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NYC Century Bike Tour Register online today and save $20! Early registration discounts end July 31st.
Experience the world’s greatest city! Ride the 14th Annual NYC Century Bike Tour on September 12, 2004.
Featuring a selection of distances (15, 35, 55, 75 or 100 miles) and magnificent views of New York's bridges, neighborhoods and parks.
Come to the Volunteer Mailing Party, Wednesday, July 14th at 6 pm at the T.A. Office (115 West 30th, #1207)! Free beer, soda, snacks and scintillating conversation.
T.A. In the News Latest
T.A. News Time on your hands? Eager to
make a difference? T.A. needs folks who are retired, work part-time or
between jobs to help our top-notch advocacy staff make the city a better place for bicyclists,
pedestrians and transit riders. Valet Bike Parking Volunteers Needed Volunteer to provide valet bike parking at events throughout the year. Register online to express your interest in this opportunity. T.A. still has two open internships:
- Advocacy
(work with T.A. program staff) Please visit transalt.org/intern for more information. Donations Wish List Help cycling and walking and get a tax deduction. Donate to T.A. We need: -Pentium II or better
PCs Contact Matt: info@transalt.org
Do Your Part for Safer Streets! Report: Potholes
and Hazards: Sidewalk
obstructions: Mayor’s Quality of Life Hotline at 888-677-LIFE/
Read more about T.A.'s work to reduce street hazards at transalt.org/haz Report Dangerous Cabs: 212-221-TAXI or report them online.
Read more about T.A.'s work to make cabs safer for pedestrians and cyclists at transalt.org/cabs The T.A. Bulletin is a bi-weekly publication of Transportation Alternatives. The Bulletin has 26,000 subscribers. Transportation Alternatives is a 5,000-member NYC-area non-profit citizens group working for better bicycling, walking and public transit, and fewer cars. We work for safer, calmer neighborhood streets and car-free parks. Join T.A. today!
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New Manhattan Bridge Bicycle Path Opens
On Thursday, July 1, the NYC Department of Transportation opened a new bicycling-only path on the Manhattan Bridge. The City plans to hold a formal ribbon cutting later this month. The new bike only path is fully ramped on both sides, a welcome improvement over the two flights of stairs on the bridge’s west side path, which is now solely designated for walkers.
The DOT, with praiseworthy foresight, installed approaching bike lanes on both sides of the bridge prior to opening the new path. On the Manhattan side, the agency installed bike lanes on Allen and Pike Streets between Houston and South Streets, connecting the new bridge path with the East River Greenway and Chinatown, the Lower East Side and East Village. On the Brooklyn side, the new Jay Street southbound only bike lane, from Sands to Tillary Street, affords safe passage for cyclists exiting the bridge path. There is still much to be done, however, to improve safety and access on both sides of the bridge.
The Brooklyn side path entrance/exit is at the southeast corner of Jay and Sands Streets. (Cyclists may ride on the sidewalk under the bridge.) In Brooklyn, people biking to the bridge via Jay Street--80% of path user--must still contend with dangerous motorized traffic exiting the bridge’s off-ramp. On Jay Street, between the bridge’s motor vehicle off-ramp and Sands Street, the DOT installed barricades to limit bicyclist access and one "Share the Road" sign to alert drivers to the presence of cyclists. Rather than barricades, the DOT should install more signs, flashing traffic lights and a northbound colored bike lane to improve the safety of bridge-bound bikers on Jay.
The Manhattan side entrance/exit is at the southwest corner of Canal and Forsyth Streets. (Cyclists may ride on the sidewalk here.) This is a much smaller and less trafficked intersection than the crossing of Canal Street and the Bowery. In Manhattan, the DOT and the Parks Department should make bridge access safer and more convenient from the north and west. The agencies could create short, shared bicycle-pedestrian paths through Sara Delano Roosevelt Park to connect Hester Street east to west and Forsyth Street north to south, which are both dead-ended by the park.
Nationwide and right here in New York City, people over 65 are most at risk to be killed or injured by automobiles. While senior citizens comprise only 13% of the city’s population, they represent 33% of the city’s pedestrian fatalities. Faced with hazardous walking environments, New York seniors are not getting the exercise they need to stay healthy.
By remedying these problems and others in Northern Manhattan, Transportation Alternatives is developing a tool box of senior-specific design measures that will be applicable in any New York City neighborhood where hazardous streets are discouraging active lifestyles.
The New York State Assembly is known for moving at the same speed as the M23 cross-town bus. This year, however, the slow-moving Assembly has stopped dead in its tracks, refusing to move on several key bills that would protect commuters from three of their worst enemies:
Chelsea Piers Bicycle Path There needs to be some sort of change in the traffic lights on the west side bike path, at Chelsea Piers-23 street.
Something needs to be done at 23rd street. I understand that there are a lot of accidents there. Submitted Anonymously T.A. Response: Over the next two years, the State DOT will make safety improvements to the Hudson River Greenway (see http://www.transalt.org/press/magazine/042Spring/06hudson.html ). This sounds like a location that needs some attention. I recommend sending a request to the State DOT to see if the agency can make the improvement in this upcoming round of construction. Doug Currey
I don't agree with your "ban car alarms" campaign. We own a car and live in Long Island City. People steal cars here, like anywhere in New York City. When my husband got his car alarm I slept better. The alarm deters people from taking his car. The sound does shut off after 10 minutes. Jane T.A. Response: Jane,Thanks for your letter. We recognize that some car owners probably think their car alarms are working. But the alarms are actually giving you and others a false sense of security. Car alarm sirens are a constant source of aggravation for New Yorkers: they wake people up, disturb people who are trying to work and make neighborhoods uncivil with deliberately obnoxious noise. At the same time, they don’t actually do anything to protect cars. Because nearly all alarms are false, people don’t respond to the noise, and thieves can easily disable alarms anyway. Statistics show no difference in theft rates between cars with alarms and cars without them. In fact, if the false sense of security you derive from your ineffective audible car alarm leads you to leave your laptop or some other item in the backseat because you think it’s protected by an alarm, the alarm is really leading to more crime. And the false sense of security of your alarm is preventing you from switching to other devices, like immobilizers, that really do work. Your best bet? Be safe and switch to a silent immobilizer, tracking system, pager or some other technology that actually works.
If you are not already aware, I thought your membership might want to know that the police have started issuing citations to many bicyclists coming off the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side. According to the officer who ticketed me this morning, cyclists break the law if they do not dismount and walk their bikes the last 100 feet or so of the bridge. He clarified further that there is no requirement that cyclists walk their bikes when coming on to the bridge or when coming off the bridge on the Manhattan side. The officer also said that they have started to enforce the requirement because of complaints of pedestrians and that they intend to issue tickets every morning from now on. I bike that bridge every day, and I have never once noticed a cyclist walk their bike the last 100 feet. Indeed, while I and the cyclist behind me were being ticketed, no fewer than 10 riders rode past without dismounting. Although I intend to pay my fine and be done with it, I hope more riders can be made aware. And, if there really is a genuine threat to pedestrian safety, I would hope that the City would invest in better signage than the tiny-print signs that currently tell cyclists that they should "be prepared" to dismount. Thanks.
Car, truck and bus exhaust causes unbearable degradation to the quality of life in our wonderful city. I wish laws were in effect that would change this for the better. One way, at least, would be for law enforcement to crack down on motorists who let their motors idle, (especially trucks!) when they are parked. Submitted Anonymously T.A. Response: You're absolutely right; idling does degrade quality of life and cause serious health problems. Currently, with few exceptions, it is against State law to idle a diesel motor vehicle engine for more than five consecutive minutes, and a violation of New York City law to idle any motor vehicle engine for more than three consecutive minutes. Emissions from diesel engines in trucks and buses contain microscopic particles of soot that can lodge deep in a person's lungs. The soot and other pollutants in diesel exhaust have been linked to cancer, respiratory diseases, such as asthma, and other serious health conditions.The police are supposed to enforce the law, but there is still a great deal of illegal idling in the city. You should write to your local police precinct to ask them to improve their enforcement of idling laws in your neighborhood. You can also write to the Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Christopher Ward [an error occurred while processing this directive] Take Action
Advocacy Committeess Brooklyn@transalt.org Centralpark@transalt.org Gowanus@transalt.org Citywide: |
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Alternatives Magazine, our members-only in-depth quarterly
magazine— Selected articles
Opportunity Knocks for Brooklyn Bridge Connector
Improvements Coming to the Hudson River Greenway
DOT Pondering 8th Avenue Bike Lane
DOT Launches Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes Must Use Street Design to Encourage Walking
$5 Million to Jump Start NYC Bus Rapid Transit
Support for Car-Free Central Park Swells
S.T.O.P. (Standing Together Organizing Parents) TAKE
THE TOUR!
MAD AS HELL? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Call the Mayor's Quality of Life Action Line (real people 24 hrs a day): 888-677-5433 or 888-677-LIFE. POTHOLES, STREET HAZARDS GOT YOU IN A RUT? Call DOT at 212-225-5368 and hit 0 to skip the message and speak with a
human. You can also report them online at transalt.org/ STAY SMART & INFORMED Savvy
transit riders get their lowdown on the subways here: Sensible
Transport Junkies::  The daily Gotham Gazette: gothamgazette .org NYC News summaries and savvy commentary. Bikes
in Bogota? Car-Free Cartagena? Tel-Aviv by Train?
Give on-line at transalt.org/join Quick!
What's your city council GET THERE!
Check our maps page for links to NYC-area bicycle and transit maps. RIDES AND WALKS Friday, July 9, 6 pm. Evening West Side River-side Walk. SW corner of 23rd St. and 8th Ave. Shorewalkers. Saturday, July 10, 9 am. Longing for Long Beach. Kew Gardens (Statue of Civic Virtue). 5BBC. Saturday, July 10, 9 pm. Prospect Park Moonlight Ride. Grand Army Plaza. Time's Up! Sunday, July 11. Gold Coast Century. BAE Systems (formally Hazeltine Corporation) in Greenlawn. Huntington Bicycle Club. Sunday, July 11, 8:30 am. Bronx Perimeter Ride. Yankee Stadium. 5BBC. Sunday, July 11, 9 am. Jones Beach. Central Park Boathouse. Fast & Fabulous. Sunday, July 11, 10 am. Breezy Point Beach Walk and Swim. Rockaway Park at Beach 116th Street. Shorewalkers. Sunday, July 11, 10 am. Bicycle Beach Bums Ride #2. Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park. 5BBC. Sunday, July 11, 10:30 am. Bayridge to Brighton Beach. Outside subway stairs at the end of the R line (Bayridge 95th St.). Shorewalkers. Tuesday, July 13, 10 am. TBA. Central Park Loeb Boathouse. The Weekday Cyclist in NYC. Thursday, July 15. The Weekday Cyclists' Annual Three-Quarter Century. The Weekday Cyclists in NYC, Friday, July 16, 6 pm. Prospect Park Traffic-Calming Ride. Grand Army Plaza. Time's Up! Friday, July 16, 7 pm. Cyclone Ride. City Hall. Time's Up! Saturday, July 17, 10 am. Beach Blanket Bayville. Cunningham Park. 5BBC. Sunday, July 18. Harlem Valley Rail Ride, Upstate NY. Millerton, New York. Bike New York. Sunday, July 18. Tour de Lance Bike-a-thon & Texas BBQ benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, CT. Tour de Lance. Sunday, July 18, 7:45 am. Bear Mountain. 207th Street Subway Stop, last stop on A express train. Fast & Fabulous. Sunday, July 18, 10 am. Bicycle Beach Bums Ride #3. Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park. 5BBC. Sunday, July 18, 11 am. Broadway #3. Inside Port Authority entrance at 8th Ave b/w 41st and 42nd Streets. Shorewalkers. Tuesday, July 20, 10 am. TBA. Central Park Loeb Boathouse. The Weekday Cyclist in NYC. Thursday, July 22, 10 am. TBA. Central Park Loeb Boathouse. The Weekday Cyclist in NYC.
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Read more about
the 
Enter
Transportation Alternatives’ new Safe Routes for Seniors project in Northern
Manhattan. Based on the pioneering Safe Routes to School project in the Bronx,
Safe Routes for Seniors is improving the walking environment for tens of
thousands of seniors in Northern Manhattan. The five year project, funded
primarily through a grant from the New York State Department of Health’s Healthy
Heart program, is bringing together resident seniors, senior service providers,
traffic safety experts, city agencies and health professionals to cooperatively
devise and guarantee the completion of design improvements at 12 problem
intersections north of 110th Street. 
Transportation
Alternatives is now working with senior centers in Washington Heights and Inwood
to identify the first four problem intersections. "While some of the seniors are
more vocal than others on this issue, there is definite consensus that walking
to the senior centers is not an entirely peaceful experience," says Amy
Pfeiffer, program director of Safe Routes for Seniors. In surveys and
discussions, almost 100% of the seniors said they would walk more if these
problems were fixed: 
#1:
Red Light Runners. In 1992, an 18 month-old Manhattan girl crossing the
street with her mother was dragged 13 blocks by a red light runner. This tragedy
helped start the City’s current red light camera program, which has reduced
deadly red-light running by 60%. The red light camera program will end this year
unless Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver gets off the dime and passes pending
legislation reauthorizing their use. 
#2:
Speed Freaks. Speeding cabbies, drag racers and reckless drivers mow down
scores of New Yorkers every year. Speed cameras work in other big cities to save
hundreds of lives; Washington D.C. reduced speeding and traffic fatalities by
75% and 30% respectively, over a two year period. Before New York City can
deploy automated speed enforcement cameras, a state law authorizing their use
must be passed. Such legislation passed the State Senate, but is opposed by
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
#3:
Bus Lane Blockers. Bus cameras are similar to red light and speed cameras in
that they are connected to computers that issue fines to motorists breaking the
law, in this case for parking in bus stops or driving in bus lanes. Commuters in
London-- where bus cameras are widely used-- are saving an average of 10 minutes
in travel time. Bus lane camera legislation was recently introduced by
Assemblymember Pete Grannis, but like red light cameras and speed cameras, is
held up by Assembly gridlock. 
I
am a roller skater and thank god I am good. A cab came flying off of the west
side highway, turning into Chelsea Piers. I had to turn sharply to my right to
avoid colliding with him. I chased him all the way on a brick roadway. (No easy
task.) He said, "That wasn't me. I didn't see you." I told him obviously he
didn't see me. 
Ban
Car Alarms Campaign 
Ticketing
for failure to dismount on Brooklyn side of Brooklyn Bridge 
Idling
Laws
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127 West 26th Street, Suite 1002
New York, NY 10001