#De Blasio’s pandemic transportation council says he’s ignored them for months

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Mayor Bill de Blasio
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Mayor Bill de Blasio is ignoring his own COVID-19 pandemic transportation advisory council, panel members charged Tuesday.

“We spent collectively hundreds of hours on smart plans that have just gone to sit somewhere in a box at City Hall,” said Tri-State Transportation Campaign director Nick Sifuentes, one of 12 members of the 24-person council who signed onto an open letter accusing the mayor of inaction.

The “Surface Transportation Advisory Council” was formed May 8 — one of a handful of panels organized “to provide guidance to shape the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Since then, it has met 18 times, Sifuentes said. Department of Transportation officials were on hand for the meetings and took copious notes, while the committee advanced a slew of recommendations.

But it never heard from City Hall again, members say.

“In June, our council advanced a series of draft recommendations in support of a surface transportation plan, which we believe should be reviewed and advanced without delay,” the panel members wrote in their letter.

“To date, our council has received neither feedback nor next steps from City Hall on the status of our recommendations.”

In addition to Sifuentes, the letter was signed by former city Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz, mayoral MTA board appointee David Jones and representatives from AAA, Transportation Alternatives and the Regional Plan Association.

The panel’s many recommendations attempt to stave off a traffic armageddon by finding ways to prioritize bikes, buses and for-hire vehicles on city streets.

The critics acknowledged some progress on bus lanes, busways and bike lanes, but said the work so far had fallen far short of expectations.

All but one of the four bus lanes announced in June have been delayed or canceled. New bike lanes, announced in May, have only begun installation in recent weeks.

“The administration was really able to only focus on one thing at a time. In a moment like this, you need a much more all hands on deck approach.” Sifuentes said.

A lack of progress in painting bus lanes before the winter could slow bus-dependent essential workers in traffic, members warn.

“The commitment for more busway and bus lanes was a good one, and we need to see it through,” said Straphangers Campaign director Jaqi Cohen, another panel member.

“We have the slowest buses in the country and with more cars on the road, commutes are only going to get slower and less reliable.”

City Hall spokesman Mitch Schwartz defended de Blasio’s pandemic transportation policies, including his open streets program,

“In the COVID-19 period alone, New York City has enacted a nation-leading Open Streets program, expanded Vision Zero street safety measures, added bike lanes, and broken ground on a record-setting bus lane project,” Schwartz said.

“We want advocates and thought leaders to continue pushing for progress, and we’ll continue working with them along the way. But we have heard New Yorkers’ calls for sweeping changes to the urban landscape, and — by any standard — we’ve delivered.”