Bruce Schaller Profiles a “City in Flux”

Ahead of Sunday’s big PlaNYC 2030 reveal, Bruce Schaller of Schaller Consulting has released an exhaustive analysis of New York City traffic, transit and public space. “CITYinFLUX: Understanding and Untangling Traffic and Transportation in NYC” is a compendium of over 40 reports and databases, highlighting a wealth of interesting facts, charts and analyses. The complete report (43 page PDF) is available here.

Here’s one nice factoid: Autos account for an estimated 75% of vehicle miles traveled in the five boroughs:

And here’s another: 10% of auto trips are under one-half mile, 22% are under 1 mile and
56% are under 3 miles — distances readily served by bicycle:

Other tidbits:

• While the greatest concentrations of New York City auto commuters live in neighborhoods beyond walking distance of a subway station, 61% of city residents who commute by auto live within two-thirds of a mile of a subway or commuter rail station.
• For the region as a whole, 80% of auto commuters have a transit option that would take no more than 15 minutes longer than their auto trip.
• The average cost of parking on-street at a meter is $1.73 compared with $21 to $27 (depending on duration) for off-street parking in the Manhattan CBD.

“Pricing is the most effective way to discourage auto use,” the report concludes. “A sensible program to reduce traffic and improve New Yorkers’ transportation options should combine improvements to public transportation, walking and cycling with congestion pricing and parking pricing policies that discourage unnecessary driving and raise funds for public transportation.”