Int. No. 199-A
By Council Members Brewer, Comrie, Foster, James, Mark-Viverito, Palma, Recchia Jr., Sanders Jr., Seabrook, Vacca, Vann, Mendez, Gerson, Nelson, Koppell, Reyna, Lappin, Arroyo, Martinez, Gonzalez, Monserrate, Yassky, Mealy, Garodnick, Jackson, Liu, White Jr., Sears, Felder and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to modifying department of transportation performance measures in an effort to help reduce traffic congestion and promote high performance modes citywide.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The New York City Department of Transportation ("DOT") currently measures surface transportation performance through an array of output measures such as the number of traffic lights repaired and the number of potholes filled. While such indicators provide valuable information about the state of New York City's roads and other infrastructure, such indicators do not help to monitor and evaluate many of the broader transportation issues facing New York City. These issues include reducing congestion and promoting modes of surface transportation that generate less pollution and consume less street space per traveler than private automobiles. These "high performance" modes include buses, ferries, bicycling and walking.
The Council finds that requiring DOT to monitor performance indicators will help DOT to reduce automobile traffic and encourage more sustainable means of transportation vital to combating congestion, pollution and improving the City's long term economic health. Requiring DOT to report on these indicators for a major arterial roadway before and after traffic engineering initiatives have been completed will allow DOT and the public to assess the effectiveness of DOT's work.
§2. Subchapter three of chapter one of title nineteen of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding new section 19-180 to read as follows:
§19-180 Performance indicators. a. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
1. "Bicycle screen lines" shall mean locations where bicycles are ridden, including but not limited to greenways, roadways and bridge crossings.
2."Borough screen lines" shall mean locations where roadways cross between boroughs.
3. "City screen lines" shall mean locations where roadways enter the city.
4. "High performance modes" shall mean a form of surface transportation other than automobiles, including buses, ferries, bicycling and walking, that more efficiently uses roadways and waterways to move people.
5. "Key corridors" shall mean major arterial roadways where changes in street operations, such as lane reapportionments, lane reconfigurations, significant adjustments in traffic and parking regulations and changes in traffic signal timing have been completed, are being implemented or are being studied.
b. The department shall develop and monitor performance indicators that will assist in assessing and reducing the amount of traffic on transportation infrastructure and promote high performance modes citywide and within each borough. Such indicators shall include:
1. vehicle volume data at city screen lines, borough screen lines and river crossings.
2. vehicle volume data and other data where appropriate, including but not limited to vehicle speed, bus speed and ridership, pedestrian, bicycle and crash data, on key corridors.
3. vehicle speed data to be determined utilizing available global positioning systems data.
4. bicycle volume data based on bicycle screen lines.
5. ferry volume data based upon information on ridership from city-operated and private ferry services.
c. The performance indicators developed pursuant to this section shall be measured and reported citywide and by borough by the department and submitted in a written report to the council and the mayor by November 1st of each following calendar year. Where such report provides information for a key corridor, such report shall provide performance indicators before and after construction or project implementation Such report shall include information for each indicator from the prior calendar year and shall describe departmental assessments about the projects where appropriate.
d. All reports required to be submitted pursuant to subdivision c of this section shall be made available on the department's official website within seven days of each such submission.
§3. This local law shall take effect immediately, except that the reporting of information required pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of subdivision b of section 19-180 within bill section two shall take effect on January 1, 2009.
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LS #141
5.6.08 - 5:30 pm