Ligia Guallpa, Workers Justice Project, supports protected bike lanes

Yeah, okay.

Thank you so much, Majority Leader and Chair, for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Ligia Walpin.

I'm the Executive Director of the Workers'Justice Project.

I'm really excited to be here in support of Intro 013, which will require the Department of Transportation to increase the pace of protected bike lanes.

And also to highlight the importance of infrastructure for app delivery workers.

For delivery workers, the streets are their workplace.

Yet our streets lack the safe infrastructure workers need to do their job safely and return home safely.

And I think today we heard about how cars are also the main cause of a lot of fatalities.

And that's actually have been one of the biggest.

issues that delivery workers have experienced.

In our recent report with CUNY, driven by algorithms, 53% of delivery workers reported work-related injuries, and most of those injuries were related to car crashes.

Or traffic crimes.

Most of, so workers face pressure also from apps to deliver faster while navigating dangerous streets.

More enforcement and more policing, we strongly believe, will not solve the infrastructure crisis that our city is facing.

We need safer streets, stronger protections, but also an infrastructure that meets the reality of working New Yorkers, particularly delivery workers.

So we urge the council to increase the pace, not only the installation of bike lanes, but also bike parking, secure bike parking,

safe e-bike charging, and other essential street infrastructures, prioritizing neighborhoods where the need is greater.

Particularly, for example, Levin Street on the Lower East Side, where there has been numerous reports where there is a great need of secure bike parking.

So, and also we want to express our continuation of continuing to work with you to deliver solutions to make our streets safer.

And also, I think the team will love to invite you to do a bike ride with a deliverista on a date.

So we'd love to send that invitation.

I would love that.

I would love that.

And I agree with you that the city.

Is falling very much

behind when it comes to the installation of bike lane infrastructure.

And the failure to do that also creates harmful conditions for everyone, right?

All right, next.

Thank you.