The administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani is seeking to grant the Department of Transportation (DOT) expanded authority to approve new bike and bus lanes, a move that proponents say will accelerate street safety projects by 33% but has drawn sharp criticism from opponents concerned about diminished public input and safety reviews.
The Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE) is scheduled to vote on five proposed amendments to the City Charter, which, if approved, would be presented to voters on the November election ballot. One of these proposals, referred to as "Question 3," is designed to eliminate requirements for inter-agency consultation. Critics, including representatives from the fire department, disabled residents, and neighborhood groups, have utilized these consultations to delay or halt recent bike lane installations.
Under the proposed amendment, the DOT would no longer be mandated to present projects to community boards before commencing construction. The transportation commissioner would be empowered to declare an "immediate need," allowing construction to begin without prior consultation. Mayor Mamdani's office stated that this measure would "Speed up street safety projects, including bike lanes, by at least 33%."
New York City currently has over 1,316 miles of cycling lanes, with more than 140 miles of protected lanes. In fiscal year 2025, the DOT installed 27.9 miles of new protected bike lanes and projected exceeding that in 2026.
Councilwoman Joann Ariola, a Republican from Queens, has characterized the proposed amendment as "an extremely dangerous precedent." She expressed concerns that the mayor is using a charter commission to bypass laws he disagrees with, stating, "This mayor is truly showing the totalitarian colors that so many of us warned about." Ariola, who sponsored a 2025 law requiring DOT consultation with local firehouses on safety matters before major street redesigns, believes "Question 3" would effectively nullify that requirement. "Today it is Local Law 6. Tomorrow, it might be any other law that the administration finds inconvenient," she stated.
Opponents have previously cited Ariola's law when challenging the safety of bike lanes, arguing they could impede emergency vehicle access. Janet Schroeder, director of the NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, voiced concerns that the amendment would increase risks for pedestrians, particularly from e-vehicles. "This is a pedestrian city first. Bike lanes do not protect pedestrians from an e-vehicle speeding, running lights or leaving the scene of a crash," Schroeder said, describing the proposal as an "authoritarian-like street take over."
A spokesperson for the mayor's office defended the amendment as "common sense," asserting that it would "help the City deliver safer streets, more reliable bus service, and a better-connected bike-lane network more quickly, while ensuring safety and accessibility remain central to every street redesign."
If approved by commissioners and certified to the Board of Elections by early August, the amendment would appear on the November 3 ballot. The mayor's budget allocated approximately $23 million toward a new bike network development program through 2031 and over $11 million for 45 new cycling-focused staff at DOT for the upcoming year. An additional $272 million is designated for buses, new bus lanes, and infrastructure through 2033, including 70 new bus-focused staff at DOT.
According to DOT data, less than 10% of New Yorkers regularly cycle. Schroeder also raised questions about the accuracy of DOT's crash data, noting that many e-vehicle incidents involving pedestrians result in immediate hospital visits without police reports being filed. She urged the DOT to consider comprehensive crash statistics, especially concerning e-vehicles, stating, "There are thousands of serious e-vehicle crashes, with serious injury in New York City every year and growing exponentially." An April study from NYU Langone found that crashes involving "micromobility" devices, such as e-scooters, increased significantly among trauma patients at Bellevue Hospital, growing from under 10% of such cases in 2018 to over half by 2023 and now constituting nearly 7% of all trauma admissions.