Erica Sopha of Central Park Conservancy testifies on park safety

Hi, thank you for having me.

My name is Erica Sofa, and I'm the Vice President for Park Use and Stewardship at the Central Park Conservancy.

We are the park's sole caretakers, responsible for all 843 acres of the world's most famous urban park.

Central Park sees roughly 42 million visits a year, more than Disney World.

Increasingly, what we hear from visitors is that people feel anxious in the park because of speeding bikes, e-bikes, and a fast-growing fleet of e-mobility devices moving with too much velocity and little regard for anyone else.

There have been too many avoidable incidents and injuries, and we are grateful for the Council's commitment to do something about it.

Let me outline some goals that the Conservancy would support.

First, zero tolerance for illegal devices that don't belong in a park at all.

Heavy-duty e-scooters, e-unicycles, and unregistered mopeds routinely exceed 30 miles an hour and are already illegal citywide.

We need to remove these dangerous machines from our streets and parks.

The dynamometers flagged in Intro 986 could help officers do that.

Second, real routine enforcement against speeding cyclists.

Newer detection technology can help identify a speeding rider and alert an officer stationed farther down the route, a speed trap model adapted for bikes.

We also believe the NYPD bike unit should be substantially increased, putting more officers on wheels.

to model good riding and intervene in real time.

Third, better bike infrastructure on the streets around the park, including protected bike lanes on the transverses, which DOT already supports, so through traffic has somewhere to go besides our interior drives and pedestrian paths.

This would reduce pressure in a park designed for respite and peacefulness.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next.