James Vacca’s Pet Peeve Committee Is Back in Session

Hate to break it to Jimmy Vacca, but the City Council's parking bills aren't making New York City any safer. Image: ##http://twitter.com/TransportNation/status/276393639553425408##@TransportNation##

The City Council transportation committee met today, and if you thought the council was due for a break from dreaming up motorist entitlements, think again: this afternoon’s agenda was all about parking.

On the docket were three bills: one to require DOT to provide notice before changing street signs that affect parking; one to allow residents with vehicles to block their own driveways; and a third to relax rules against double parking near schools and day care centers.

Judging by the Transportation Nation Twitter feed, today’s discussion was full of gems like this one from committee chair James Vacca.

It has been nearly 10 months since the City Council held its last hearing on traffic safety. In the four months since council members introduced the Crash Investigation Reform Act, some 5,000 pedestrians and cyclists have been injured in crashes that were not investigated by police, and at least 48 people have died after being struck by drivers.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Vacca, City Council Agree to Deeper Budget Cuts to Keep Parking Cheap

By Ben Fried |
Speaker Christine Quinn’s office just announced that the City Council has reached a budget deal with the Bloomberg administration, restoring some services slated for cuts and targeting others instead. There’s also one case where the council successfully fought to prevent the city from raising revenue to fund more services. A proposal to increase parking meter […]

What Should James Vacca’s Pet Peeve Committee Tackle Next?

By Brad Aaron |
James Vacca is redefining the role of the City Council Transportation Committee. If you’re concerned about issues such as the gradual collapse of the transit system, the scandalous waste of taxpayer money used to subsidize parking for billion-dollar businesses, or the shocking injustices suffered by victims of traffic violence, there isn’t much on the agenda […]

Vacca Watch: At Budget Hearing, Council Calms Down, Focuses on Potholes

By Noah Kazis |
Call it the case of the missing demagoguery. Yesterday’s City Council transportation budget hearing was less notable for what was said than what wasn’t. Attacks on the city’s proposed parking meter rate increase were largely absent, and the scapegoating of bike lanes and pedestrian plazas that has dominated recent hearings in James Vacca’s committee failed […]

City Council Lets Albany and NYPD Off the Hook for Traffic Violence

By Ben Fried |
City Council Speaker Chris Quinn and Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca finally responded to the deaths of Amar Diarrassouba and Raizel and Nachman Glauber today, after devoting their energy earlier in the week to keeping municipal parking underpriced. So are they calling on Albany to pass speed camera legislation? Nope. Pressuring NYPD to get serious […]