The NYS Legislature and Assembly unanimously passed the “Complete Streets” Bill on Monday. This topic was the subject of a MICA meeting featuring guest speaker Will Stoner, from AARP, several months ago.
From Vision Long Island’s Smart Talk:
After years of advocacy and months of intense pressure on our state officials, the New York State Complete Streets bill has passed!
Complete Streets is a policy that designs and builds roads for all users, including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and passengers, motorists, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities. The New York State bill amends the state highway law and applies to the planning, design, construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of roadways that receive federal or state funding, mandating that Complete Street design guidelines are at least considered. Design features include sidewalks, bicycle lanes, lane striping, share the road signage, crosswalks, bus pull outs, curb cuts, traffic calming and more.
This bill could not have moved forward without significant local support and advocacy.
Special thanks go out to members of the Long Island Lobby Coalition who have been calling and writing constantly over the last month, including Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Mayer Horn of Greenman-Pedersen, Tom Talbot of Middle Island Civic Association, Ralph Fasano of Concern for Independent Living, Ernie Mattace of Suffolk County Community College, Carol Meschkow of Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, Will Ferris of AARP, Peter Fleischer of Empire State Future, and others!
Vision Long Island would also like to thank the rest of the Long Island Lobby Coalition, who helped enormously in making this bill a reality:
Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, Long Island Business Council, Long Island Federation of Labor, Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Long Island Software and Technology Network, Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, Coram Civic Association, Dowling College, Elmont Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Huntington Station, Glen Cove Business Improvement District, Gordon Heights Civic Association, Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce, Hicksville Chamber of Commerce, Laible and Fitzsimmons Inc., Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization, Long Island Housing Partnership, Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition, Longwood Alliance, Mastic Beach Property Owners Association, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, Neighborhood Network, New York League of Conservation Voters, Plainview/Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce, Renaissance Downtowns, Roel Resources, Save the Forge River, Selden Civic Association, South Yaphank Civic Association, them TV, US Green Building Council—Long Island Chapter, Verizon, Wading River Civic Association, Youth of Ethical Societies Long Island Chapter