Testimony of Noah Budnick, Projects Director, Transportation Alternatives

Hello, my name is Noah Budnick. I am Projects Director for Transportation Alternatives, the advocates for bicyclists, pedestrians and sensible transportation.

In an average year in New York City motor vehicles kill ten pedestrians on the sidewalk and injure at least 600. In the same average year bicycles kill no pedestrians and injure fewer than 200 pedestrians. In the same average year, motor vehicles kill 200 pedestrians and injure 11,000 in the street.

Yet in the last five months this Council has had zero hearings on street safety, zero hearings on cars on sidewalks and two hearings on bicycles on sidewalks. This is wrong, and Council must do better.

The public deserves representatives who will address problems logically - not based on sentiment or frustration.

The City Council has been concerned about sidewalk cycling for a number years. We too are tired of seeing bicycles threatening and endangering pedestrians on sidewalks. As pedestrian and cycling advocates, nothing is worse for us than having a pedestrian's image of a cyclist as one who is threatening to run them off the sidewalk. Adult cyclists should not be on the sidewalk. Period.

Before the Council revises the sidewalk cycling laws for a third time in less than ten years, Transportation Alternatives urges the Transportation Committee to undertake a thorough examination of current sidewalk cycling conditions. In order to logically analyze and sensibly deter sidewalk cycling the following information needs to be obtained from the Police Department or other appropriate agencies:

• How many pedestrians have been injured or killed by sidewalk cyclists since the existing law was enacted in 1996? Citywide? In each borough? In problem neighborhoods, like the Upper East Side?
• How many summonses for sidewalk cycling has the Police Department issued since the existing law was enacted in 1996? Citywide? In each borough? In problem neighborhoods, like the Upper East Side?
• How many of those summonses were appealed?
• How many were repealed? How many upheld?
• Are restaurants and delis that employ bicycle delivery people held accountable for their employees' sidewalk cycling under NYC Administrative Code 10-157 - which mandates that businesses must submit an annual log of bicycle delivery people and delivery trips to the Police?
• How many summonses have been issued for non-compliance with NYC Administrative Code 10-157 since 1996?
• Are businesses penalized for not educating their employees about New York City's bicycle rules and regulations?
• Does the City have an educational campaign for businesses to teach their employees about safe cycling?

Today's amendment, Intro 116-A, is the third version of New York City's sidewalk cycling law. No matter how many times this law, NYC Administrative Code 19-176, is revised, it is not going to begin to curb the blight of sidewalk cyclists many neighborhoods must live with.

Transportation Alternatives opposes the severe punishments included in Intro 116-A. Intro 116-A proposes that bicycle riding on the sidewalk "in a manner that endangers any other person or property" is a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by a fine from $200-600 and up to 20 days in jail. Thus, any person convicted acquires a criminal record.

Given the concerns over excessive sentencing and the awareness of police harassment of young men of color that this Council has shown, the City Council should be more considerate of this excessive punishment's implications. A misdemeanor is a parole violation, which will put the parolee back in jail.

In addition, Intro 116-A's excessive fines and jail time inflict undue burdens on immigrants, many of whom work as bicycle delivery people. And a misdemeanor charge, and subsequent criminal record, makes it harder to receive legal living status in the U.S., and a criminal record can make deportation easier.

Neither excessive fines nor criminal punishment will deter sidewalk cycling. Heightened enforcement in problem areas and more stern laws that hold employers responsible for this quality of life violation are necessary steps to make sidewalks safer for pedestrians.

A higher level of enforcement should be combined with an educational campaign targeted at business owners and intended to instruct their commercial cyclists about the City's laws. Attached to this testimony is a handout from Transportation Alternatives' "Give Respect / Get Respect" program that educates cyclists about yielding to pedestrians, not riding on sidewalks, and not riding against traffic.

Transportation Alternatives has long supported efforts to stop sidewalk cycling and to preserve the sidewalk for pedestrians. Proper enforcement is key. If every beat officer in New York City actively discouraged sidewalk cyclists, the problem would diminish.

Thank you.