Janette Sadik-Khan, former NYC Transportation Commissioner: Freedom is about being able to go anywhere without having to use a car
This article is also available here in Spanish.

Janette Sadik-Khan, former NYC Transportation Commissioner: Freedom is about being able to go anywhere without having to use a car

My list

Janette Sadik-Khan served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation from 2007 to 2013, an office that manages the maintenance policies and actions for streets, bridges and avenues used by over eight million people. Now dedicated to advising other cities on mobility issues, she shared her thoughts during the Smart City Expo World Congress 2019 about the importance of public transport when it comes to creating safer and more integrating streets.

As the former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, you managed, what could be, the most ambitious expansion of policies endorsing the use of bicycles. What lessons did you learn from this experience?

One of the most important things we did when we started working, was to create an image of what we wanted the city to be. And sustainability plan designed by the mayor, Bloomberg, was the umbrella that covered the initiatives and projects we wanted to implement in order to improve the quality of life in the city and to make it easier for people to get around. Because, if you think about it, our streets haven’t changed in 60 years and we need to upgrade them in order to reflect today’s requirements.Having a vision of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to achieve, was essential if we wanted to succeed, because New Yorkers are very sceptical in terms of introducing changes, therefore, showing them what was possible was key. Not everyone is going to agree with all the bike lanes or every square… but if they have an overall vision, they will understand the direction we want to take. This was an incredibly important part of our success.

I think the problem is not whether people are drivers or cyclists or pedestrians; the problem is our streets and how we design them

Bike lanes, in any country, tend to be strongly criticised by drivers. To what extent is this criticism justified? How can we work on reducing this animosity?

I think the conflict we are seeing continuously regarding how our streets should be used, depends mainly on how we get about. If you ride a bike, you see drivers and pedestrians as the enemy. If you are a driver, cyclists and pedestrians are the enemies. So, I think the problem is not whether people are drivers or cyclists or pedestrians; the problem is our streets and how we design them. And we need to design them in a way that pleases everyone.What we see when we install bike lanes, is that those lanes are not only good for cyclists, but for everyone. For example, they make streets safer by protecting the elderly and children. We have seen that businesses prosper with these lanes, with sales increases of around 50%; we have also seen that streets function better and look better. They are places you want to be in. Part of this lies in showing what is possible. We have forgotten how streets can be designed. We have forgotten that we can reduce the way we use cars to get from A to B. And so much more can be done by redesigning our city streets.

There is no doubt that the future of cars is going to be incredibly different in just a few years. How will shared cars and on-demand transport change the topography of our cities?

A car is a car, and that is all it is. It doesn’t matter if it is normal, shared, an Uber or a Lift… It is still the same size, and takes up the same space. What we need to do, is to look at our streets differently. It is about giving people the ability to choose, giving them independence in terms of transport so they don’t have to depend on cars. I think that is the sign of a great city.Freedom is not about having the capacity to go anywhere in a car; freedom is about being able to go anywhere without having to use a car.

Is it too early to start planning how we can integrate on-demand transport services?

I think it is important to look at technology from the perspective of being useful for cities and not the other way round. We need to think about the cities we have to build. How can we use this technology to improve the lives of the people living in our cities? Establishing that vision is essential in order to define how we are going to help meet the population’s requirements.

Should city councils collaborate with car-sharing companies or should they promote their own public transport systems?

Both.

The United States is a unique country insofar as it has largely prioritised the use of cars as a means of transport during the last decade. What can cities do to recover public transport and improve its image?

We can’t just hope that people will use public transport; we have to provide a high-quality service that people want to use. Therefore, a considerable part of this strategy lies in creating a public transport system with high-quality buses, with fast subways… Making it easier for people to get about. I think that is a fundamental part of any city.It is important to use technology to encourage people to use public transport, so they can enjoy the streets and a healthier, safer and more sustainable life.

We can’t just hope that people will use public transport; we have to provide a high-quality service that people want to use

NYC is somewhat unique in the United States in that it is very dense. Other cities tend to be designed around a small centre, surrounded by vast, low-density, neighbourhoods. Those that use cars have money. Those that use public transport are too poor to own a car. How can we combat this stigma?

Someone once send to me that a great city is not one in which everyone has a car, but one in which the rich use public transport. And I cannot think of a better way to describe it. Successful cities will be those that invest in sustainable modes of transport without using cars. If you think about it, people and companies can go anywhere in the 21st century, and cities that enable people to get around without using a car are the cities that companies want to move to.Young people don’t want a driving licence, they want to share the way they get about. Therefore, it isn’t a case of being green and eco-friendly; enabling people to get about on foot or using public transport is a truly sound economic development strategy. It is the secret ingredient for the cities of the future.Photo | Janette Sadik-Khan

Related Content

Recommended profiles for you

OB
Oriol Bayó-Puxan
FGC
Railway Rolling Stock Engineer
MA
Miguel Antunes
Parques Tejo E.M.
BM
Beto Marcelino
Icities
We are accredited by Fira Barcelona to organize in Curitiba the Smart City EXPO Curitiba abroad
DZ
Diana Cecilia Zuluaga
Particular
Gerente nuevos negocios
ES
Eva Solé
Giny
NC
Noah Chongo
Climate Protection Zambia
JH
Jana Helder
Form Follows You
EG
Ersan GÜRDOĞAN
PITON
Funding and Grant Manager
MM
Mauro Gil Meger
Observatório Nacional de Segurança Viária
Vice President
CM
Ciaran Mc Guckian
RapidWage Ltd
LL
Luisa C LC
Fira Barcelona México
Community Manager
DA
david alvarez
adidas
adidas
RV
Ric van Vugt
Automotive Insiders
Knowledge and network organization for management and directors in the automotive industry
MS
Meritxell Salas Pérez
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya
Strategic & Prospective Planning
VP
Vasco Pipa
Via Verde
JQ
jose antonio quintana gomez
URBANICECITY
CG
Carme Gibert
AMB
Advisor
CR
Cinthia Alves Caetano Ribeiro
Prefeitura Municipal de Palmas
Prefeita Municipal
EC
Eva Campos Díaz
University of valencia
Researcher
GD
Guido Di Pasquale
PAVE Europe