ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND EQUITY ASSESSMENT

To reduce blocked bike lane incidents in NYC, I have proposed one-click 311 blocked bike lane reporting in the Citi Bike app in order to expand the available data on problematic hotspots.

DOT was assessed on its level of stability and interdependence in people interactions.

DOT maintains a caring culture built on connections and trust in seniority, which is balanced by valuing contributions and perspectives of new employees [1]. With a large local talent pool and a focus on learning and growth, DOT maintains competency and excellence across its organization and leadership [2]. Most importantly, frequent and precise communication is practiced across all levels.

“If DOT prioritizes it, it will get done.” [1]. Prioritization is set through 311 monitoring and direct requests from upper management triggered through other channels such as social media. As such, prioritization may not match the real-world urgency. Additionally, implementation difficulty must be considered along with complaint frequency. When faced with infeasible issues, DOT investigates and provides rationale. Responsive communication to the public is key, even if it’s simply an acknowledgement.

In the early 2010s, the city faced a crisis of rising pedestrian deaths. No longer waiting for unanimous stakeholder approval, DOT employed inexpensive paint and bollards to quickly boost protection for cyclists and pedestrians [3]. The momentum of successes accelerated change. However, traditional barriers still remain for expensive and controversial projects, such as the 14th and 34th Street busways [2]. Projects must be inexpensive and uncontroversial to be quickly adopted through DOT.

DOT has a separate bicycle unit and bike-share unit, along with a lead Bicycle Safety Analyst, all of whom have a direct, shared interest in cycling safety [2]. Beyond this, the Mayor’s Office of Operations convenes the Vision Zero Task Force involving multiple departments including DOT, NYPD, DOHMH, TLC, DCAS, and BIC [4]. The task force reviews project updates, policy changes, and best practices.

DOT will oversee a new shared e-scooter pilot in the East Bronx starting Spring 2021 [2, 5], providing an additional opportunity for blocked bike lane data collection through the micromobility provider.

The new crash investigation and analysis unit within DOT (previously under NYPD) will investigate causes of individual collisions and recommend changes [2, 6], for which blocked bike lane incident frequencies in the vicinity would be of interest to investigators.

Population segments who have been historically disenfranchised from civic participation will engage less in data collection for civic purposes [7]. A history of mistrust in governmental institutions is one of many barriers. Reducing the technical barrier to data collection is not harmful, as long as it is recognized that higher quantities of data alone will not correct underrepresentation in data collected.

This proposal will never eliminate such misrepresentation, but it can mitigate its severity by purposefully increasing collection in underrepresented populations through Citi Bike’s equity-focused initiatives. Such initiatives are lacking in private navigation app providers such as Google Maps and Strava.

Digitally collected data must be coupled with directly collected data, to both better complete the picture of the objective reality, and to validate automated algorithms against misrepresentation and bias. Direct community engagement and surveying can help in the following two ways:

1. Communities with hotspots can help validate actual perceived issues on the ground

2. Communities without hotspots can help determine if violations are underreported

The equitable distribution of enforcement on both a citywide and community level is of major concern. Underenforcement can manifest across both known hotspots and underreported hotspots. In the latter, overlooked communities of underrepresented population segments would be put at greater risk.

Every driver deterred from endangering a cyclist saves lives, but overenforcement bias distributes penalties in a manner not representative of the population of drivers in violation as a whole. There are known racial disparities of police stops across the U.S. [8]. Demographic and socioeconomic data must be employed constantly to audit for bias introduced by both enforcement locations and officers.

The population of drivers ticketed should reflect the population of actual drivers blocking bike lanes. This may not reflect the population of the local community or even the drivers in the local community. Drivers performing taxi and delivery services, may be more likely to block a bike lane, but also may have different socioeconomic and demographic characteristics than the overall population of drivers.

DOT has expressed concern with a proposed bill to financially incentivize the reporting of blocked bike lanes, as this increases the risk for citizen-on-citizen confrontations and assaults [9]. Reporting at the individual level also runs the risk of bias introduced by citizens [10]. Focusing on aggregate level data for analysis rather than individual reporting could reduce the risks with reporting on other citizens.

Open data is the key to create a self-improving system. The public can scrutinize data to search for bias and through the democratic processes available, determine if the benefits of reducing cyclist injuries and fatalities outweigh the risks associated with increased data activation.

Key training for DOT and NYPD geospatial analysis and enforcement teams would need to reinforce the notion that data reflect what has been collected, not the objective reality. Examples of bias found throughout the analysis process can be catalogued and used to train new members.

DOT must provide multiple ways for communities to engage beyond apps. The presence of DOT and Citi Bike at cycling-focused events such as the TD Five Boro Bike Tour and persistent community programs can both spread awareness and collect survey data, addressed below:

To address the equity challenges in this proposal, several existing partnerships were examined.

DOT and Lyft share a close partnership on bike-share expansion in an equitable manner through the Citi Bike Equity Advisory Board and the Community Grants Program, LyftUp & Bike Share For Youth, Partner Keys Program, and Prescribe-A-Bike community programs [11, 12]. Citi Bike’s engagement to provide communities more equitable transit access can include addressing blocked bike lanes.

Lyft partners with Healthfirst, New York’s largest not-for-profit health insurer, on the Reduced Fare Bike Share Program [13]. Through the application process and outreach, educating lower-income New Yorkers on violation reporting could increase their underrepresentation in street condition 311 data [14].

DOT and Lyft also partner with DOHMH and NYCHA on the NYC Better Bike Share Partnership which initiates a number of focus groups and surveys towards promoting equitable bike-share access [15]. These platforms can help validate the proper representation of the population in blocked bike lane data.

Easier app-based data collection alone will not provide the full picture of blocked bike lanes in NYC. It must include purposeful engagement with underserved communities. DOT’s existing partnerships with Lyft and others on equity-focused initiatives provide the vessel for newly focused engagement directly with these communities to complement the expansion of digitally collected data within this proposal.

[1] Interview with DOT College Aide. April 5, 2021

[2] Interview with DOT Chief Technology Officer. March 26, 2021.

[3] Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution. 2016.