By Ydanis Rodriguez
Today, January 2, 2018, the Administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council announced a plan to bring permanent perimeter barriers, or “safety bollards”, to high-profile sites and to create a process to simplify their design and construction. Approximately 1,500 new permanent safety bollards will be installed in our City streets to address security threats, promote pedestrian flow, and maintain safe and open public spaces.
This announcement came following a legislation I introduced and passed by the New York City Council in December 2017. This piece of legislation will require the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks & Recreation to report annually on the number of safety bollards installed in the city and the number of locations at which such bollards have been installed, as well as the number of authorizations issued to third parties for bollard installation at locations under the jurisdiction of either the Department of Transportation or the Department of Parks & Recreation.
We are lucky to live in a culturally rich city of over 8.6 million people that tens of millions of tourists from all over the world choose to visit every year, but with that comes great responsibility to keep them all safe. We have seen instances in which bollards have effectively achieved this, and prevented greater tragedies and loss of life. The expansive use of bollards is a proactive step in protecting New Yorkers and tourists on our streets and sidewalks.
I will continue working together with my colleagues in government, especially my friend Council Member Corey Johnson, who after tomorrow will be our speaker to continuing making our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
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