency published early this year that the report's authors themselves admitted couldn't definitively conclude that parking-free corners caused an increase in crash injuries.
Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has vowed to support universal daylighting and stand up to entrenched opposition among DOT bureaucrats.
A spokesperson for Speaker Adams said the bill is still being looked at.
"The safety of pedestrians and all street users remains a top priority for Speaker Adams and the Council," said Benjamin Fang-Estrada in a statement. "Introduction 1138 is going through the Council's legislative process, which is deliberative and allows for thorough public engagement and input."
Council Member Won did not respond by press time.
