Council hearing spotlights split between DOT and advocates over universal daylighting

A New York City Council committee hearing on parking infrastructure and street safety on March 1 focused on intro 11‑38, a bill that would prohibit standing or parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk at intersections and require daylighting barriers at a minimum of 1,000 intersections per year.

Why it matters: proponents said daylighting improves pedestrian visibility and saves lives; the Department of Transportation (DOT) told the committee its analysis shows hardened daylighting can reduce injuries but that indiscriminate, unhardened daylighting is not a one‑size‑fits‑all fix and could have negative safety effects if applied universally without engineering judgement.

Councilmember Juan opened with a personal appeal and a list of recent intersection fatalities, saying, “You have blood on your hands,” and urging aggressive rollout of hardened barriers. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and other council members also pressed for faster implementation and for daylighting that prioritizes equity.

DOT Deputy Commissioner Eric Beaton testified that Local Law 66 of 2023 required DOT to study daylighting and that the department’s analysis of intersections from 2019–2021 found mixed results. “The study found…