Report: De Blasio's Open Streets Plan Falls Short Of What NYC Needs

It's been almost three months since Mayor Bill de Blasio started his Open Streets plan to give pedestrians and cyclists room to maintain proper social distancing while getting much-needed exercise. The city has now opened over 67 miles of streets—short of its goal of 100 miles, but still the most in the country. This month, de Blasio also launched a popular Open Restaurants plan to dedicate certain open streets to struggling businesses so they can safely reopen outdoors.

But a new report from Transportation Alternatives argues that the Open Streets plan "lacks vision and ambition," and falls far short of the city's recovery and transportation needs.

"At present, the program remains a disconnected network of public space islands with management challenges," the report states. "While pocket parks and outdoor restaurants are helpful, they will not solve our transportation crisis or revive our economy. These should be finishing touches on top of a connected system to keep New York moving — not New York City’s small answer to a giant problem."

The report follows mounting criticism of the placement, size, and maintenance of the streets chosen to be in the program.

Among the highlights of the report: Open Streets average just 0.22 miles in length, with more than a quarter of the mileage located in or adjacent to parks. While that placement made more sense at the outset of the pandemic, when the focus was on giving New Yorkers space to properly social distance and prevent dangerous clustering in parks, the report's authors say that now the weather has improved, these spots are where open space is least needed. 

"Until a wave of Black Lives Matter protests swept across the city in June, Open Streets were largely inequitable and unequal, concentrated in wealthier, majority-white neighborhoods," the report reads. "At the time, of those New Yorkers who lived within walking distance of an Open Street, only 16 percent were Black, while 39 percent were white. Today, 20.5 percent of New Yorkers who live within walking distance of an Open Street are Black."

The report claims the protests appear to have helped shift this policy: 37 percent of New Yorkers now live within walking distance of an Open Street, though they add that number better reflects the demographics of the city.

But the inequality also extends to the management of streets: in the Bronx, only 1.3% of Open Streets mileage is managed by local partners like community groups or BIDs, who tend to do a better job of maintaining the conditions of the road blocks than police precincts. (On the other hand, the average number of hours that Open Streets in Manhattan are in operation is significantly less than other boroughs, while they're highest in the Bronx.)

The report also argues that Open Streets has shortchanged cyclists: Just 7.88 miles, or 44 percent, of the proposed 18.07 miles of “pop-up” bike lanes have been implemented. Manhattan will receive a disproportionate 54 percent of “pop-up” bike lane mileage, despite already being the borough with the most bike lanes; Brooklyn and Queens will receive 21 percent and 25 percent, while Staten Island and the Bronx will receive none.

Ultimately, TransAlt has several suggestions and solutions as to how Open Streets can be better used by the city in the future, first by connecting more of the streets, then making them permanent fixtures of the city, and then working to expand them more. Add more immovable materials to reinforce and protect the streets; correct any inequalities in the placement of streets; improve the management by getting more local community groups involved; and put Open Restaurant seating on the streets, not the sidewalks.

"The current approach to Open Streets works for those who want to enjoy a meal outside, or have a socially-distant game of catch, but it certainly isn't going to mitigate mounting traffic congestion or improve conditions for the growing numbers of bus riders or cyclists," the state. "TA argues that Open Streets ought to be reimagined as connected car-free networks for moving people by bus, bike or on foot; reopening schools, restaurants, and retail; and redistributing space to address decades of inequitable policies that have disproportionately impacted low income communities of color across New York City."

You can read the full report here.

In a statement to Gothamist, Mitch Schwartz from the Mayor's Office said, “As the mayor likes to say, every New Yorker deserves a breath of fresh air. We set a goal to make our nation-leading Open Streets program accessible to everyone, regardless of where they live. With 67 miles of Open Streets across all five boroughs, including low-income neighborhoods and those hit hardest by COVID-19, we’ve made enormous progress toward delivering on that goal. There’s more work to do, and we’re not done adding streets yet – but we’re proud of this program and look forward to expanding it.” Other community groups are also encouraged to apply to run some open streets in their neighborhoods—check here for more information.