Daylighting Isn't Anti-Driver - It's Pro-Common Sense - Streetsblog New York City

"Let me get one thing out of the way: I love my car. My wife drives. Most of my neighbors drive. I represent the South Shore of Staten Island, where the family sedan is as essential as the Sunday sauce. So if you hear that a Staten Island Republican is backing a street-safety bill, you might assume I've gone rogue."

"But here's the truth: Intro 1138 - the daylighting bill - isn't anti-driver. It's pro-visibility, pro-safety, and frankly, pro-common sense. Every driver knows that nervous moment when you inch into an intersection, craning your neck around a parked SUV that's blocking your view. You pray the oncoming car sees you first. We've all been there - and too often, that blind spot leads to a crash."

"Clearing 20 feet of space near a crosswalk means everyone, pedestrian or motorist, gets a fighting chance to see what's coming. That's it. No ideology. No secret war on cars. Just sightlines. And it's hardly radical. Forty-four states already require daylighting. So does the rest of New York State. So does New Jersey - which means plenty of Staten Islanders who moved across the Outerbridge are already living with it, and they still manage to find parking."

Intro 1138, the daylighting bill, requires clearing 20 feet of space near crosswalks to improve sightlines and reduce crashes. The bill prioritizes visibility and safety without banning driving. Blind spots created by parked vehicles increase collision risk by hiding oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Forty-four states, New York State, and New Jersey already require daylighting, and drivers in those places still find parking. State law bans parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk, though the city previously carved out an exemption. The bill aims to restore safety-aligned enforcement and address concerns about perceived parking loss.

Read at Streetsblog