The year 2007 may prove to be one of the most important years in the storied history of New York City's development. In a future timeline of urban advances, it might be printed in as big a font and as bold a type as 1811--when the grid system was adopted--or 1904--when the I.R.T. subway opened. The text adjacent to 2007 could say something like "the start of livable streets," or "the bike boom begins," or "congestion pricing kicks off." It may turn out that all of those descriptions may suit 2007. The real question is, in hindsight, will they?

The Honorable Joseph Boardman, Commissioner
N.Y. State Dept. of Transportation
5 Governor Harriman State Campus
Albany, NY 12232

John Whitehead, Chair
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor
New York, New York 10006

Dear Commissioner Boardman and Chairman Whitehead:

Rep. Jerrold Nadler
201 Varick Street, Suite 669
New York, NY 10014

Dear Representative Nadler,

I write on behalf of Transportation Alternatives to reiterate our support for a grand boulevard to be created on Route 9A alongside the World Trade Center site. My group believes that a boulevard with wide pedestrian-friendly sidewalks lined with tall shady trees and attractive stores and buildings that "front" on the street would be the best for the community and the wisest investment of scarce transportation funds.

I am here today on behalf of Transportation Alternatives, New York City’s advocates for bicyclists and pedestrians, to express our strong support for making West Street in lower Manhattan a wide, at-grade boulevard with pedestrian-friendly sidewalks lined with tall shady trees on both sides and attractive stores and buildings that front on the east side of the street.

Dear Mssrs. Kalikow, Seymour, Doctoroff and Rampe:

We write to offer several guiding principles as your joint study of options for a possible downtown-to-Long Island Rail Road/John F. Kennedy International Airport link move forward,.

In our view, any proposal for a downtown-to-LIRR/JFK link should: