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City Council Survey (District 39): John Heyer
Democratic Party http://www.JohnHeyer.org Candidate Submitted Biography: I bring 12 years of government experience to this race, and my family - Brooklyn residents for five generations - provides the backbone of expertise in the most important subject of this election: our neighborhoods. As a new homeowner with my first child on the way, I share the hopes and dreams of so many in the district. I believe in a bright future for our neighborhoods, and I will fight to make it happen. I entered politics at the age of 14, when I began working for Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman. Over the next eight years, Joan imparted to me her passion for service, legislative acumen, and commitment to constituent services. For the last four years I have served as Special Assistant to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, where I've had the chance to listen to the concerns of a vast diversity of Brooklyn residents. I know the issues. I know the people. I know our neighborhoods. I know how to get government to work for us from day one. And I am committed to being open, honest, and accessible to everyone in the district. My wife Maria, a public school teacher in the district, and I are expecting our first child in October. We're also first-time homeowners. We plan to keep our family in the neighborhood for another five generations. I know we need to maintain the historic character of our neighborhoods, preserve our quality of life through good times and bad, and set our teachers up for success. I will go to work to keep the district livable and affordable for working people and middle-class families, just like my own. And I'll fight to protect the small businesses that give our neighborhoods their character. City Council Survey (District 39): John HeyerQuestion 1: What is the most important transportation need in your district? As a Council Member, how would you work to address this need?Further implimentation of traffic calming such as recently occured at 4th Avenue and Union Street. Installation of traffic signals at dangerous intersections, and further implimentation of bicycle lanes with an emphasis on dedicated lanes that protect cyclists and pedestrians. Question 2: The intersection of Ft. Hamilton Pkwy and McDonald Ave is one of the most dangerous in your district, where 3 people died and 15 people were injured between 1995-2005 (NYS DOT). As a City Council member, what traffic enforcement policies or physical changes to the intersection infrastructure would you support to make this intersection safer for everyone who uses it (pedestrians, cyclists and drivers)?To my knowledge, a follow-up study has never been done by CB7. I would urge that a study be undertaken immediately, and advocate for DOT to act on its recommendations. Question 3: According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles' most currently available data, in 2007 speeding was a contributing factor in over 3,000 motor vehicle crashes in New York City. Furthermore, the same data showed that the top human contributing factor to the 264 fatal crashes in New York City during 2007 was also speeding. Given these figures, what measures, if any, do you support to redress this problem? Finally, do you believe that New York City’s current speed limits are safe?As stated in the answer to question one, I support implimentation of traffic calming consistant with studies. I believe that greater enforcement of traffic rules including speeding violations is essential to a safe and civilized transportation system. By and large current speed limits are appropriate, the problem is that few people adher to them. Attention to traffic light timing is also essential to safely managing traffic flow. Question 4: The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website reports: "In New York City, obesity is epidemic: more than half of adult New Yorkers are overweight (34%) or obese (22%). Data show that obesity begins early in life: nearly half of all elementary school children and Head Start children are not a healthy weight. In New York City, 1 in 5 kindergarten students, and 1 in 4 Head Start children, is obese." Do you believe that increasing walking and biking in New York City would improve public health? If yes, how would you work to increase walking and biking in your district?I suspect that obesity is primarily a dietary/nutritional problem and that it it is also related to proverty. However, physical activity including walking, running, swimming and bicycling are positive factors for good health. Question 5: Road pricing, including such measures as non-stop tolling, fees based on vehicle miles travelled or entry into a highly congested zone, has been the source of much discussion in New York City and other major metropolitan areas. London famously uses a congestion charge to fund its transit system, Oregon recently piloted a program to replace the gas tax with a fee for miles driven and Seattle recently studied how road pricing could be introduced on a regional basis. Seattle's study, “Traffic Choices Study" (http://psrc.org/projects/trafficchoices/index.htm), found that introducing new tolls on major corridors during peak traffic hours influenced drivers’ behavior and projected that a region-wide road pricing scheme could significantly reduce vehicular traffic congestion. Do you think that introducing a road pricing strategy would change New Yorkers’ travel choices? Do you think that this would be an effective way for the City to reduce backups on high-traffic roadways like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Gowanus Expressway or the Long Island Expressway? Finally, do you believe there are additional benefits in the surrounding neighborhoods which could be realized from the reduction of vehicular congestion on these routes?Since the congestion exists mainly in Manhattan the solutions ought to be Manhattan based. I support increasing the costs of metered parking and garage taxes in congested areas. I support a congestion surcharge for taxi fares for riders in and out of the Manhattan business districts at peak times. I support metering for loading and unloading trucks in the Manhattan business districts from 7am to 11am and 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm. I support the use of revenues raised to be dedicated primarily to the MTA and partially to alternative transportation such as the creation of true bicycle lanes and bicycle parking areas. At this time, I think road pricing in the outer boroughs would merely divert vehicular traffic from the expressways to our local streets, causing a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. Question 6: Do you believe that reducing residential parking requirements as set forth within NYC zoning regulations would affect neighborhood traffic congestion, and if so, in what way? I do not believe that reducing parking requirements would affect neighborhoods in a positive way. I do not think it would reduce auto ownership and therefore it would increase the number of cars cruising through the neighborhoods searching for scarce spaces. Question 7: The NYC Department of Transportation's Public Plaza Program, Pedestrian Street Program and Summer Streets events are intended to diversify the use of public space and provide more places for New Yorkers to recreate and socialize. Do you support the temporary or permanent repurposing of street space for pedestrians and cyclists? Question 8: The City recently released plans for Bus Rapid Transit and expressed interest in bringing a bike share program to New York City. Do you think these new projects would enhance the city's transportation network? Please explain.Yes. BRT is particularly intriguing given the success of TransMilenio in Bogota and Mobilien in Paris. These cities enforce their bus lanes with physical separation and as a result they triple the average speed of NYC buses, reduce congestion and emissions, and do so by making a fraction of the investment required for, say, light rail.
Submitted by johnheyer on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:11.
Submitted by johnheyer on Thu, 07/30/2009 - 12:15.
Submitted by johnheyer on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:11.
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