Only 10 weeks until the NYC Century Bike Tour on September 9, 2001.  Save $15 - Register to Ride the NYC Century Bike Tour today (early registration discounts end July 31st). Explore the city and support bicycle advocacy. NYCcentury.org

Donations       Wish List
Help cycling and walking and get a tax deduction. Donate to T.A. We need:

-Laptop computer (P 100+)
-Digital Camera
-VCR (4 head)
-Good chairs for conf. table or desks
-Computer Projector

Contact Matt: info@transalt.org

Do Your Part for Safer Streets!  Report:

Potholes and Hazards:
212-442-7070 #2,#1

Dangerous Cabs: 212-221-TAXI

T.A.  News

T.A. is looking for a full-time, paid, bicycling advocate.  Check out transalt.org/jobs

The T.A. Bulletin is a bi-weekly publication of Transportation Alternatives.

Week of June 25, 2001

Manhattan Bridge Path Opens

Bike/ped access restored after 40 Year Closure
But City Refuses to Provide Ramp

On Monday, June 25th, the Manhattan Bridge opened for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. For the next three years, the bridge's narrow, South path will be shared by cyclists and pedestrians. The opening is very welcome news. It marks the first time that all of the City's East River Bridges have been open to cyclists and pedestrians in more than fifty years. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that T.A.'s persistent requests to provide ramped access to the interim path were denied by DOT. Thus, cyclists will have to carry their bikes or wheel them up a yet to be installed channel bordering the stairs --- a major impediment to older and heavily burdened cyclists, including those carrying children.

Sometime in 2004, the North path will be completed and designated for cyclists and skaters, while the South will remain for pedestrians. Both paths will be ramped. 

Sober Driver Convicted of Murder for the First Time in NY State History

A Brooklyn driver was convicted of second-degree murder for ramming his car into another at 100 mph on the Belt Parkway on January 16, 2001, killing two people in a fiery collision. Jon Paul Lazartes, 21 faces up to 25 years to life in prison for "depraved indifference" to human life. The  NY Daily News, quotes Assistant District Attorney Maureen McCormick as saying "Jurors said they couldn't avoid the feeling that any of them could have been on the road that night, struck by Lazartes' "4,500-pound torpedo," The case could be very important to bicyclists and pedestrians who have previously been  unprotected by criminal laws. 

In the last decade, more than 3,000 NYC cyclists and pedestrians were killed by sober motorists. Not one of those motorists were convicted of a crime or served jail time. T.A. will push the district attorneys to use this case as precedent for the aggressive prosecution of motorists who kill and injure bicyclists and pedestrians.

NY State Bans Driving with Handheld Cell Phones

Starting Dec. 1, motorists using handheld cell phones will face $100 fines. Through February 2002, those fines can be dismissed if violators are able to prove they have bought a hands-free phone, which will be legal. Phoning and driving is increases the risk of crashing to the same level as driving drunk. Unfortunately, the same public health specialists who revealed this, also report that the increased danger of crashing remains the same whether a handheld or hands-free phone is used.

Car-Free Prospect Park Endorsed By Enviro, Business, Labor Coalition.

As part of the NYC Transportation Plan for the next mayor, a heavy hitting ensemble of NYC institutions officially signed onto making Prospect Park car-free. 

transalt.org/press/releases/010604unclog.html

www.transalt.org/prospectpark

Take Action

Free Beer, Snacks and the Company of Genuine Velo-rutionarys. Don’t miss volunteer night 6-9 pm, June 27, T.A. Office (115 West 30th St. #1207).

T.A. In the News

transalt.org/media

Latest

6/22 Signs Promote Ped Safety, Newsday

6/22 DOT Commissioner Goes After Expired Permits, Newsday

6/17 A Wider Street Is (a) Safer (b) More Congested, New York Times City Section

See T.A. on TV. This Saturday 3/30, 6:30pm Channel 11, WPIX

Press Watch

Stopping suburban sprawl and its attendant dependence on the car is in the national news. See the NY Times 6/25 and the July National Geographic.

Stay Smart & Informed.

Sensible Transport Junkies:

Subscribe to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s e-weekly, Mobilizing the Region.  www.tstc.org

Insiders Breakfast on Fresh Baked NYC Politics & Policy

The daily Gotham Gazette. gothamgazette.com  NYC News summaries and savvy commentary.