DOT under Mamdani vows bold ambition but declines to commit to specific mandated targets
City Council Grades NYC Streets Progress: One Big Fat F
At a City Council hearing on March 3, 2026, Transportation Committee Chair and Majority Leader Shaun Abreu gave the city’s track record on bus and bike lane construction a blunt failing grade. The hearing, which examined the Department of Transportation’s compliance with the NYC Streets Master Plan, a 2019 law requiring the city to build at least 150 miles of protected bus lanes and 250 miles of protected bike lanes between 2022 and 2026, found that the city had consistently missed its legally mandated targets under former Mayor Eric Adams. The hearing also examined what Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration intends to do differently.
Years of Neglect Under Adams
The Adams administration never met the annual targets set by the Streets Master Plan. A 2025 report from the Independent Budget Office found that DOT had lost dozens of employees in key bus planning units between 2019 and 2024, partly due to a hiring freeze, leaving the agency unable to implement planned projects. Ridership advocates testified that bus riders were completely disrespected by the Adams administration. Bus speeds in New York City average 8.1 miles per hour, among the slowest in the country. On some corridors like Fordham Road in the Bronx, speeds drop to as low as 4 to 5 miles per hour. The result has been slower commutes, higher emissions, and worse quality of life for the millions of New Yorkers who depend on bus service, many of whom lack access to subway lines.
What Mamdani Has Promised and What He Has Delivered So Far
Mamdani campaigned on a platform of fast and free buses. In February 2026, he announced the restart of four halted street redesign projects in the Bronx and Brooklyn, including offset bus lanes on Fordham Road and protected bike lanes on McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint. He declared he was bringing the Streets Master Plan back to life. His preliminary budget includes $5 million per year in additional funding for bus and bike lane projects and plans to add 20 new DOT staff positions focused on these projects by mid-2027.
DOT Commissioner Waffles on Specific Commitments
Despite this rhetoric, DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn declined at the hearing to commit to specific mileage targets for 2026. Under oath before the Council, Flynn said the department would focus squarely on outcomes rather than miles, asking whether buses are moving faster and whether fewer people are being killed. Councilmember Lincoln Restler was unsatisfied, saying he did not want to come back in six to twelve months facing failures again. Flynn told reporters after the hearing that the DOT is still working on its plan. The DOT’s own 2026 Streets Plan update maps near-term priorities including the Madison Avenue double bus lane extension and the McGuinness Boulevard protected bike lane, but provides no specific citywide mileage commitments.
What Advocates Want and the National Context
Transportation Alternatives testified that New York City lags dramatically behind peer global cities including Barcelona, London, and Zurich in allocating street space to buses, cyclists, and pedestrians. Riders Alliance applauded Mamdani’s increased budget investment while calling for even more aggressive targets. Open Plans called for the creation of low-traffic neighborhoods in residential areas to reduce cut-through vehicle traffic. Transportation policy research from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute finds that bus and bike lane investments produce among the highest economic returns per public dollar of any urban transportation investment, through reduced congestion, lower emissions, and improved transit reliability. The key question for the Mamdani administration is whether the gap between ambitious rhetoric and specific, legally enforceable targets will close in 2026 — or whether riders will see another year of promising announcements without measurable progress.
