Articles and Actions

• DOT's Routes of Spring: Three Great New Bike Lanes
• Victories for Human-Powered Commerce
• The Right to Walk
• The Road Ahead for Car-Free Parks

Events and Alerts

• City Council Hearing on Pedestrian Safety
• Kick off the spring cycling (and walking and skating) season with T.A.!
• Room to Breathe NYC
• GWB South Sidewalk Closed Until June 2nd
• Hudson River Greenway Detour
• Briefly Noted
  • Noxious NY
  • Sir Nicholas Stern
  • Family Bike Event
• Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities
  • Become a T.A. Bicycling Ambassador
  • Bring Home Bike Month 2007

T.A. in the News

On heavily-trafficked NYC streets, bike lanes create dedicated space for cycling.

Bike lanes not only encourage New Yorkers to take to two wheels and raise public awareness about cycling and the presence of cyclists on our streets, they also improve safety. Analysis in the City's multi-agency bike crash report (PDF) shows that bike lanes reduce the risk of fatal bike crashes with drivers, and data from around the world, corroborated by numbers from NYC ( PDF page 2), show that the more cyclists there are on the streets, the fewer crashes there are between drivers and bikers. So, like crosswalks, bike lanes are necessary street safety improvements.

But, unlike crosswalks, when the DOT presents bike lane plans to Community Boards, board members and representatives from block associations and neighborhood civic groups often do not support them. "Streets are too dangerous for cycling," and "It will be harder for me to double park," are two gripes we've heard lately.

In truth, on-street bike lanes, though not perfect, do not cause these perceived hazards and hardships (the fine for double parking, regardless of if there's a bike lane or not, is $115, and when was the last time you saw a bike lane stripe stop someone from double parking in it?). Some people are just opposed to any change, whatsoever.

The bottom line is that bike lanes work to protect cyclists. T.A.'s survey of cyclists on Manhattan's 8th Avenue shows that since the DOT added the bike lane two-thirds of cyclists surveyed use the avenue more often. Boosting bicycling is critical if the City is to achieve Mayor Bloomberg's goals of improving travel times, reducing global warming emissions by 30% and achieving the cleanest air of any big city in America by 2030.

Mayor Bloomberg shows his support of small business, sustainable transportation by vetoing pedicab legislation.

Pedicabs
On March 30th, in what New York City Pedicab Owners Association (NYCPOA) President Peter Meitzler called "not just a victory for the pedicab industry, but for all entrepreneurs who want a fair shot at establishing and growing a small business in New York," Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed a bill that would have strangled the city's growing pedicab industry. The legislation sought to cap the number of pedicabs at 325, ban electric-assist motors and give the police power to ban pedicabs from certain streets at will. Mayor Bloomberg noted that the "free market" should dictate the number of pedicabs on the street, not regulations imposed by the City. He then asked for the regulations to be re-written either without a cap on the number of pedicabs, or with a number that is more reasonable, but Council Speaker Quinn said (PDF) that the full City Council will "consider" overriding the Mayor's veto.

A safe working cyclist. Image courtesy of Tania Haas.

The second commercial cycling law, promoted by Councilmember Gale Brewer and modeled on T.A.'s Working Cyclist Safety campaign, requires business owners to prominently post signs that include the City's commercial cycling regulations and all of the traffic laws applicable to bicyclists in as many languages as appropriate for their workers to understand. The DOT will design the commercial cyclist safety poster and post it on the agency's website for businesses to download, print and post.

According to Mayor Bloomberg, these new laws will not only help protect working cyclists, but will also improve the safety of pedestrians and other street users.

T.A.'s Karla Quintero interviews a local expert about street safety.

On April 17th and 18th researchers and advocates from around the country will gather at the first Walkable Communities Conference in New York State. At this landmark event, Transportation Alternatives' Karla Quintero will present T.A.'s efforts to make New York City more walkable for senior citizens and create safer and more vibrant streets where in the spirit of Ms. Jacobs, people can encounter one another in person.

Traffic's Human Toll, a 2006 study conducted by Transportation Alternatives showed that even in New York City, a fundamentally walkable city, community networks are threatened by the high volumes of vehicular traffic on local streets. Further studies and observations concluded that senior citizens, who are often more dependent on the local environment for their daily needs are among the New Yorkers most affected by this diminished walkability.

For senior citizens in New York City, walkable communities are not just a socially conscious preference, but rather a matter of mobility and independence. The absence of a curb-cut pedestrian ramp can easily cut off seniors from important community destinations like doctor's offices, grocery stores or their family's apartment buildings. This kind of experience makes senior citizens indicators for and experts on how to design environments that are safe and pleasant for all pedestrians.

Yet, older pedestrians in New York insist that improving their safety when crossing the street is just one piece of making a community more walkable. They are equally concerned with the presence of benches, interesting streetscapes, sufficient lighting, frequent transit stops and attractive destinations. Senior citizens remind us that while street safety for all is vital, making New York City more walkable is also about providing spaces for pedestrians to congregate and rest in between their origins and destinations. If we can continue to learn from our City's senior citizens and work with elected officials and concerned agencies, we can truly achieve walkable communities and move ever closer to Ms. Jacobs' vision of thriving neighborhoods.

To find out more information about Walkable Communities conference, visit: nysgtsc.state.ny.us/walk-conf.htm

The Central Park loop drive is too crowded for cars in the spring, come summer what will happen?

The DOT's report not only states that the hard-won current loop road closures are a success and can be made permanent, it also confirms truths long proclaimed by car-free parks supporters. Even the worst news contained in the report was good news: traffic speeds on 5th Avenue south of 72nd street, a notoriously dangerous stretch of road, were slowed by a mere 3.6mph, enough to make pedestrians a bit safer and keep traffic moving along.

As of publication time, the amended version of the City Council's Car-Free Parks Bill is still being revised; however sources say it will be nearly identical to last year's and calls for a trial closure of the Central Park full loop Drive from the beginning of June until the end of August and a trial closure of Prospect Park's loop drive in the evening (5 - 7pm) as well as maintaining the current morning closure on the west side of the drive.

As if all that wasn't reason enough for park users to celebrate, the pothole riddled loop dive in Central Park is being repaved in two sections. In the short term that might make for a bumpy commute or a jarring lap, but in the long run this very necessary repaving will ensure safe cycling and smooth strides for millions of park users.

In March, hundreds gathered; in April dozens will testify for pedestrian safety.

When: Wednesday, April 11th, 10 am
Where: City Hall
Getting There: The 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 A, C, E, M, R, W and Z trains all have subway stops at City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge or Chambers Street. By bike, remember to bring a lock, bikes are not allowed inside City Hall.

"Transit is Wonderful" is one of three posters in the Icons of a Living City series.

If you're not a T.A. member now's a great time to join, members get discounts at over 100 area bike shops (just in time for that spring tune-up or upgrade), discounts on Kryptonite locks and discounts on our annual NYC Century Bike Tour. We'll have a member sign-up station with special gifts on April 12th as well, so stop by and check it out!

See you April 12th!

The making of "Room to Breathe NYC" is one of the many awesome videos available at streetfilms.org.

"Room to Breathe" is borrowed from a poster featuring a series of photos taken by Portland's Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) in the mid-1990s. There have been numerous permutations over the years in myriad cities, but this is the first incarnation in NYC.

In this StreetFilm, you'll get a little sneak peak at how this event was staged and hear from volunteers and T.A. staff on why spatial efficiency is so important to the livable streets movement. T.A. aims to have the poster available by Summer 2007.