Bill de Blasio

Mayor Bill de Blasio made a visit yesterday to one of the city's more car-dependent areas, on Staten Island's south shore, to tout an additional $242 million in his budget for street repaving. The additional money will bring the city's repaving plan to a total 1,200 lane-miles through June 2016, a 20 percent boost over previous projections.

Mayor de Blasio's plan to stabilize the finances of the New York City Housing Authority includes higher, but still subsidized, parking fees and a promise to develop a mix of market-rate and affordable housing on under-utilized property, including parking lots.

At the press event today announcing the de Blasio administration update to NYC's citywide sustainability plan (now called "OneNYC" -- more on that soon!), the mayor fielded a question about bus design and whether bus drivers can be expected to spot and avoid striking pedestrians in crosswalks. The unspoken subtext was the Transport Workers Union campaign to carve out an exemption for MTA bus drivers in the city's Right of Way Law, which makes it a misdemeanor for drivers to injure people walking or biking with the right of way.

City Hall will have to double its commitment to street redesigns that prioritize safety in order to dramatically reduce traffic deaths on NYC's most dangerous streets in our lifetimes, advocates say. That level of spending could be accomplished with a relatively small shift in resources in the city's total capital budget.

An unlicensed driver fleeing police crashed into another vehicle and killed 21-year-old Dave Jones on a Brooklyn sidewalk Monday, raising questions about whether the officers adhered to NYPD policy on vehicular pursuits.

Update [February 26]: The quote from the mayor has been updated to include his full response.

We reported yesterday that NYC DOT has moved "gateway signage" at the entrances to 20 mph Slow Zones from the roadbed to the sidewalk because motorists were running over the signs at what the agency calls an "unsustainable rate." With some more resources for traffic calming, the agency could take a different approach: upgrading the temporary signs-and-paint treatment to permanent concrete.

In today's State of the City address, Mayor de Blasio returned to his signature campaign issues of affordability and equity. Focusing mainly on housing, the mayor outlined a plan for growth centered around transit-accessible neighborhoods, and he recommitted to building several new Bus Rapid Transit routes.

Mayor de Blasio trumpeted last year’s street safety gains, including a record low number of pedestrian deaths, at a press conference in the Bronx this morning marking the first year of his administration's Vision Zero initiative. He also announced new street redesign projects for 2015 and defended Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who has not spoken at a public Vision Zero event in 11 months.