Council Member Justin Sanchez questions DOT on the Hub pedestrianization

Councilmember Justin Sanchez, followed by Hanif.

So the hub is the second largest, most visited place in the state of New York after Times Square on a daily basis.

And additionally, a study of collision data found that the Bronx and its residents are more likely to be in traffic crashes than New Yorkers that live in any other borough, with the hub being a particular hotspot.

Would DOT consider more of a time squarification of the hub that is pedestrianization of the area?

And can the agency commit to conducting a neighborhood study to address pedestrian mobility, busway viability, and ultimately address street safety?

Thank you, Councilmember.

You know, I know that in many ways the hub is sort of like the downtown, right, for the Bronx.

And it has that.

And it is a hub, literally, right, where multiple modes come together.

So, you know, I guess one thing I'll mention, I guess, on the safety side, something we're really proud of is we looked at the distribution of some of the safety gains we've seen in the last few years.

And actually, the Bronx and the Queens have seen the greatest safety gains under our Vision Zero efforts in the last few years.

But there's more to do.

The hub's a busy place.

So definitely happy to sit down and brainstorm with you and your team around what that kind of study could look like.

Oh, you asked also sort of about the public space aspect.

So I know Roberto Clemente Plaza was a big investment at the time and was a big change.

to the hub.

But in terms of further public space enhancements, we're definitely open to ideas.

I think how it can really best support the community, support businesses, support commuters, it would be really exciting.

I would really love to get this on the books sooner rather than later because we know how long these studies take to get done.

And I hate studies.

I just like action.

Studies just delay us from getting to work.

So really just would love to get that done.