On Fox 5's Good Day program with Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly (son of Ray) this morning, Streetsblog columnist Steve Vaccaro skillfully, smoothly debated Jeffrey Barr, the lawyer representing Manhattan's anti-bike-share NIMBYs. Steve's performance speaks for itself. All I have to say is, put this man on TV more.
Okay, I also have to say, Rosanna Scotto needs to do her homework on the number of New Yorkers who own cars, the spatial efficiency of different transportation modes, and how NYC allocates curb space. About three minutes in, Scotto says, "I think what some people are concerned about is that we're kind of dumping parking spots and everything for 3 percent of the population, while the other people are forced to find other ways to park and get around the city." Of course, in Manhattan, where Barr's clients live, only 23 percent of households own cars, but most of the curb is devoted to storing their vehicles. After bike-share launches, New York City's car owners will still be hogging a percentage of public curb space that's vastly out of proportion to their share of the population.
