The realization of a protected bike lane on NYC’s Amsterdam Avenue was an epic struggle years in the making. And the good guys finally won! The reason? In NYC, Community Boards have an advisory role in transportation changes to the street and NYC DOT is required to go thru them. Although “advisory”, the boards essentially have long had veto power over safety improvements, and if you have members on the body who aren’t educated in transportation matters or favor parking spaces and traffic speeds, it can easily mean the defeat of Vision Zero efforts for things like protected bike lanes. Compounding the effect is that board members are appointed for life!
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