Gersh Kuntzman | StreetsBlog NYC | April 27, 2020
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/04/27/breaking-de-blasio-commits-to-100-miles-of-open-streets/
Mayor de Blasio just did the City Council 33 percent better — he’s committed to opening up 100 miles of streets for socially responsible recreation during the COVID-19 crisis.
At his virtual press conference this morning, de Blasio said negotiations with the City Council — which is pushing its own bill for 75 miles of car-free space — have yielded success: 40 miles of open streets this month, with a goal of 100 miles at an unspecified date in the future of the crisis.
“The City Council came forward with a vision for how we could open up more streets and do it in a way that’s responsive to the core concerns of the NYPD over safety and enforcement,” the mayor said. “Over the next month, we will create a minimum of 40 miles of open streets. And as the crisis continues, the goal is to get up to 100 miles. We will focus first on streets in and around our parks.”
The mayor also said the city would look to “expand sidewalks” and create more temporary bike lanes.
“We want to do more,” he said. “So the focus here will be to focus on where the need is greatest. … The first priority is the places hardest hit and then where it will have the most impact.”
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