It happens to everyone.
You're coming out of the grocery store or the bodega, balancing the bags or the kids or the dog (or all three), when all of a sudden an e-bike swerves up onto the sidewalk and nearly knocks you over.
Talk to any New Yorker – including parents who are pushing strollers, seniors with mobility issues, and people with disabilities – and you’ll hear real anxiety about e-bikes and mopeds. New Yorkers should not have to feel on edge every time they leave their apartment.
That’s why I was proud to announce my office's new policy report, “Street Safety in the Era of Micromobility” yesterday. |
Comptroller Brad Lander holds a press conference to announce new micro mobility report.
Our new report lays out a strategic plan to create more predictability on city streets and ensure that micro mobility vehicles – that’s mopeds, e-bikes, and e-scooters – operate safely and legally.
You can read all of our recommendations here, and watch our full announcement here, but some of the key parts of our plan include: - Cut off the supply of unsafe, illegal devices in New York City and beyond. Preventing consumers from purchasing and using e-bikes and mopeds illegally requires upstream interventions and collaboration between local, state, and federal government agencies.
-
Create a City-administered licensing program that regulates app-based delivery companies and holds them accountable for the labor and street safety impacts of their business model. Improving street safety outcomes requires holding app-based delivery companies accountable.
-
Invest in high-quality infrastructure and street design solutions to support the safe integration of micro mobility into New York City streets. Thoughtfully implemented infrastructure and transportation design can simultaneously improve safety while addressing quality of life issues around e-bikes, mopeds, and micro mobility.
I was grateful to announce the findings of the report yesterday in Astor Place – alongside a broad and beautiful coalition, including advocates for people with disabilities, advocates for older adults, the Workers Justice Project, and Deliveristas. |
Advocates, Deliveristas, and organizers joined Comptroller Lander at the press conference.
As you can read in our report, micro-mobility vehicles account for a relatively small share of pedestrian deaths and injuries – but those numbers have grown significantly since 2020. The report takes a data driven look at the problem and then uses that information to advocate for practical, strategic, upstream solutions.
The Adams Administration, unfortunately, has taken an extremely downstream approach to this problem. Seizing some illegal vehicles may make the Mayor feel good when he rides a tractor over them. But it doesn’t make anyone safer.
We believe there’s a better way forward. The comprehensive approach outlined in our report offers serious steps forward for managing micro mobility. Such an approach balances the climate and convenience advantages these devices offer with the safety and livability problems they raise – for their riders and everyone else on the road.
We can make sure that all New Yorkers feel safe and comfortable regardless of what mode of transportation they use.
Thanks, Brad |
