New York Mayor Bill de Blasio gathered Police Commissioner William Bratton and Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg to make the potentially historic policy announcement: the Vision Zero plan, which treats all traffic deaths as preventable.
Matt Flegenheimer provides the details and the context of the potentially historic policy announcement: the country's most populous city, defined in part by its zooming cabs, popular public transit, and, yes, jaywalking, is setting a goal to make the streets safe for all users. “Our lives are literally in each other’s hands...Our children’s lives are in each other’s hands,” said Mayor de Blasio at the press conference announcing the Vision Zero plan on Tuesday, February 19, 2014.
Although the Vision Zero plan was a campaign promise by Mayor de Blasio, this was the first time the mayor announced the details of the plan. Some of the policy proposals, as reported by Flegenheimer:
- "Perhaps the most significant changes involve the New York Police Department, whose officers will increase precinct-level enforcement of speeding."
- Lowered citywide speed limit to 25 miles per hour from 30 (requires state approval).
- The installation of red-light and speed-tracking cameras (requires state approval).
- "The Taxi and Limousine Commission will form an 'enforcement squad,' with a focus on dangerous cabdrivers, and begin a pilot program to install 'black box' data recorders in the city’s taxis and limousines."
- The city’s Transportation Department will overhaul 50 intersections and corridors each year.
Perhaps the most telling soundbite from the article was this statement from Mayor de Blasio about the focus of the policy: “The central problem is related to our vehicles.”
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