Articles and Actions
Events and Appeals
Highlight of the Week:
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| Central Park Green on City Hall Steps | ||||||||
Sunday's City Hall rally for a car-free summer in Central Park was a huge success. Hundreds of believers attended, many news stories ran and elected-officials asked loud and clear for a car-free summer in 2006.
And we were able to declare an unprecedented amount of support from the Councilmembers whose districts border Central Park. This incredible feat was made even more significant in light of Councilmember Gale Brewer's announcement of a resolution calling for a Car-Free summer in Central Park in 2006. We now have the support of the Public Advocate, the Borough President, the Chairperson of the City Council's Transportation Committee and 80% of the Councilmembers whose districts border Central Park, not to mention 100,000 New Yorkers. What more do we need? Send a postcard to the Mayor and let him know that a car-free summer is long overdue! Dear Mayor Bloomberg, An unprecedented number of Councilmembers whose districts abut Central Park believe that the loop drive should be car-free in the summer of 2006. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum agrees, as do Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Transportation Committee Chair John C. Liu. The voices of these elected officials are echoed by 100,000 car-free Central Park petition signers, dozens of the City's leading health, transportation, civic and environmental organizations, and many prominent individuals. Mayor Bloomberg, I urge you to make Central Park car-free this summer. It would bring a healthy, safe and practical improvement to the lives millions of residents and visitors. Sincerely, Click here to fill out the form online if it doesn't work in your email program. If you missed the rally, see the 4-minute short video. There were also two segments on network news, a piece on WNYC and several newspaper stories. Here is a sampling of the press coverage:
Keep Autos Out of Central Park, Bike Group Says Metro NY 3/27 |
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| Green Light for Brooklyn Pedestrain Plaza | ||||||||
On March 13, the DOT announced a plan to create a new pedestrian plaza on Willoughby Street between Pearl and Adams Streets in Downtown Brooklyn and a week later presented it to Brooklyn Community Board 2's Transportation Committee, which voted overwhelmingly in support of the plan.
The project will bring 7,000 square feet of much needed car-free pedestrian space to the bustling commercial district. This will give commuters a safer walk to work, school and transit. It will give shoppers a refuge to rest their feet. And, the new plaza will provide welcoming space to eat lunch and take a break during the workday, making Downtown Brooklyn a more desirable place to work. The trial pedestrian plaza, which will be implemented in May, is supported by T.A., the Downtown Brooklyn Council, MetroTech Business Improvement District, Park Slope Neighbors and Develop Don't Destroy. |
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| T.A. Wins Safety Improvements for Seniors | ||||||||
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When it comes to making improvements to New York City's streets a little does go a long way. Take the new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant pedestrian ramp installed at Thayer Street and Nagle Avenue in Inwood in northern Manhattan. This crossing was previously only ramped on one side of the intersection, stranding many users at the edge of Nagle Avenue. Local seniors working with T.A. recommended this improvement to the City Department of Transportation and voila—access to the sidewalk.
Likewise, as one of the only unsignalized intersection in Manhattan, Broadway at 177th Street was flagged by Washington Heights' seniors as difficult to cross. They were the first group of seniors to work with T.A.'s Safe Routes for Seniors program so it is particularly rewarding to see their efforts bear fruit. The City Department of Transportation not only installed a new pedestrian signal to help seniors know when to cross, the agency also moved the entire utility pole to be inline with the crosswalk, making the crosswalk more visible to seniors. These changes may seem small, but they make a world of difference for seniors and other vulnerable street users in the neighborhood.
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| Bike Parking at Bedford Ave Station: It's L-ementary, My Dear Lentol | ||||||||
Relief is in sight for Williamsburg, Brooklyn's crowded sidewalks and overflowing bike racks. Last spring, Brooklyn Community Board 1 unanimously approved a City Planning-DOT proposal to widen the sidewalks around the Bedford Avenue L subway station and add as many as a dozen bike racks. Now, DOT and north Brooklynites are looking to State Assemblyman Joseph Lentol to secure funding to build these bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
In north Brooklyn, bicycle abandonment exacerbates the chronic parking shortage, annoys pedestrians and mars the visual landscape. Thankfully, Assemblyman Lentol has asked the NYPD's 94th Precinct to adopt the 9th Precinct's commonsense bicycle tagging policy, a program T.A. strongly supports and believes should be expanded.
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| Speaker Quinn Supports Buffered Bike Lane on 8th Avenue | ||||||||
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's support for a bike lane on Manhattan's 8th Avenue is as strong as it is long. Her support pre-dates her election as Council Speaker, but since becoming Speaker Ms. Quinn has upped her support and called on the DOT to install a buffered bike lane on 8th Avenue.
T.A., Manhattan Borough President Stringer, Councilmember Brewer and Community Boards 4 and 5 also support a buffered bike lane on 8th Avenue. Why is a buffer so important? A two- to three-foot striped buffer zone between the bike lane and moving car traffic will create more safe cycling space on the wide, heavily-trafficked avenue than a standard five-foot bike lane with no buffer between it and moving traffic. A buffered bike lane will make cyclists feel safer and encourage more people to ride more often. The buffer zone will be a strong visual separation to help keep drivers from encroaching on the bike lane. To cyclists, big avenues with non-buffered bike lanes (e.g. 5th and 6th Avenue and Essex Street in Manhattan) do not feel as safe as ones with buffered bike lanes (e.g. Hudson and Lafayette Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan).
T.A. is also assessing current cycling conditions on 8th Avenue, prior to the installation of the bike lane this spring. Please help us by filling out our quick 10-question survey. |
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| Peñalosa Brings Message of Optimism from Bogotá | ||||||||
Enrique Peñalosa was only in New York for a few days, but his powerful presence and big ideas made an impact. Over three hundred people attended two events designed to share the vision of this economist, urban thinker and politician. Employees of the NYC Department of Transportation, City Planning and NYSDOT joined architects, urban planners, academics and activists to hear how one man with a plan transformed a city wracked by poverty and drugs into one filled with hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes, thousands of urban parks and new schools.
Peñalosa, during his tenure as mayor of Bogotá, did this in part, he says, by taking money that was budgeted to build huge roads that would serve only a small minority of Bogotá residents and reallocating it to these projects that would serve everyone. To those who worried about this reallocation of funds dooming Bogotá to years of traffic nightmares he said: "Trying to solve traffic jams by building more road infrastructure is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline." Peñalosa's bold choices were not immediately embraced by all. But by the end of his term as mayor (they are term limited to one term) he had one of the highest approval ratings of any mayor of Bogotá ever and a much higher approval rating than mayors from nearby cities. Peñalosa's vision and follow through created a happier, more just and more equitable city for everyone. Majora Carter from Sustainable South Bronx helped bring Peñalosa's ideas back home to New York City as she introduced him at an evening event co-sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Thanks to all who attended. If you would like more information on Peñalosa's presentations please email events@transalt.org. |
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| Call for Volunteers | ||||||||
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Transportation Alternatives needs volunteers to help collect data for the following surveys:
Traffic Violations Survey: Driving and parking in bike lanes, double parking, dooring and speeding are all too common on New York City streets. Though these traffic violations pose a significant danger to cyclists, they are rarely enforced. Help collect data that will quantify the frequency of these infractions and convince the NYPD to increase their enforcement efforts. Bridge Safety and Access Surveys: The four East River bridges are critical links in the New York City bike network, yet access to the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro bridges is inconvenient and often downright dangerous. T.A. is studying safety and access conditions at the bridge path entrances on both sides of the river and needs your help to survey path users and document dangerous traffic conditions. For more information and to get involved, contact T.A. at volunteer@transalt.org. |
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| Save the Date: April 29th is Fit Kids NYC | ||||||||
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The Youth Health Coalition presents:
FIT KIDS NYC: Healthier Lifestyles for Families and Children Help us create awareness among parents and children on how to make proper exercise and healthier eating a part of their everyday lives. Keynote Speaker: Saturday, April 29, 2006 Please RSVP to maria.galarza@heart.org. |
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| April 2006 Bicycle Film Series | ||||||||
April 12th, 19th, 22nd and 26th
Presented by the Donnell Media Center of the New York Public Library All programs held in the Donnell Library Center Auditorium Wednesday, April 12, 2006 at 2:30 pm: The Cycle, 16mm film, b&w, 10 minutes Breaking Away, 16mm film, color, 99 minutes See the full Bicycle Film Series schedule (PDF) |
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| NY'ers for Parks 4th Annual Parks Advocacy Day | ||||||||
Register now to continue making a difference for parks.
Parks Advocacy Day will include:
WHEN: May 10, 2006 Sign up on the New Yorkers for Parks website. |
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| How Would the Gift of a Bike Change Your Life? | ||||||||
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New York City has been named a Bicycling BikeTown for the second year in a row!
Now entering its fourth year, BikeTown continues to bring the spirit of cycling to thousands of people nationwide. You've seen stories of personal transformation through healthier living, more time with family and less stressful commutes. Will your story be next? If you or someone you know lives in New York City, visit bicycling.com/biketown to tell Bicycling Magazine in 50 words how you would use a bike to improve your life. In 2006 Lipton® Tea is partnering with Bicycling's BikeTown USA to challenge America to start living well with the Lipton® Live Well Challenge. Visit bicycling.com/biketown to submit your essay. |
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| T.A. in the News | ||||||||
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Nicer Barriers to Entry gothamist 3/28 Push For A Car-Free Central Park Gotham Gazette 3/28 Central Park Car 'Alarm' New York Post 3/27 Metro Briefing: Manhattan: Rally for Less Traffic in Central Park New York Times 3/27 Drive Is Building to Ban Automobiles from Oasis of Central Park New York Sun 3/27 City Briefs: Car-Free Park Urged New York Daily News 3/27 Keep Autos Out of Central Park, Bike Group Says Metro NY 3/27 Op-Ed: Smart Streets New York Times 3/26 Car Free Central Park The Oil Drum 3/24 Plea to Mayor: OK Car-Free Central Park New York Daily News 3/17 Kill Your Speed, Not Staten Island Tri-State Transportation Campaign Bulletin 3/17 Congestion Pricing Gotham Gazette 3/15 THE MAIL: Critical Mass Out of Touch? New York Press 3/15 Another City Bus-Related Death gothamist 3/13 Goverment Employees Avoid Park Slope Traffic Forum Jam The Brooklyn Downtown Star 3/9 The New Crime Zone Time Out New York 3/9 Congestion Questions gothamist 3/3 Yo, Bloomberg: It's time to solve the Brooklyn transit problem Atlantic Yards Report 3/3 Transportation Alternatives is a member-supported non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Join T.A. today!
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