Council’s Vision Zero hearing Tuesday weighs bike lanes, speed limiters and low-traffic streets

The Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure holds an oversight hearing on the city's street safety strategy on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 9:30 a.m. (meeting page). It is the committee's first look at Vision Zero since the Department of Transportation released new numbers and a new ten-year plan this month.

How safe your street is depends on choices made here: where protected bike lanes go, how speeding is enforced, and whether through traffic gets routed off residential blocks.

Where the numbers stand

In an Oct. 2 release, DOT said the first nine months of 2026 had the second-fewest traffic deaths since the city began keeping records in 1910. Pedestrian deaths fell to 67, down 15 percent from the same point last year, and deaths of people in motor vehicles fell to a record low of 21. DOT also said deaths rose among people riding e-bikes and stand-up scooters. The same release introduced "Vision Zero Reimagined," a ten-year street safety plan. DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said traffic deaths "are preventable tragedies."

What's on the agenda

Our records list the oversight topic, "Vision Zero: Evaluating NYC's Street Safety Strategy," plus six pieces of legislation:

• Int. 613, from Rita C. Joseph with 11 sponsors, on the installation of protected bicycle lanes. Waiting since Feb. 12.
• Int. 1070, from committee chair Shaun Abreu, introduced in conjunction with the Manhattan borough president with seven Council sponsors in all, to create a low-traffic neighborhood pilot. Introduced Sept. 24.
• Int. 1153, from Kayla Santosuosso with 15 sponsors, for a demonstration program for intelligent speed assistance devices, which limit how fast a vehicle can go. Introduced Thursday.
• Int. 46, from Joann Ariola with seven sponsors, for "child with autism" warning plaques on streets. Waiting since Jan. 29.
• Int. 113, from Selvena N. Brooks-Powers with the Brooklyn borough president, requiring a study of dangerous driving. Waiting since Jan. 29.
• Res. 687, from Abreu and Lincoln Restler, urging Albany to pass the Drag Racing and Speeding Enforcement Act. Introduced Thursday.

What our records add

The bike lane gap. At the committee's March 17 budget hearing, Abreu said DOT had built roughly 18 miles of protected bike lanes in 2025, short of the 50 miles a year the city's Streets Plan law requires, and about 20 miles of protected bus lanes against a required 30 (video at 2:35:30). Asked whether DOT would meet the targets this year, a DOT official said the agency was "going to do our best" but would not commit (2:38:00).

Low-traffic streets. At the same hearing, asked on behalf of Council Member Shekar Krishnan about low-traffic neighborhoods in other cities, DOT called it "a really interesting idea" that it was "taking a look at" (4:05:00). Abreu's pilot bill was introduced six months later.

The backlog. The transportation committee has the longest list of pending legislation of any Council committee in our data: 159 matters, 119 of them waiting more than 180 days.

Related. E-bike rules are moving on a separate track. We covered the Sept. 30 hearing on e-bike safety bills.

What's next

Tuesday's hearing will put DOT's new plan on the record. Any committee vote on these bills would come at a later meeting. Video and a searchable transcript will be posted on the meeting page afterward.