"The proposed funding would begin to dig the city Department of Transportation out of Adams's failure to meet the benchmarks established under the Streets Master Plan law. A 2025 report from the Independent Budget Office accused the former mayor of denying DOT the funds that agency officials said they needed to build the 150 new miles of bus lanes and 250 miles of new bike lanes over the five years of the plan."
"One advocate expressed relief that the $1-billion, 6,000-person DOT would get a "promising down payment" for critical bus and bike lane projects. "We're looking forward to seeing a fully funded and staffed DOT that's able to use this funding to meet the ambitions of the Streets Plan," Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas said in a statement. "This is a breath of fresh air after an administration that was antagonistic towards bus and bike projects and froze critical safety projects and funding.""
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's preliminary budget includes an additional $5 million per year for bus- and bike-lane projects over the next four years. The funding aims to fill a budget gap identified by fiscal watchdogs that obstructed expansion of street redesigns under former Mayor Eric Adams. The proposed allocation seeks to help the Department of Transportation meet benchmarks from the Streets Master Plan law after Adams consistently failed to meet those requirements. A 2025 Independent Budget Office report accused the former mayor of denying DOT funds needed to build 150 miles of bus lanes and 250 miles of bike lanes. Advocates called the allotment a promising down payment and urged a fully funded, staffed DOT to meet the plan's ambitions.
Read at Streetsblog
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