NYC Mayor Eric Adams wanted to build 300 miles of bike lanes. Here's how his campaign promise is holding up.
New York City is falling well short of Mayor Eric Adams' campaign promise to build hundreds of miles of new bike lanes, as well as bike lane benchmarks laid out in city law, a new report shows.
CBS News New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas found the city was falling short of those goals back in August and checked on the latest progress.
Legislation commits NYC to building 250 miles of protected bike lanes by 2027
Back when he was a City Council member, current city Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez co-sponsored legislation committing the city to build 250 miles of protected bike lanes by 2027 – the kind with a barrier from car traffic.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams also sponsored that legislation.
"They're actually not hitting the benchmarks, which is the law," Williams said.
For 2024, that benchmark was 50 miles, but a new progress report shows only 29 miles were built last year.
"They've been underperforming for years, so it's not like it's a one-year thing. It's multiple years of not actually achieving what the law is meant to achieve, and quite frankly, it's making New Yorkers less safe," Williams said.
Back in 2021, Mayor Eric Adams made a campaign promise to build even more than the legislation calls for, saying he'd create 300 miles in his first four years.
"From what we've seen and understand of this administration, it may be more that the agency itself is not as prioritized by the mayor, it's not as resourced by the mayor," Williams said.
NYC transportation department touts "all-time high" bike lane installations
Last year, when CBS News New York asked the mayor about his 300-mile plan, he said it was still a desire.
But for this story, the mayor's office deferred to the transportation department, which would not agree to an interview.
The department has described the 87.5 miles of protected bike lanes installed in the last three years as "an all-time high" and "a 10% increase from the final three years of the previous administration."
The city also says it's upgraded 20 miles of bike lanes over the last three years.
The nonprofit Transportation Alternatives, which tracks bike lanes across the city, is calling on the Adams administration to meet the goals laid out in the law.
The city's new progress report puts this year's goal once again at 50 miles.
In order for Adams to keep his campaign promise, he'd have to build more than 210 miles of protected bike lanes by the end of the year.
