Governor Cuomo announced $75.6 million for 33 transportation projects across the state this week. The funding comes from the federal Highways Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and projects were selected on a competitive basis. Over 60 percent of the projects announced will include some bicycle and pedestrian safety components, and all 13 projects selected in Long Island and New York City are focused on pedestrian and bicycling safety. Some projects that stand out:

• $2 million to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety along 4.3 miles of Ocean Parkway, one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous roads, by installing new traffic signals and pedestrian countdown signals, installing pedestrian refuge islands, prohibiting left turns at some intersections, upgrading curb ramps, signage and pavement markings.
• $3.2 million to make operational and pedestrian safety improvements on one of the region’s most dangerous roads, Route 110 in the Village of Amityville and the towns of Babylon and Huntington in Suffolk County. It includes widening existing crosswalks and adding 25 ADA-compliant new crosswalks, along with pedestrian countdown timers, new traffic signals and pedestrian refuges.
• $2 million to improve pedestrian crossings at 235 locations in the Hudson Valley, installing pedestrian countdown timers at traffic signals that have crosswalks and/or pedestrian crossing phases.

This announcement represents a big win for New Yorkers for Active Transportation, a statewide coalition that has advocated for a “fair share for safety” over the last couple of years. While the Federal Transportation Law, MAP-21, slashed dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects by 30 percent (a $12 million reduction for New York), it did almost double the apportionment of HSIP funding—a potentially key source of funding for pedestrian and cycling safety infrastructure.

HSIP funds, however, are not guaranteed to flow to these types of projects. To be eligible for HSIP funding, projects need to address priorities included in the NYS Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Pedestrian safety was clearly identified as a priority in the plan given that 25 percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes in New York involved pedestrians, over twice the national average (11 percent).

Governor Cuomo deserves credit for choosing to emphasize pedestrian and bicycle safety in the distribution of these particular funds, but the battle for dedicated funding must continue. At the moment, no state dollars are dedicated to walking and biking projects in New York, unlike many other states across the nation. Without dedicated, predictable and sufficient dollars, life-saving pedestrian and bicycle improvements will continue to be delayed in communities throughout New York.