City council members on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved Speaker Corey Johnson’s $1.7 billion blueprint for reducing the number of cars on New York City streets.
Council members voted 35 to 10 against with two abstentions in favor of Johnson’s ambitious benchmarks for the next mayoral administration, which includes installing hundreds of miles of new protected bike lanes and taking space from cars to make more pedestrian areas.
Council Member Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) said he voted against the plan because he doesn’t want to see vehicle lanes in his borough eliminated.
“I am concerned this will force a reduction of driving lanes in the outer boroughs where more are desperately needed,” Borelli said.
“I believe we should be making the lives of all our commuters easier; government should not exist to inconvenience us.”
The plan calls on the city to build 250 miles of protected bike lanes within five years, give signal priority for public transit at nearly 5,000 intersections, and create one million new square feet of space for pedestrians within two years.
But the plan’s 10-figure goals are currently unfunded, and the bill doesn’t stipulate any penalties if the city does not meet them.
Execution of the proposal’s two five-year master plans won’t begin until 2021, when Mayor Bill de Blasio is on his way out.