AARP Asks Governor to Ensure All Road Users Are Accommodated in Transportation Agenda

Statement by AARP NYS Director Beth Finkel:

“AARP urges Governor Cuomo to ensure his robust transportation investment proposal includes design standards that safely and adequately accommodate all users of roads, including pedestrians.

“The recently approved FAST ( Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act includes a first-ever provision in federal law urging states to adopt such standards. And the Complete Streets law the Governor signed in 2011 requires state and local agencies to consider the convenience and mobility of all users when developing transportation projects that receive state and federal funding.

“As New York’s population ages – and more and more New Yorkers no longer drive – the safety of pedestrians is critical. Lives are at stake; pedestrians grew as a percentage of overall traffic fatalities nationally from 2003 to 2012, when over 3,000 pedestrians were killed in New York, according to Smart Growth America. Pedestrians accounted for almost a quarter of the state’s fatal traffic accidents, and New Yorkers 65 and older accounted for 1,000 of those pedestrian deaths - far more than their share of the population.”

Contact: Erik Kriss, ekriss@aarp.org

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AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of more than 37 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services.  A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin;  www.aarp.org ; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Español, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity of AARP that is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at  www.aarp.org .

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