Speeding cars! Jaywalking! Cyclist… behavior. As part of Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero plan, which aims to cut traffic deaths to zero, the city just launched an interactive map where you can report any number of complaints about the hazards of street life.
The map went up less than 24 hours ago, but it already has hundreds (and hundreds) of complaints. Here’s how it works: You can choose from ten different complaints, ranging from red light running to a crosswalk that doesn’t give you enough time to cross. You fill out a little info about the incident, add your name, and voila—see your complaint added to a city-wide database.
How will this info actually be used? “Your knowledge will be used to create a traffic safety plan for each borough that will describe how to make each borough’s streets safer for everyone, whether walking, biking or driving,” says the city on its new site.
In reality, even if not every complaint is addressed, it’s going to help people feel like they were heard, or at least that they’re on record lodging a complaint. Now, if someone would make a map where we could complain about texting-and-walking. [NYC DOT]
