Who Will Be The Next Vision Zero Mayor?

This is part of our One Issue Explainer series, where we break down where mayoral candidates stand on issues concerning New Yorkers. What do you want to hear about? Email us at [email protected] (subject line: One Issue Explainer)

The next mayor will take over a Department of Transportation that’s been racing against the clock to complete Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pledge to eliminate all pedestrian and cyclist deaths from vehicles by 2024. It’s up to the next mayor to either recommit to that goal or move the goalposts.

While no democratic candidate has suggested rolling back any of de Blasio’s Vision Zero efforts, there is some daylight between candidates on how far they’re willing to go to reduce traffic deaths, an issue that’s recently gained more urgency.

Last year saw an uptick in overall traffic deaths in the five boroughs, with 24 more deaths than in 2019, a year in which many New Yorkers stayed indoors due to the pandemic. But, with emptier streets, the number of speeding cars and trucks increased. This year is on track to be just as deadly, if not more, as pedestrian deaths are up 65%, according to the safe-streets advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.

Cyclist deaths have been trending in the wrong direction, as well. The incidents have gone from 10 in 2018 to 28 in 2019, and 25 in 2020, according to the city’s Vision Zero statistics.

As part of Vision Zero, the mayor released an ambitious plan called the Green Wave in 2019, which focused on making cycling safer. It includes, for example, building 80 miles of bike lanes by the end of 2021. Like all aspects of the program, it could be scaled up or down, depending on the next mayor and City Council.

With the primary coming up in June, we looked at the proposals of the eight leading Democratic candidates when it comes to safe streets, including police enforcement, truck traffic, speed cameras, cycling, pedestrian access, and more.

Eric Adams

Adams has had the benefit of being a borough booster without having to take any legislative responsibilities or engage in the kind of horse trading that gets tough bills passed. Still, he’s been an outspoken supporter of Vision Zero.

“We cannot and must not accept anything less than Vision Zero, and we must have far greater accountability for hit-and-run drivers in particular,” he told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 2017.

In a recent statement to Streetsblog, he said Vision Zero needs to be expanded.

“We also know that these strides are not enough, and that frankly progress has been particularly stifled in communities of color where rates of fatality and injury are truly alarming, and we must empower local voices to make the case for these life-saving infrastructure interventions,” Adams wrote.

He doesn’t appear to support fully removing the NYPD from crash investigations, but agrees with some street safety advocates and the majority of the current City Council that police don’t need to show up for every fender bender. Mayor de Blasio didn’t sign the bill to remove the NYPD from crash investigations.

He supports Mayor de Blasio’s announcement on Monday to reduce the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on several, crash-prone outer borough roadways. Outside of 15 mile per hour school zones, it’s the lowest the city is allowed to reduce the speed limit without approval from Albany.

As for safer cycling, Adams said he’s committed to building 300 miles of protected bike lanes during his first four years in office. He also supports Transportation Alternatives 25x25 challenge of converting 25% of street space for pedestrian use by 2025. His campaign website has no focus on transportation or traffic safety.

Shaun Donovan

Donovan has a strong stance on this issue of traffic safety and plans to back it up with policy. He supports getting to zero traffic deaths by 2024.

“I refuse to accept New Yorkers dying in the crosswalk as an unavoidable part of city living,” Donovan wrote to Streetsblog. “The biggest contributors to unsafe streets are illegal speeding and unsafe drivers — and that’s where I will prioritize my efforts as mayor.”

Under the transportation issues section of his website he embraces all measures the city has taken so far to reduce dangerous driving, and says he would continue cracking down on reckless driving and improve street designs. “Vision Zero only scratches the surface of what is needed—a comprehensive plan with a series of policy changes that is laser-focused on all New Yorkers’ safety and security and an overhaul of the program is critical,” the site notes.

Kathryn Garcia

Garcia would focus on infrastructure to reduce traffic deaths, rather than changing driving habits. “Achieve Vision Zero by making changes to the built environment to physically prevent crashes, instead of relying only on driver behavior change,” her website notes.

In a statement to Streetsblog she wrote that the pandemic has broken the “stalemate” on street use, and “this is a moment to go bolder, and envision a new streetscape that prioritizes safety, cleanliness, and community over private cars.”

She said she’d create 250 miles of protected bike lanes, and do a better job maintaining existing ones.

She also said she’d regulate Amazon and other companies that rely on fast deliveries, although she didn’t get into specifics.

When it comes to redesigning intersections and streets to make them safer for pedestrians — and doing it faster — her website notes that she’ll be “reinstating a fast capital project program at DOT and ensuring the agency has blanket city planning approvals for bread and butter projects.”

Ray McGuire

McGuire didn’t participate in the March transportation forum, nor has he returned our request for comment. There is no transportation section under the policy section of his campaign website.

Although in the “public safety and justice” section of his website, McGuire notes he would create a “quality of life scorecard for every community district in the five boroughs.” He would use these to prioritize spending and figure out what needs to be fixed first.

In an interview with the Times he didn't mention Vision Zero or street safety in terms of vehicle traffic. “I’d make sure the curbs are lower so they can accommodate the wheelchairs,” he said. And he said he’d want to regulate bike lanes more. “And make certain to enforce whatever it is that when those who are biking, especially those with motorized bikes and bikes all together, that when they come to a stop sign, that they respect and adhere to the stop sign, that they adhere to the biking regulations,” he said.

Dianne Morales

Morales also supports meeting the 2024 Vision Zero deadline for getting to zero traffic deaths. During the March candidates forum, she accurately blamed cars for the majority of traffic crashes and said she would “do everything we can to reduce and disincentivize the use of cars.”

She also backs the Transportation Alternatives 25x25 challenge.

Like many of Morales’ policy positions, she said she’d work with communities to meet Vision Zero goals “in the ways communities need.”

On the public infrastructure investment section of her website she said she’d ask the Department of Transportation to study the last mile that trucks travel in the city and report on the impact on the climate, traffic and pedestrian safety. She’d also ask the DOT to narrow the roadways, expand the sidewalk, and redesign intersections to slow traffic down further.

She also led a bike ride across the Brooklyn Bridge to draw attention to cycling safety.

Scott Stringer

Stringer has been one of the most enduring and vocal supporters of Vision Zero.

During a late-March candidates event called “Safe, Equitable, and Accessible Streets: A Mayoral Forum on the Future of Transportation,” he called de Blasio’s approach “incrementalist” and said the pandemic presented an opportunity to accelerate Vision Zero street redesigns and “truly do something big at this moment in history.”

He told Streetsblog in a statement that Vision Zero would be a top priority and that his “goal will be to maximize bike and public transit ridership and minimize car ridership,” adding, “The best way to get to zero deaths and injuries in New York City is to do everything in our power to reduce our reliance on cars and build a city for people.”

At the mayoral forum, he said he’d view street design from the perspective of an 8-year old and would judge its success on whether the streets are safe for a small child. He also supports Transportation Alternatives’ 25x25 challenge.

As comptroller he created a way to track how much the city was paying in personal injury lawsuits to pedestrians hit by city vehicles, writing: “City agencies have a responsibility to make their fleets as safe as possible, for workers and pedestrians alike, in line with the City’s Vision Zero initiative.” He found that from 2007-2014 the city paid $90 million to crash victims.

Maya Wiley

Wiley said she supports de Blasio’s goal of eliminating traffic fatalities by 2024. She also said she’d work with communities to make changes to street design.

“New Yorkers should not be dying on our streets — period,” she wrote in a statement to Streetsblog. “Vision Zero can’t just be a slogan, it needs to be a policy that we actually strive towards and that starts with acknowledging that New York City is a pedestrian city first and foremost.” She also said the city needs “more protected bike lanes, find more ways to calm traffic, make open-streets permanent and work to get more cars off the roads.”

Under the climate policy section of her website she noted she’d create 300 miles of bike lanes and linked to a proposal by the Regional Plan Association.

Andrew Yang

During the March forum he said he supported Vision Zero, but not the idea that traffic deaths can be entirely eliminated, which is the goal of the initiative. Oslo did it in 2019.

“We need to see each accident as a tragedy and an opportunity,” Yang said.

He supports reducing the speed limit, although he doesn’t say how low. Anything under 25 mile per hour requires approval by the governor and state lawmakers. He’s said he’s in favor of increasing the number of speed traffic cameras, another proposal that requires approval in Albany. He said he would like to eliminate incentives for private companies to make fast deliveries, as well.