Christopher Schuyler of NYLPI testifies on disability access and data

Good afternoon, council members, chairs.

Thank you for the opportunity to give testimony today.

My name is Christopher Schuyler.

I'm a managing attorney in the Disability Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

People with disabilities must be top of mind as the city develops its safety policies around e-bikes.

Additionally, the city must include people with disabilities in its e-bike policies, including by providing meaningful access to adaptive e-bikes, which exists in a litany

of different styles, which can be usable by people with disabilities unable to use conventional e-bikes, and by designing city infrastructure, including street and bike lane improvements, to account for adaptive bikes.

I have three main points I'd like to address.

Community voice must be at the table.

So people with disabilities, disability rights organizations, mayor's office for people with disabilities must be consulted as the city develops its e-bike safety policy and infrastructure improvements.

Addressing people with disabilities'needs in the design phase and before policies are implemented will keep more New Yorkers with disabilities safe, will ensure that the city is more accessible.

for all and will avoid costly retrofits down the line.

Data collection.

The city must specifically collect data capturing people with disabilities who are involved in e-bike related collisions.

Collecting such data will help identify the extent to which people with disabilities are disproportionately involved in such collisions and will help inform safety policies.

To the extent that data is not collected, the city should explore ways of doing so.

And lastly, make e-bikes and infrastructure accessible by making sure that adaptive bikes are part of any city policies about e-bikes as well as in infrastructure

design.

Thank you.

Thank you.