A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
Winners
Burlington City High School students and Principal Jim Flynn — Antwan’s Law — a piece of legislation named for Burlington City High School student Antwan Timbers, Jr. who was killed by a driver on Route 130 last year — took a critical step forward last week thanks in part to testimony from the 25 Saves Lives campaign, which was launched by Timbers’ classmates, Principal Flynn and State Senator Diane Allen.
U.S. Senators Cory Booker (NJ), Maria Cantwell (WA), Brian Schatz (HI) and Tom Udall (NM) — Transportation Secretary-Designee Elaine Chao was thrown mostly softballs at her confirmation hearing this week, but some of the Democrats on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee pressed her on issues like the Gateway Program, transit funding, pedestrian safety and climate change.
The tri-state region — Although we spend a lot of time encouraging our public transportation providers to do better, a report released this week confirmed that the New York metropolitan region is the best in the nation at connecting people to jobs via transit.
Losers
Mayor Bill de Blasio — Despite the fact that there’s a new subway station right near his home, Mayor de Blasio will continue to ride in a taxpayer-funded SUV to commute between his home, his gym and his office. While the mayor’s schedule may not always make it practical to use the subway, we would have expected a bit more enthusiasm about using the new option when possible.
NYC cyclists and pedestrians — Driver and passenger deaths on New York City streets hit an all-time low in last year, but pedestrian and cyclists deaths were higher in 2016 than in the previous year.
NYPD — Drivers killed three people during a four-hour period in Brooklyn on Monday, and the NYPD hasn’t filed any charges — not even against a truck driver who drove off after running over an 85-year-old man in broad daylight.
Florida — The seven most dangerous (and nine of the 11 most dangerous) metro areas for pedestrians are all in the Sunshine State, according to Smart Growth America’s Pedestrian Danger Index.
