This vid from BicyclesOnly shows a school crossing guard, at Madison Ave. and 96th St., who takes her job seriously. Whenever the light on Madison turned green, BO writes, she entered the intersection to assert the rights of those passing through on foot. Good thing, too.
Photo of 7 World Trade: G. Paul Burnett/New York Times.
With the Bikes in Buildings Law taking effect in less than 24 hours, this story in the Times is a must-read. Here on Streetsblog, we've mostly covered the more' [...]
"They want to ride to school. So they do."
That's the message at the end of this terrific video about a student-initiated bike bus in Orlando, Florida -- a city with some of the meanest streets in the nation. Shot by Robert Seidler and edited by' [...]
Is 2010 the year of bridge tolls? Or will it be 2011 or 2012? If the editorial boards and political insiders are even half right, New York State appears to be back on the brink of an epic fiscal crisis. Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch said today that the [...]
After almost two years of waiting for DOT analysis of a proposed cycle track for Dyckman Street in Upper Manhattan, advocates this week were promised ... more waiting.
Dyckman at Nagle Ave. Photo: Dry Fly Guy/Flickr
The energy-saving benefits of transit aren't limited to the transportation sector. Image: Jonathan Rose Companies via Richard Layman.At a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable urban development must be part of' [...]
Addressing a packed house in Washington last night, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus, posed a Zen-like 'universalist cyclist question'.
Photo: Cities for Cycling
"How many people, right now," he asked, "are stuck in traffic on [...]
This morning on the Streetsblog Network, Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic talks about streetcar plans in Washington, D.C. Without better street design, he argues, the capital's streetcars could end up mired in traffic:
(Photo: rocket ship via [...]
The Daily News captured this off-the-cuff comment from Mayor Bloomberg on Albany's sudden failure to deliver more than $350 million to New York's transit system:
"I don't know why anybody is surprised at what is happening to the MTA," he said. "It's a piggy bank that keeps' [...]
President Obama today threw his weight behind significant new transportation spending as part of a broad jobs bill taking shape in Congress, with $50 billion slated for transit, roads, bridges, and ports and the administration endorsing "merit-based infrastructure investment that leverages federal dollars."
Activists from Monday morning's guerrilla bike lane striping on Bedford Avenue say two individuals were indeed given summonses for criminal mischief, contrary to media reports published today. Police haven't yet answered inquiries from Streetsblog, but organizers of the action confirmed that two were charged.
' [...]
Yesterday word surfaced that the MTA will receive $200 million less from the recently enacted payroll tax than the state of New York originally projected. The news came less than a week after Albany legislators slashed $143 million from the MTA so the state can keep paying its [...]
Western Union cellphone ad from 1984. Image via NYTConcerns arose not long after it hit the market. External studies seemed to confirm what industry insiders feared: The product could pose a public health risk. But as sales soared, whistleblowers who didn't' [...]
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we've got the story of some bicyclists who turned out in the bitter cold last weekend to rally for a bike path to be included in the reconstruction of the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge.
Advocates have been pushing for such a path, which would' [...]
For your viewing pleasure this morning, YouTube footage of yesterday's early a.m. direct action on Bedford Avenue in South Williamsburg. It's hard to say for sure, but it looks like the Hasidic bike lane painters chose to stay off-camera. After the jump, a look at the [...]
Spurred by the recent hit-and-run deaths of three pedestrians, Transportation Alternatives led a protest on Sunday calling for new measures to keep unlicensed drivers from getting behind the wheel. On the steps of City Hall, advocates were joined by David Sheppard, fiance [...]
Photo: Gothamist.The guerrilla re-striping of a portion of the Bedford Avenue bike lane at 4:00 a.m. this morning was the work of both secular Williamsburg residents and members of the Hasidic community, according to Baruch Herzfeld, a local bike-shop operator and cycling [...]
Bicycles inside Silverstein Properties' 7 World Trade Center. Photo: Transportation Alternatives.
It's been almost 120 days since the Bicycle Access Bill was signed into law, which means that this Friday, December 11, the law will actually take effect. If you work' [...]
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), who is in Washington today continuing his push for a "front-loaded" federal transportation bill, told Streetsblog Capitol Hill that he sees momentum building for a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) to be created as part of the jobs bill now moving forward in Congress.
[...]
A serial tire slasher, shown here in a video still, has targeted the vehicles of TEA agents. What effect will the meter "grace period" have on what is an already volatile environment? Image: Daily NewsBefore it's even signed into law, the City Council's [...]
Looks like some New Yorkers who bike on Bedford Avenue decided not to sit idly by after the city removed 14 blocks of bike lane in South Williamsburg. Multiple sources informed Streetsblog this morning that DIY, unofficial bike lane striping has appeared along the stretch of Bedford Avenue that [...]
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we've got some good news from Tom Vanderbilt's How We Drive blog about lower speed limits coming to London. The borough of Islington will be radically expanding the number of streets with a speed limit of only 20 miles per hour. The goal' [...]
Book talks, lectures and holiday parties dominate the calendar this week. If nothing else, don't miss Tuesday's chance to hear David Owen explain how congestion pricing is bad.
SF MTA Chief Nat Ford and Mayor Gavin Newsom work the green rollers. Photo: Matthew Roth.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, three people were killed in New York City by drivers with suspended licenses. These deaths are entirely preventable. If not for a legal system that cavalierly lets reckless drivers get back behind the wheel, Sonya Powell and Lillian and Peter Sabados might still be [...]
Collings Avenue: A street that could use a bike lane. Photo: Joe Bonaparte. Back in May, Stella Bonaparte launched a group called Collingswood Streets and began studying bike lane options for downtown Collingswood, NJ, a borough outside Camden. Now she's [...]
Outside of China, only two cities of more than a million people are known to have a bicycling mode-share over 30 percent: Amsterdam and Copenhagen. As Rutgers urban expert John Pucher has documented, cycling's vibrantly high percentage of urban trips throughout Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany was not the product of amorphous cultural factors. Rather, it came [...]
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem
across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this
column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.
Fatal Crashes (21 Killed Since [...]
Yesterday the City Council held a hearing on street safety for older New Yorkers. The hearing came while the deaths of Lillian and Peter Sabados, an elderly Staten Island couple run down by Allmir Lekperic on Thanksgiving eve, are still fresh in people's minds. But when it comes to keeping [...]
Earlier this year, Lorain County, Ohio, purchased 13 new buses for its transit service using federal stimulus money. Come January 1, those buses are going to be sitting idle.
Ride it while you can: bus service in Lorain County, Ohio (Photo: [...]
We got a tip yesterday about an errant driver hogging a curbside spot in a residential area:
So, outside my house is a street with two hour parking. Today a Jaguar with dealer plates was parked there all day. [...]
Graphic: NYC Department of HealthThe NYC Department of Health announced the results of a citywide survey today [PDF] assessing the health benefits of regular walking and biking. Based on telephone interviews with more than 10,000 New Yorkers, the health department reveals that [...]
We've seen lots of new, innovative bikeway designs appear on New York City streets over the past few years. But there’s one very promising concept we haven't seen -- bicycle boulevards. Bicycle boulevard design uses a variety of techniques to create low-traffic, low-speed streets where cyclists mix comfortably with cars. They’re very popular in [...]
Despite dozens of prior suspensions, unlicensed Allmir Lekperic was not charged for the deaths of two pedestrians. Photo: NYTWe heard the question more than once. When it was reported that Allmir Lekperic, the unlicensed driver who killed Peter and Lillian Sabados as they walked [...]
On the issue of clean transportation, from transit to bike paths to clean water, few members of Congress are as knowledgeable or active as Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). Chief of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus and founder of the new Livable Communities Task Force, the Portland lawmaker is on the [...]
In yesterday's post about the Streetsblog Network's first birthday, I should have mentioned the crucial role that Transportation for America played in the network's conception and inception. We couldn't have done it without them.
T4A's vision of a national coalition of groups and individuals who' [...]
Here's a shot of the Park Avenue pedestrian mall at 88th Street, taken by reader BicyclesOnly last night. Thanks to sheer luck, it appears as though no one was caught between the car and the light pole.
A few well-placed bollards could reduce [...]
AASHTO's chart of projects deemed "ready to go" by its members.
As Democrats in both chambers of Congress work on drafting new economic recovery legislation, they now have a preliminary list of how much spending can be set in motion on short notice: $15 billion for [...]
Via our friends at Yanko Design, which last year brought us the virtual crosswalk wall, here's a horrible idea that's getting a lot of online exposure: the red light countdown. In case there might be a few drivers out there who don't' [...]
The view of Grand Army Plaza from Union Street. DOT has proposed converting parking on Union to another moving lane.We posted the link in today's headlines, but you really need the visuals that go with this story of bike-lane blocking, curb-mounting Sunday motorists, and the police who sanction them. Via Gothamist, the video comes courtesy of Ink Lake blogger Peter Kaufman, a Brooklyn Heights resident who' [...]
One year ago today, we announced the launch of the Streetsblog Network -- a national and international network of blogs covering transportation policy, sustainable planning, smart growth and active transportation. We conceived of the network as a way to get people who are passionate about these issues literally [...]
The removal of the Bedford Avenue bike lane in South Williamsburg this morning proceeded without any public input. Although the thermoplast has already been stripped away, the cause of safer streets will be better off if New Yorkers who ride this bike lane speak out strongly in response. It's' [...]
Two-thirds of America's population, and more than three-quarters of its economic productivity, come from major cities. So why did the Obama administration's economic stimulus law end up giving metropolitan areas the short end of the stick?
Daniel Malloy, mayor of Stamford, [...]
Workers blast away at the Bedford Avenue bike lane. Photo: Elizabeth Press.As reported by Gothamist, DOT is removing a 14-block stretch of the Bedford Avenue bike lane between Flushing Avenue and Division Street in Hasidic Williamsburg. Workers were seen sandblasting this morning, taking [...]
The question of how to get more women on bikes has received quite a lot of attention recently, in part because of a recent article in Scientific American that suggested women are an "indicator species" for bike-friendly communities.
A group of people in Darlington, United Kingdom, decided to [...]
As Congress maneuvers to end the political impasse over the next long-term national transportation bill, lawmakers are going to have to debate an increase in the federal gas tax, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (Photo: Getty Images)
Elizabeth Press sends these shots of the northeast corner of Hoyt and Schermerhorn in downtown Brooklyn. In what may be a first for New York City, this nifty little DOT reclamation includes bike racks installed on the roadbed, not the sidewalk. (Update: DOT confirms [...]
In handing down a prison term of 20-to-life for Auvryn Scarlett, the garbage hauler who had stopped taking his epilepsy medication before suffering a seizure behind the wheel and killing two pedestrians last year, Justice Richard Carruthers described the convicted as "a time bomb ready [...]
At October's Walk21 Conference, I got the chance to tour the High Bridge, a viaduct connecting Manhattan and the Bronx which has been closed to the public for nearly 40 years.
Opening the High Bridge to pedestrians and cyclists has been a long-held goal for many New [...]
Lots of catching up to do after the holiday weekend. Here's a sampling of what's been coming in over the network:
Austin on Two Wheels threw a link up on Twitter to a very intriguing article published last week in the influential medical journal The Lancet [...]
There are several chances to get dressed up this week, beginning with Tuesday's mega-project discussion at City College (business attire only, please) and continuing with an MAS awards ceremony on Thursday. Loosen up afterward at TA's holiday shindig before capping off the week with a City Hall [...]
Here's something to be thankful for over this holiday break: Kids on bicycles. A beautiful thing. We got so many submissions for this one, it was truly inspiring.
Many thanks to all who contributed, including Sarah Gilbert at cafemama, rbairdpccam, baudman, Julian Davies [...]
Gus Gonzalez and his Ford Excursion were caught on camera after knocking cyclist Ray Bengen to the pavement back in May.
We've got a quick update on the legal aftermath of the Ninth Avenue road rage case, in which the Manhattan DA's office' [...]
Confirmed: Hyped-Up Operator Woes a Ploy for Bigger Slice of the Vélib Pie (Bike-Sharing Blog) Daily News Touts Herald Square Ped Plaza as Prime Parade-Watching Territory On Eve of National Livable Streets Event, Times Readers Debate Merits of Car-Free [...]
This just in: The State DOT will not widen exit ramps from the Major Deegan Expressway, the Mott Haven Herald reports. NYSDOT Region 11 spokesperson Adam Levine confirmed to Streetsblog that the agency will also refrain from adding "auxiliary lanes" as part of its plan to fix a segment [...]
The Department of City Planning proposed new rules last week that should keep sidewalks safer and reduce conflicts between pedestrians and cars. The zoning regs, if approved, would also cut down on the proliferation of "parking pads" -- off-street spaces paved over front yards -- in some parts of [...]
Image: Subsidyscope
The myth that U.S. roads "pay for themselves" thanks to user fees is a subject that's likely familiar to many Streetsblog readers -- but just how much of the nation's highway funding is provided by charging drivers?
The answer may surprise [...]
It's past time for lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and police to step up for kids like Christian Acteopan, Diego Martinez, Hayley Ng and Axel Pablo, whose sober killers went unpunished.
Miles and miles of bike-friendly Westchester County roads may soon be scarred by a "safety enhancement" that could make cycling treacherous.
A rumble strip threw NYPD Sergeant Richard Wilt off his bike and into the pavement. Photo: Joe Larese/Journal NewsThe New York [...]
To assist in the ongoing effort to better articulate a set of social norms for the endless variety of circumstances one encounters on city streets, we're passing on this request from a reader. "Midtown Biker" asks for advice on the best way to handle these situations:
Another' [...]
Today on the Streetsblog Network, news of a car-free week coming to Jackson, Mississippi. We heard about it from one of our newer network members, Jackson Bike Advocates:
Cars are king in Jackson, but some are working to change that. [...]
Clarence Eckerson sends these shots of DOT street safety improvements taken on a recent ride near the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront. Above is the newly traffic-calmed intersection of Joralemon and Hicks -- part of the Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming Project -- which now sports two [...]
During his re-re-election campaign, Mayor Bloomberg said he planned to make room for new blood in his administration should he win a third term. It's no surprise that City Hall News named Janette Sadik-Khan as one department head some have targeted for replacement, but while City Council members are [...]
Contrary to popular belief, the mayor isn't the only elected official with a say in New York City transportation policy. So in this installment of Streetsblog's series on Michael Bloomberg's third term, we're switching things up a bit. We asked New York's most experienced transit advocate, Gene Russianoff of [...]
Charles Alexander Diez, the former North Carolina firefighter who shot cyclist Alan Simons in the head, has been sentenced to four months in jail.
DiezIn an Asheville courtroom last week, Diez pled guilty to shooting Simons during a July 26 roadside confrontation. [...]
Sometimes you just can't stop human beings from acting like animals. And I mean that in the best possible way.
Take, for example, the walking paths of Brasilia, the Brazilian capital city that was planned down to the smallest detail in the 1950s and ’60s -- planned for' [...]
It's quality over quantity during this holiday-shortened week. Don't miss your chance to comment on the state's proposed widening of the Major Deegan, and if you RSVP'd for tonight's community board app fest, don't forget to go. Tuesday and Wednesday are all about street' [...]
As you may know, Transportation Alternatives put on a red carpet premiere Tuesday night for the "Biking Rules" PSA competition at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The contest pitted video entries against each other in two main categories: "Why Biking Rules" and "Street Code."
Videos in [...]
Don't miss back-to-back opportunities to get involved in changing your city over the next few days.
On Sunday, compete to find' [...]
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.
The teen driver of this Saturn rear-ended another car, which lurched into 17-year-old [...]
A protected bike path will soon wrap around the circumference of Park Circle. Some segments are bi-directional.
City parking meters are a gold mine, and in Chicago, Morgan Stanley is rolling in parking riches. Secret company documents leaked to reporters show the company will rake in a 70 percent profit margin this year from its $1.15 billion, 75-year lease of Chicago's parking meters. This profit is on top of' [...]
A very interesting article in USA Today on the future viability of suburbs came up in our Twitter feed this morning, via Community Research Partners of Columbus, Ohio.
The piece, by Haya el Nasser, starts out talking about how population is falling in many of the suburbs [...]
Here's a fun time-waster. Since Monday, @FakeMTA has been posting faux transit updates on Twitter. Examples: "Sneak peek at completed Second Ave. Subway released!" and "If passengers don't move all the way into the car, the C train is going to turn [...]
More lanes, or more housing and parks? Image of proposed Deegan Expressway widening: NYSDOT. Image of the community plan for a de-commissioned Sheridan Expressway: SBRWA.
Last week we reported on the state DOT's expensive plan to widen part of the Major Deegan Expressway' [...]
(Photo: Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious)Hey, we need your help again for our next slide show. This one is going to make you feel good. We're looking for pictures of kids on bikes -- on their own, with their parents, on trailers and seats' [...]
America's transportation and infrastructure policies affect literally everyone who moves from place to place in the country, but often they are under-discussed and over-simplified by the mainstream media. To help broaden the debate, Streetsblog Capitol Hill is kicking off a new Q&A series called "The Four Questions."
[...]
We continue our series on the next four years of New York City transportation and planning policy with today's essay by Ron Shiffman. Co-founder of the Pratt Center for Community Development and a professor at the Pratt Institute's Graduate Center for Planning, Shiffman served on the City Planning Commission from [...]
New Yorkers could spend a third of a million more hours a year stuck in traffic if the “grace period” for parking violations voted by the City Council this week becomes law.
Photo: @10/FlickrThat’s what the Balanced Transportation Analyzer traffic-pricing model [...]
Despite the growing national attention to the dangers posed by distracted driving, full accountability for drivers who kill or maim pedestrians while fiddling with electronic devices is likely a long way off. As today's post from Streetsblog Network member Sustainable Savannah notes, law enforcement officials too often seem [...]
To mark its 50th anniversary, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently pitted a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air against its contemporary counterpart, a 2009 Malibu, in a 40 mph crash test. As you can see in the video, the Malibu destroys its predecessor.
The results were intended [...]
Streetsblog has gotten word that, due to Port Authority construction and maintenance work, the north and south sidewalks of the George Washington Bridge will be closing intermittently until further notice.
According to a spokesperson, the authority plans to have the paths open on an alternating basis. Updates are [...]
BRT + bike: East Side avenues have enough space for physically separated busways and protected bike lanes. The biggest sustainable transportation story in New York right now is how DOT and the MTA plan to design Bus Rapid Transit corridors for the East Side [...]
The senior Republicans on three of the Senate's four infrastructure-centric committees signed a bipartisan letter on Tuesday asking the leaders of Congress' upper chamber to call up a six-month extension of the 2005 transportation law.
Senate environment chairman Barbara Boxer. Photo:
We've got a fine sampling of content from the Streetsblog Network today.
First, Steve Davis at Transportation for America reports on the meeting T4A and several of its partners had with U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood on Monday. The meeting was to deliver a petition with more' [...]
Elizabeth Press, Brad Aaron, Elana Schor, Sarah Goodyear, Ben Fried, Clarence Eckerson Jr., Streetsblog, Gene Russianoff, Charles Komanoff, John Kaehny, Jack Savage, Lily Bernheimer, Ron Shiffman, Paul Steely White, Kate Slevin, Joan Byron
