Faster Commutes

Ben rides a bike because sometimes it is the fastest way to get places in Manhattan, especially when traffic or public transit delays bring cabs and public transit to a grinding halt. Ben knows that everyone is safer when they have their own dedicated space on the street and that's why he has expanded sidewalks, bike lanes, safe crossings for bridges, and day lighted intersections. These infrastructure investments coupled with educating riders and commercial cyclists along with enforcement have made it safer to be a pedestrian or cyclist on the Upper East Side than it was before Ben got elected. As the next Borough President Ben will bring his "Bike Safety" program borough-wide to make it safer for everyone.

Thousands of New Yorkers bike, walk, and run over the Queensboro Bridge each day. The bridge has nine lanes for car traffic, yet only a narrow path along the northern edge of the bridge is open for cyclists and pedestrians to share, causing conflicts, congestion, and in the age of COVID, dangerous crowding. As you may have seen in the New York Times, that's why Ben joined rallies, protests, and even marched across the Queensboro Bridge to win a dedicated bike lane connecting our two boroughs. As the next Borough President, Ben will "bridge boroughs by bike" ensuring every bridges have a dedicated space for pedestrians and a separate protected lane for bikes to cross between the boroughs.

We all know that block that always has traffic day or night and we all know why, whether its double parked trucks or a heavy merge, there is a reason and we can fix it. As a free and open source software developer and the next Borough President Ben will use a data driven approach to fix the physical conditions that create traffic. Ben will partner with Waze to use traffic data in coordination with the Department of Transportation, Community Boards and block associations to change parking regulations and traffic flow so that one parking spot, double parked truck, or poorly planned merge doesn’t make thousands of people late.

We’ve all had a train or bus shows up full, particularly when we were already late. As Council Member Ben won ferry service for two locations in his district. Manhattan is an island and ferry service for Roosevelt Island has been essential for adding transit options off and on the Island. However, the Westside and uptown communities of color were left out and we must expand the program. With current subsidies going to rides that are majority for tourism instead of work, as Borough President, Ben will advocate for an inverted peak fee structure, charging less during peak rush hour, and more on weekends and off hours to fund an expansion of the ferry to the Westside and northern Manhattan.