Delay By Design: 'Major Transportation' Law Still Gums Up Street Safety Projects - Streetsblog New York City

"An obscure 16-year-old city law that provided a Queens judge the pretext to kill a protected bike lane earlier this month continues fueling opposition to city street safety redesigns that have become well established, say advocates and former agency officials, who are calling for reform or outright repeal of the Bloomberg-era statute. As a result of a 2009 Council law that defined bike and bus lanes as "major transportation projects" if they exceed three blocks or 1,000 feet, the Department of Transportation must spend months letting laymen on community boards and in the City Council review the work - and subsequent laws added extensive consultations with four other agencies."

"Queens Supreme Court Judge Cheree Buggs last week cited the rule to order DOT rip out a half-finished bike path on 31st Street in Astoria, arguing that agency officials had not properly certified their communications with their Fire Department counterparts, overriding the agency's well-established authority to manage the Big Apple's streetscape as it sees fit. The law was "absolutely created to gum up the works, and it's still succeeding in 2025," said Jon Orcutt, who was a director policy at DOT at the time and now leads advocacy with Bike New York. "That lawsuit would not have prevailed without that legislatio"

A 2009 city Council law classified bike and bus lanes longer than three blocks or 1,000 feet as "major transportation projects" requiring extended public review and interagency consultations. A Queens Supreme Court judge used that requirement to order the removal of a half-finished protected bike lane on 31st Street in Astoria, citing a procedural certification issue with Fire Department communications. The requirement forces the Department of Transportation to spend months obtaining community board and City Council review and consult four other agencies. Advocates and former DOT officials call for reform or repeal, arguing the law impedes street safety redesigns and agency authority.

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