CM Brooks-Powers on traffic study delays and federal standards

Thank you, Chair, and good morning, Commissioner, and to your whole team.

I have four questions, so I'm going to just throw them out, and then hopefully you'll be able to respond.

So the administration has made significant investments in traffic operations, and my first question targets traffic studies and federal design standards.

I wanted to know...

There are significant communities that are all going through this, but I wanted to know, despite these significant investments made by the administration, many communities continue to experience year-long waits for traffic studies, signal timing reviews,

stop sign requests, and pedestrian safety improvements.

I wanted to know how much of...

How much the increase in funding is dedicated specifically to traffic engineering staff, study capacity, and what is the current average timeline from community requests to final agency determination for those studies.

Also, given that New York City contributes significant local funding towards its transportation network,

I wanted to know why is the city continuing to rely so heavily on standards, federal standards specifically, that make communities believe that they've...

Communities believe they fail to reflect the realities of dense urban neighborhoods.

I wanted to know how is DOT exploring alternatives to methodologies that better account for pedestrian

and activity, senior population, schools, and houses of worship, and transit usage.

That's still for traffic studies.

And my last question is in regards to contractor accountability, utility costs, and cost recovery.

I wanted to know, so my constituents frequently raise questions and concerns regarding utility contractor street restorations that fail shortly after work is completed,

leaving residents with deteriorated roadways despite recent construction activity.

So how many summonses or enforcement actions did DOT issue in fiscal year 26 against utilities and contractors for defective street restorations?

How much money did the city actually recover through those penalties, corrective work requirements and reimbursements?

And is DOT seeking additional resources in the budget to strengthen this enforcement function?

Thank you.

I know that was a lot.