COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION CHAIR YDANIS RODRIGUEZ KICKS OFF CAR FREE NYC 2017
New York, NY -- Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez will announced the kickoff of Car Free NYC 2017, with a countdown to a Car Free Day on Earth Day, today at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering's Pfizer Auditorium at 5 Metrotech Center.
Following a highly successful Car Free Day on Earth Day in 2016, where several streets in NYC were closed to car traffic and featured activities for city residents, this kickoff will mark the first event in the road to Car Free Day 2017, happening Earth Day, April 22nd.
The kickoff event featured presentations from Cubic Transportation Systems, MasterCard and Microsoft, which helped to measure the results of 2016's successful Car Free Day event; Perkins Eastman, who have developed a plan to create a Car Free Broadway; and Transportation Alternatives, discussing their proposal for a "people way" on 14th Street and Grand Street in Brooklyn.
A panel discussion, exploring the larger policy goals to lower emissions from the transportation sector, investment in public transportation and rethinking the use of space in NYC was held with panelists from Regional Plan Association, TWU Local 100 & former TLC Chair Matt Daus.
Below is the full text of Council Member Rodriguez's Speech to a crowded auditorium:
Good Morning and thank you all for joining me today!
I first want to thank New York University, the Tandon School of Engineering, and their staff, for hosting us today. Thank you, Diane for that great introduction.
It's been quite a year since our last Car Free Day. It's been quite a past couple weeks as well. If nothing else, these weeks have been a reminder of why must continue to work so hard to craft a future that will be brighter; to fight for what we believe in and to make the changes we know will benefit our younger generations; both here in New York City and around the world. I know from looking out you, the many committed faces in this room, that we are in good company and we will all take part in driving that change.
We started the efforts toward a Car Free Day last year with a simple idea: New Yorkers can move around our city so much more efficiently when they leave their cars at home. Through travelling in other ways, it's efficient for our personal health, for the health of our planet and often even faster.
We knew there were other benefits too. Outside of this building, we can see firsthand the benefits of a car free area. The plaza outside these doors creates a beautiful contrast to the streets packed with honking cars and gridlock traffic. We've seen the positive effects of reclaiming open space for people in countless places around our city. It isn't just Times Square: I know in my community, Plaza Las Americas, which was once a car-filled 175th street, has since become a local hub for merchants and music.
Last year, On April 22nd 2016, we came together as a city to build a new movement. We were determined to put New York City on the map as a place where the global Car-Free ideology could find a home. Dedicated advocates, driven academics and companies who care for our planet and our city, came together to heed the call. I am glad to see so many of you here again today, including the many new faces we'll be counting on this year.
Car Free Day, as you'll hear soon, was a complete success. Several streets in both lower and upper Manhattan were closed for hours during the day, allowing New Yorkers to get off the sidewalks and experience the joy of open space. In a few short months, and with the help of all of you, we pulled this off for the first time and got the ball rolling on a new movement for sustainability and smarter transportation. In fact, several months after our Car Free Day, the Department of Transportation opened up major sections of the financial district to pedestrians for the first time in city history, in what I can only hope is a sign of things to come. But while the results were positive last year, I believe more can be done.
The fact is: we remain behind many of our global sister cities when it comes to an ambitious, forward-thinking car-free culture. For example, this past year, Paris opened over 400 miles of their streets to pedestrians and cyclists on a Sunday in September, which lowered pollution by a third and cut noise levels in half. In December, during their holiday season, Madrid also closed a portion of its downtown to cars for 9 whole days and saw business activity increase in the affected area by 15%. And in Bogota, the car free movement has been going strong for years with the Ciclovia opening up major corridors every Sunday to cyclists and pedestrians.
As New Yorkers, we always want to be first and we always want to be the best. While we continue to have a successful summer streets program, and shared streets was greatly welcomed, in the coming years--as this movement grows--we should be thinking big, with an ambition to take the global lead in this arena.
And we must do so with a purpose. Ultimately, despite what our new federal administration may believe or choose to ignore, we know that climate change will continue to bring disruption unless we make drastic changes in our daily lives. Cities must help drive the culture change. Thanks to their density and ability to sustain public transit, cities are the perfect places to begin looking away from private cars to get around. Cities like New York make it easier not to own a car and by default, encourage residents to get around in other ways.
While it is often disparaged, our public transit system was a major key to New York's success during the 20th century and continues to be today. There is a reason the system is a trillion-dollar asset: it is a lifeline to everything from jobs to education to healthcare to culture and more. At the same time, our bike-share program continues to grow--hopefully even more in the future--and cycling will only get safer we invest major resources in creating more protected bike-lanes and safer streets. In addition, the City is set to begin its Citywide Ferry Service, it is exploring the possibility of a Brooklyn-to-Queens Streetcar, and is increasing the amount of Select Bus Service routes, especially in eastern Queens and southern Brooklyn. The time to begin thinking about reducing car usage and rethinking our street space could not be better in New York City.
We know that while more people move into the city each day, New York cannot create new land. There is literally no space for any more cars. Millennials have picked up on this, with far fewer looking to cars today as the best way to get around. We must follow their lead by raising awareness, by expanding our outreach and by understanding the true facts about alternative transportation, not the "alternative facts" about the social benefits of car ownership.
It's basic economics: While parking, car payments and insurance can drive costs up to the thousands each year, an annual Citi Bike membership costs just $155 dollars, and MetroCards, while rising this year, are still the better value. Letting go of the car means more money in the pockets of families across the city, not to mention that you don't have to crawl out of bed on Alternate Side Parking days.
Understanding that not all New Yorkers have great access to transit, this initiative is also about better assessing our public spending decisions and how important investments in transit truly are. It's about continuing to create the conditions for families living in Queens or South Brooklyn to feel like giving up the family a car can mean freedom instead of isolation. It's about improving and expanding the system today to prevent transit deserts from persisting into tomorrow.
The goals and policies that encompass Car Free Day are so important. But as you know, this event is entirely voluntary and all about encouraging our 1.4 million drivers to commit to something new. I ask that we each do our part for at least one day this year, Earth Day, and leave our cars at home. That we hold our friends and families accountable to not drive. That we raise our voices in support of public or active transportation. This is where you can help: whether it be through offering discounts or product promotions that make it easier to leave a car at home; or allowing employees to telecommute; or through incentivizing car-pool or cycling policies. Even trying out a method of transportation that you've never used before is a step in the right direction.
Many different groups and organizations have already signed up to spread the word and get involved. I hope you join us and help further our goal of creating a cleaner, safer city for all.
One day, I hope New York can be the flagship city for this initiative globally, but we'll start with here in the United States. I hope we can count on you to help make this modest proposal a reality. Through your outreach, partnerships, relationships, resources and more, we can continue to put New York on the map as a city committed to combating climate change and building a more sustainable future. I am ready to take this ambitious step and I hope you will join me. Thank you.
