The Joint Executive Orders mandate the creation of the position of director of city operations to marshal the resources of the various city agencies to protect the quality of life of residents and businesses in Lower Manhattan.
Working with various city agencies, the director of city operations and the LMCCC have developed a comprehensive plan for achieving this ambitious goal. There are three main components to the plan: (1) the development of a master schedule and Maintenance and Protection of Traffic (MPT) plan; (2) the establishment of a Construction Permit and Enforcement Taskforce (CPET); and (3) the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in Lower Manhattan. Each component is described below.
Click here to see a presentation on the full plan.
Master Schedule and Maintenance and Protection of Traffic (MPT) Plan
The LMCCC maintains a master schedule of major construction projects in Lower Manhattan and a Geographic Information System (GIS) database of project locations. Each project schedule is dynamically linked with a corresponding project location in GIS, enabling the LMCCC to generate maps showing anticipated street impacts on any given date in the master schedule. Using this tool, the LMCCC is able to identify years in advance clusters of potential future construction impacts on traffic and other factors that may result in a degradation in quality of life. This enables the LMCCC to discuss with the relevant project sponsors and regulatory agencies alternative ways to phase projects to minimize the clustering of impacts before they occur.
The full interactive map is available online. Users can select a date and see the major construction anticipated on that date.
Construction Permit Enforcement Taskforce (CPET)
The CPET is the LMCCC’s primary tool for coordinating the efforts of the city agencies that issue and enforce permits for the use of public space for construction, parades, or special events to mitigate traffic, maintain mobility, ensure proper enforcement, and prevent agencies from working at cross purposes to each other. Chaired by the LMCCC director of city operations, the CPET meets daily to discuss permitting issues, coordinate field operations of enforcement personnel, coordinate permit issuance, address construction-related complaints, and adjust permit stipulations to reflect conditions in the field.
The three key agencies represented on the CPET are
The LMCCC provides funding for each key agency to hire a core force of agents and inspectors. Each key agency appoints a supervisor to represent the agency at the LMCCC on the CPET and to manage the enforcement personnel in the field. If CPET members jointly determine that a specific project requires dedicated enforcement, the project sponsor is expected to provide additional project-specific forces that report to the appropriate CPET supervisors. The LMCCC facilitates these requests.
The New York City Department of Sanitation and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection also are currently represented in CPET, and other agencies may join soon, including the Community Assistance Unit of the Mayor’s Office, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission. The Alliance for Downtown New York also participates in the daily meetings, and Community Board 1 will begin participating soon.
The CPET meets regularly with Community Board 1’s Quality of Life Committee to provide direct contact for the community to those overseeing enforcement. All CPET representatives, not just those from the key agencies, attend these public meetings. A schedule of committee meetings is available on the Community Board 1 website.
The Quality of Life Committee generally meets at 6:00 pm on the third Thursday of every month at the Community Board's offices on the 7th Floor of 49-51 Chambers Street. These meetings are open to the public.
The public can now access the LMCCC and the Taskforce through the City’s 311 system. Just dial 311 and ask for the “Construction Command Center,” and complaints will be routed to the Taskforce.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
The LMCCC will install and maintain ITS in Lower Manhattan to facilitate traffic management by providing real-time information about traffic conditions in Lower Manhattan to the LMCCC, including the CPET supervisors, city and state agencies, and the driving public. The data will enable CPET supervisors to make informed decisions about personnel deployment to maximize the effective use of their resources. The LMCCC will install the following ITS subsystems:
- Traffic Monitoring Cameras, to monitor traffic conditions
- Traffic Sensors, to measure traffic speed in real time
- Variable Message Sign Boards, to provide real-time traffic information to drivers
- Transponder Readers, to collect origin and destination data to calibrate the CDOT traffic model
- Highway Advisory Radio, to provide real-time traffic information to drivers
Traffic data collected by the ITS will be coming soon to this website, including a map with real-time, color-coded traffic speed data and the locations of traffic monitoring camera throughout the city. Once operational, the color-coded traffic speed map will enable CPET supervisors to identify trouble spots instantly, and the cameras will enable them to identify the cause of the problem (stalled vehicle, contractor violating permit stipulations, etc.) and deploy the appropriate enforcement personnel.
Click here to view its RFP.
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