There was a special panel discussion at Thursday night’s Transportation and Public Safety Committee meeting entitled, “Sharing the Road, Sharing the Responsibility.” The panel included; Hayes Lord from the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT); Elena Santogade from Transportation Alternatives; Captain Mark DiPaolo form the 84th Precinct; and Deputy Inspector Anthony Tasso from the 88th Precinct. The meeting was setup to address illegal and unsafe behavior by pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Hayes Lord shared some of the innovative designs undertaken under the DOT Bicycle Network Expansion project. They include bicycle lanes and paths, and intersection markings. He said that the DOT is planning to continue this program at a rate of 50 miles annually from 2010 to 2030.

The panel agreed that the existing safety problems are created by a few commuters who frequently break the law. Ms. Santogade said Transportation Alternatives call this the 80/20 rule; where 80% of the people obey street rules and regulations, and 20% are habitual violators. She feels that educating the 80% will create a culture of respect which might indirectly influence the 20%. Captain Dipaolo said that most of the safety issues are related to law enforcement in addition to community problems. He feels that we must build up tolerance and corporation in order to effectively co-exist.

Regarding the aggressive riding of delivery cyclists, Captain Dipaolo said the 84th Precinct performed an outreach program last fall to ensure restaurant owners were complying with safety rules. Mr. Lord also said that a law was enacted in 2007 requiring delivery cyclist to have visible markings on their bicycles/clothing indentifying the restaurant they work.  Mr. Lord said that the city will start using other agencies (e.g. Department of Health, consumer Affairs) to ensure compliance.

Deputy Inspector Tasso encouraged residents to reach out to their local precinct if they notice streets and intersections where they frequently see violations.