Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

T.A.’s Online Ticket Tracker Helps Map Bike Crackdown

4:14 PM EST on February 18, 2011

A new feature on Transportation Alternatives' website allows you to easily submit info about any traffic tickets you get while cycling.

Tracking the NYPD's enforcement of traffic laws, including tickets issued to cyclists, has long been part of Transportation Alternatives' job. A new tool on their website makes it easier than ever -- especially relevant while the city's bike ticketing blitz continues.

The new web form looks just like a traffic ticket, so you can just copy the information onto the site, box by box. Collecting that data "really helps us get a better perspective on where to target our advocacy efforts," explained Aja Hazelhoff, a bike advocate with T.A.

As an example, she explained, T.A. is working with a number of other cycling groups on the police ticketing of Central Park cyclists. "This helps us in our meetings with the NYPD and the city to help characterize the nature of what's going on in Central Park as opposed to other areas of the city," said Hazelhoff.

Soon, luckily, there won't be quite so much need for this kind of ticket tracking. Once the Savings Lives Through Better Information Bill goes into effect, said Hazelhoff, accurate information about every traffic summons in the city will be available monthly. That summons information, though, will still only be available at the precinct level, rather than broken out into individual locations, meaning that finer-grained geographical detail will still be important to flesh out the picture of police enforcement in New York City.

In addition, T.A. is currently filing a freedom of information request with the police department to see what violations the current bike ticket blitz has been focusing on and in what locations. "We're going to be making the argument that if it doesn't align with safety priorities, it should," said T.A. general counsel Juan Martinez.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday’s Headlines: Yes He Said Yes He Will Yes Edition

That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.

September 22, 2023

Madness: Port Authority Will Spend $8M to ‘Study’ Widening Outerbridge Crossing

Will this $8.3 million find out anything we don't know about induced demand?

September 22, 2023

Study: How Low-Income People Really Use Micromobility

Shared bikes and scooters are meeting low-income people's basic mobility needs — but they're not being subsidized like it.

September 22, 2023

School Bus Driver Hits Cyclist, Injures 3, On Major Brooklyn School Bike Route

The crash happened on the route of the weekly Bergen bike bus.

September 21, 2023

City of Yes Yes Yes! Adams Calls for Elimination of Parking Mandates on ALL New Housing

Mayor Adams today announced the historic end to one of the city’s most antiquated — and despised — zoning laws requiring the construction of parking with every new development.

September 21, 2023
See all posts