Issue Position: Andrew's Platform on Street Safety

Issue Position

As your State Senator, I've made fighting for pedestrian safety a top priority. With your support, we finally passed the School Zone Speed Camera Expansion -- re-authorizing and strengthening a program that is proven to save lives.

To listen to the community about what needs to be done and organize around neighborhood-level solutions, I started a Street Safety Task Force and a Youth Street Safety Task Force.

Yet we still have so much more to do. Brooklyn continues to be the borough with the most traffic fatalities, with 77 deaths across our borough in 2019. That's 77 families torn apart by something that is totally preventable. Brooklyn is first in many things, but traffic fatalities should not be one of them.

Parents, seniors and pedestrians of all ages should not have to live in fear of crossing the street in their own neighborhood.

In 2014, the Mayor introduced Vision Zero, a plan to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities across the City. Part of that plan involved targeting our most dangerous intersections and corridors for redesign so that cars, pedestrians, and cyclists can all travel safely and efficiently. Unfortunately, much of the work that was slated has not been done. Transportation Alternatives estimates that if road redesign continues at its current speed, it will take 50 years before all dangerous roads in New York City are redesigned. As Senator, I have fought for traffic improvements at dangerous intersections and corridors, but improvements have happened slowly or not at all. This is unacceptable. We simply cannot wait while people's lives are on the line.

Rather than reacting every time an injury or fatality occurs, we need to be proactive.

Before taking office, I was a member of the Pedestrian Safety subcommittee of Community Board 10 and an active member of Bay Ridge Advocates for Keeping Everyone Safe (B.R.A.K.E.S.), where I fought to increase the number of speed cameras in our community.

My work is informed by the time I have spent listening to the community and fighting for you. As your Senator, I have taken a number of actions to make our streets safer, and I won't stop fighting to make change. My vision to improve street safety includes:

Passing the School Zone Speed Camera Expansion, because speed cameras save lives. After my predecessor stalled the program, we were finally able to pass this life-saving program to protect our community's families. The early data shows that speed cameras work, and I'm so proud we were finally able to pass this legislation.

Preventing dangerous drivers from getting behind the wheel. My bill with Assemblyman Robert Carroll to prevent those who have lost consciousness behind the wheel from getting back on the road became law last year, and I have also introduced a "Three Strikes and You're Out" bill to suspend the licenses of those with a history of dangerous road violations.

Holding reckless drivers accountable by passing my bill to make it easier to prosecute those who kill or seriously injure a fellow New Yorker. For far too long, there's been a culture of impunity that makes it easier for drivers to get off without so much as a slap on the wrist, even when they injure or even kill someone.

Improving driver education by passing my bills to make pedestrian and cyclist safety part of our drivers' ed courses and to require an exam with every license renewal. By taking these simple steps we can ensure that drivers stay educated -- and safe -- throughout their lives behind the wheel.

Making cars safer by passing my bill to mandate that they be rated for pedestrian safety, not just the safety of those in the car.

Protecting pedestrians by passing my bill to label every intersection a crosswalk.

Accelerating road redesign so that pedestrians and bike riders have safe spaces to walk and ride. By forcefully advocating DOT to speed up the Vision Zero plan, I will continue to fight to install protective features at our most high-risk corridors and intersections.

Protecting our most vulnerable citizens by expediting pedestrian ramp construction. Raised curbs and broken sidewalk ramps put seniors and people with mobility issues at risk, and they limit the number of accessible pathways. It's been 30 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed. I'll keep fighting to make sure New York honors it.

Increasing traffic enforcement so that dangerous drivers are held accountable. Unpredictable driving behavior such as speeding, running red lights, pulling illegal U-turns, and double parking puts pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers at risk.

People often ask me why I care so much about street safety.

The answer is that I have been to one too many vigils where I've seen the profound pain of family members from having a loved one ripped from them suddenly. I've spoken to the father of a child who was standing on the sidewalk waiting for a bus when a car jumped the curb and killed him. I've stood side by side with the family of a young man who was senselessly killed by a hit-and-run driver. We need to change the culture of reckless driving in our city and make our streets safe once and for all.

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