Transportation funding aims to revive Streets Master Plan
DOT Gets Promised Funding for Street Redesigns
Mayor Mamdani’s preliminary budget includes an additional $5 million per year for bus and bike lane projects over the next four years, addressing a critical funding gap that fiscal watchdogs have identified as a major roadblock to city expansion of street redesigns and transportation infrastructure improvements.
The proposed funding represents an important down payment on the city’s Streets Master Plan, a legally mandated program requiring the city Department of Transportation to install 250 miles of new bike lanes, 150 miles of new bus lanes, and related street safety improvements over a specified timeframe. The prior administration’s failure to adequately fund these projects caused significant delays and abandonment of many planned improvements.
Rebuilding Staffing for Transportation Goals
The preliminary budget also includes funds to add 20 positions specifically devoted to bus and bike lane projects by June 30, 2027. These new positions address staffing shortages that have plagued the DOT in recent years. An Independent Budget Office report from 2025 documented that the prior administration failed to address staff shortages at key bus-planning units within the DOT.
In fact, the agency lost dozens of employees in positions critical to expanding bus lane networks between 2019 and 2024, in part due to a hiring freeze imposed by the previous administration. Mamdani’s new commissioner has specifically mentioned addressing capacity challenges and the need to staff up as critical initial challenges in his new role.
Commissioner Flynn’s Initial Assessment
New DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn acknowledged capacity challenges at the agency when he spoke to reporters on Inauguration Day in January. He identified the need to staff up as a key priority for addressing infrastructure challenges. The budget allocation for 20 new positions represents a first step toward rebuilding capacity that was allowed to erode during the previous administration.
Reviving Stalled Projects
In his early months as mayor, Mamdani has focused on announcing plans to revive or finish projects that the prior administration left for dead or canceled. These include bus lanes on Madison Avenue and Fordham Road, as well as neighborhood bike networks in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, East Flatbush, Midwood, and Greenpoint.
The administration announced four of these projects during February 13 ceremony stating, “We are bringing the Streets Master Plan back to life. These projects are just the beginning of our work to deliver safe streets to the people of New York.”
Advocate Response and Expectations
Transportation advocates expressed relief that funding was being allocated to address DOT capacity gaps. Riders Alliance Director of Policy Danny Pearlstein stated: “The mayor’s increased investment in fairer, safer streets leans into New York’s superpower as a transit, biking and walking city. With his commitment to speeding up buses by 20 percent, this new baseline funding will help deliver much faster service and save riders a lot of time.”
Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas called the funding “a breath of fresh air after an administration that was antagonistic towards bus and bike projects and froze critical safety projects and funding.” Advocates hope the funding represents genuine commitment to the Streets Master Plan rather than merely reversing prior administration cuts.
Longer-Term Challenges Remain
Even with the new funding, substantial work remains to meet the Streets Master Plan’s mandates. The $5 million annual addition is described by a senior Mamdani administration official as “by no means the limit” and not the full extent of where the administration wants to invest in transportation. The preliminary budget provides what advocates characterize as a promising foundation for progress but leaves open the question of whether additional resources will be identified or allocated during the negotiation process. For more information, see Streetsblog New York City and NYC Department of Transportation.
