Transportation

Following the report of the crash and fleeing cyclist, Upper East Side Councilmember Ben Kallos issued a statement which read, in part, “This devastating collision is a call to action to fight harder to ensure all can be safe in our streets. I hope the suspect who fled the scene will soon be apprehended.”

On Monday, June 15, Kallos, along with auxiliary police officers, handed out bike safety materials at the site of the accident and followed that up with an announced Safe Cycling Initiative. He believes there should be increased enforcement and education for every threat to pedestrian safety on the streets and says that he will be working with city agencies and nonprofits to put those plans into action.

After a bicycle hit-and-run on the Upper East Side last Tuesday left a 67-year-old woman severely injured after she was struck in a bike lane, City Councilman Ben Kallos announced a plan last night to help protect pedestrians in the neighborhood.

"We're trying to make sure that anyone using our sidewalk, the pedestrians, stay safe whether it be from cars or cyclists, Kallos said at a news conference with NYPD auxiliary officers on the corner of 86th and First Avenue, the location of the accident. "And that's vice-versa for safety for bikes from cars and pedestrians. We can all share the streets together."

• District 5 (Ben Kallos): Bus bulbs planned for the 86th Street Select Bus Service route; irrigation on the East River Greenway; additional and improved tree beds on the East River Greenway.

Elected officials on the East and West Side, who are sending a letter to the MTA brass about the changes, want a boost in service, not a reduction, at a time when buses bunch up and plod through streets.

"As people are complaining about bus service and are not using it as much because of how poor the service is, that's the least time you want to make it less and less desirable to get on," said Councilman Ben Kallos, who signed the letter with six other Manhattan lawmakers including U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney.

SBS supporters say M15 ridership would not have increased if passenger travel times were not reduced. If that were true, the corollary must also be true. That since ridership on the M15 was lower in 2013 than it was before SBS began, travel times must have increased with the introduction of SBS so it has not been successful. The logic cuts both ways.

The truth, according to the Straphangers Campaign, is that the M15 bus route with its SBS feature is the most unreliable route in the entire city. Local Councilman Ben Kallos stated that complaints regarding M15 service are among the heaviest grievances he receives.

Efforts are underway to end the game of hide and seek that occurs when cars are towed to make way for parades, and other events.

As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer explained, a happy ending may be in sight for New York City motorists whose cars are towed to the land of ‘who knows where’ to make room for parades, construction, and most often TV and movie shoots.

One city councilman is suggesting a common sense, and common courtesy solution.

“Anytime a car got towed, you’d be able to just call 311, go online, find your car. Not worry if it got stolen, where it got towed, just find it, move on with your life,” Councilman Ben Kallos D-Upper East Side, said.

Legislation proposed by a city council member Friday would help New Yorkers find their vehicles when they're towed because of temporary parking restrictions.

Councilman Ben Kallos, a Democrat who represents the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, said cars that are towed for temporary parking violations -- like when a movie is being filmed -- are often moved blocks away without the owner's knowledge.

Kallos introduced the legislation so owners would no longer be left wondering what happened to their cars.

“Imagine arriving at your parking spot to find its gone, not knowing if it is stolen or towed, without being able to find out where it is, unless you’ve got the time to walk every block of your neighborhood,” Kallos said.

When cars are moved because of things like parades or movie shoots, drivers often have no clue where their vehicles are, and now one city lawmaker is looking to change that.

Manhattan Councilman Ben Kallos is pushing a bill that would require the city Transportation Department to notify 311 and put information about relocated cars on its website.

Drivers would then be able to visit the website or call the city's helpline to find their cars.

That's the way it currently works when a car is towed to an impound lot for a normal parking restriction.

Kallos tells the Daily News he decided to introduce the bill after his disabled mother's car was towed several blocks from her home, and was covered in tickets once she found it.

Helping people find their towed cars is the idea behind a proposal being made in the city council.

Imagine this scenario: you park your car legally and when you come back, it’s gone!

“A lot of people first think their car got stolen,” City Councilmember Ben Kallos said.

Kallos said then imagine you see a temporary “no parking” sign, either resulting from a TV shoot or street fair.

“So you can either try to touch base with your precinct and see if they’ve got a list of where it might be, or you have to resort to walking around the neighborhood until you find your car,” Kallos told WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell.

If your car has been moved, Kallos wants the new location entered into a single database.

“Call 311, go on a website and you’d be able to find out where’s my car,” he said.

“Anytime a car got towed, you’d be able to just call 311, go online, find your car. Not worry if it got stolen, where it got towed, just find it, move on with your life,” Councilman Ben Kallos D-Upper East Side, said.

Often, the problem is that a private operations manager just orders the cars moved somewhere, treating drivers to the sinking feeling that comes with finding their cars have simply vanished.