Thursday’s Headlines: ‘Brace’ for Bike Lanes and Bus Lanes Edition
Brace yourselves — the bike lanes and bus lanes are coming.
That was Gothamist‘s at once optimistic and fear-mongering take on the overwhelming passage of Ballot Proposal 3, which removes a few of the ridiculous bureaucratic hoops the City Council imposed on the mayor and DOT’s pre-implementation outreach process for bike lanes, bus lanes and other street redesign projects.
As Gothamist noted, the ballot question “still requires the city to solicit input from community boards before moving forward with any street redesign.” But the Mamdani administration still expects it to speed up bike and bus lane implementation by 33 percent. That’s bad news for perennial anti-bike lawsuit loser Hartley Bernstein, who has sued the city over three bike lanes in three boroughs and so far failed to do more than delay them.
“This proposition essentially grants the authority to an unelected individual, the commissioner of transportation in the City of New York, to make any changes that he feels in his specific and individual opinion is necessary for safety,” Bernstein told the outlet, practically inviting me to remind you all that the DOT commissioner is hand-picked and works at the discretion of the elected mayor of New York City.
“ I have no doubt you’re going see a lot more of these projects,” added Bernstein. (It’s worth noting that the bureaucratic hurdle that Prop 3 removed allowed different unelected individuals, such as firefighters at random engine companies, to do what Bernstein accuses the DOT commissioner of doing.)
See below for our coverage of the ballot blowout — which also cut red tape from the city’s outdoor dining application process.
In other news:
- Curbed‘s coverage of the ballot referenda ignored bus riders.
- The mayor had a good election day even beyond his local ballot questions, City & State reported.
- Gov. Hochul and the Democrats knocked the wind out of New York Republicans on Tuesday. (NYS Focus)
- New York’s congestion pricing toll needs to be higher, writes Bloomberg columnist Justin Fox (he’s right!).
- It’s almost time to give input on future of the Bronx waterfront. (amNY)
- A woman was fatally stab while on a jog on the greenway in Bay Ridge. (NY Times)
- A state court tossed out a legal challenge against the pied-à-terre tax. (amNY)
