Mayor Adams proposes new department to crack down on e-bike dangers
NEW YORK - Nearly every New Yorker has or knows of someone nearly getting run over by an e-bike.
Mayor Adams wants to create a city agency to crack down on e-bike chaos.
In his State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams said he wanted to create a new department, known as the Department of Sustainable Delivery, focused purely on regulating everything related to commercial delivery services, especially regarding e-bikes, scooters, and other e-vehicles.
Mayor Adams announced at his State of the City address Wednesday he has a plan. "We cannot have mopeds speeding down our sidewalks and forcing people to jump out of the way."
He wants to create an oversight agency to regulate e-bikes, scooters, and cargo bikes that deliver food, groceries, and packages.
Thousands of them are zooming around the city and many are not following the rules of the road. The agency would be called the Department of Sustainable Delivery.
Mayor Adams "Traffic safety is public safety."
Many believe food delivery Apps are a big part of the problem, pushing delivery workers to move as fast as possible.
Danny Harris is the Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. The group has been fighting for safe streets for more than fifty years.
"These Apps are putting pressure on their delivery workers to break the law, and they're doing so by pushing faster times."
Doordash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats all responding they follow the law and will continue to work with the city to find ways to make the streets safer.
The Mayor's proposed new agency would also help to ensure businesses use certified lithium-ion batteries on e-bikes and scooters instead of the cheap batteries that can burst into flames.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh welcomes the idea. "Being able to know where they're buying them, making sure they're licensed. That will put pressure on the companies to make sure the delivery workers they have have a safe device."
City Council will have to sign off on the Mayor's proposed new agency before it would become a reality.