Under New Bike Safety Bill, NYC Cyclists Could Enter Some Intersections Before Cars

DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A group of Brooklyn electeds on the New York City Council are pushing a bill to let cyclists enter hundreds of designated intersections throughout NYC before their vehicular counterparts, with the aim of increasing cyclist safety.

The legislation is known as the "LPI bill" — with LPI standing for "leading pedestrian intervals."

At LPI intersections, pedestrians can start crossing a street several seconds before cars can begin moving, improving the safety of those on foot. This proposed law would let cyclists do the same — although it would also require cyclists to yield to pedestrians.

The bill, which was heard before the City Council's transportation committee Tuesday, has the backing of Council Member Carlos Menchaca, who represents Red Hook and Sunset Park; Brad Lander, whose district includes Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, Gowanus, Cobble Hill, Windsor Terrace and Kensington; Stephen Levin, whose district includes Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Greenpoint; and Antonio Reynoso, whose district includes East Williamsburg and Bushwick.

“As a bicyclist myself, I know that the small head start over traffic at LPI intersections would give me an added sense of security, knowing that surrounding vehicles will spot me," Menchaca said in a statement.

The legislation is widely supported by bike advocacy groups like Transportation Alternatives. That organization's president, Paul Steely White, called it "a common-sense way to prevent the conflicts with turning drivers that kill and injure far too many New Yorkers."

In testimony given Tuesday, Department of Transportation (DOT) official Sean Quinn, in charge of the city's bike and pedestrian programs, said there are currently around 1,500 designated LPIs throughout the city (aka, all those purple dots that show up when you select the "Street Design" tab of the city's Vision Zero map).

Although the DOT hasn't taken an official stance on the bill, Quinn said he's all for the idea.

Between 2006 and 2014, he said, "turning crashes represented 23 percent of bicyclist fatalities in intersections."

"The majority of these cases were right hooks, in which the cyclist was traveling adjacent to the vehicle prior to the turn and the vehicle turned in front of the bicycle," Quinn said. "Using our signal system to protect these cyclists is a smart way to prevent this type of crash."

A press release issued by Menchaca's office said that "LPIs have been shown to reduce pedestrian-vehicle collisions as much as 60% at treated intersections." (Gene Aronowitz, Menchaca's legislative director, said that figure comes from the National Association of City Transportation Officials.)

Through Sept. 30 of this year, 17 cyclists were killed on New York City streets, according to official city data. Another 3,516 were injured. In comparison, a total of 14 cyclists were killed in all of 2015, and another 4,434 injured.

Top image courtesy of Eden, Janine and Jim/Flickr