Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

Did you wear your helmet when you biked to work this morning? Whether you did or you didn't, it's up to you. So why are there so many people shrieking about it? On one side, the 85-percenters, overstating the protection helmets offer against head injuries. On the other side, the 3-footers, claiming that it's actually safer to go helmetless because drivers give you more space and a host of other reasons. Some recent hysteria around bike-share and head injuries fueled this fire. I'm not sure Jeff and I put that fire out with our discussion, but we at least tried to make some sense of it.

Speaking of fiery discussions, did you see the back-and-forth between Colin Dabkowski, a Buffalo News journalist, and walkability guru Jeff Speck after the most recent Congress for the New Urbanism? We clear up once and for all some misconceptions about how New Urbanism's winners-and-losers strategy does and doesn't address social equity.

And in between, we take a moment to celebrate a small victory in San Francisco, where a community pushed back against the fire department's push to widen streets.

Subscribe to the Talking Headways Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher or by signing up for our RSS feed.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Gateway’ Drug: Trump Is Holding the Second Avenue Subway Hostage

The president block funds for the Second Avenue Subway during the government shutdown in October — and the MTA has still not received the money, sources said.

January 28, 2026

TRAIN IN VAIN: Amtrak Pulls Plug On Metro-North Expansion

All aboard? Not so fast. Amtrak is putting the brakes on an expansion of the Metro-North that would have extended service to Albany.

January 28, 2026

Bushwick Panel Opposes NYPD Cycling Crackdown — But Board Chair Slams Newbies

A community board chair is calling into question the very role of community boards by saying his board doesn't speak for the community. Yes, he said the thinking part out loud.

January 28, 2026

Survey: Most Americans Are Open To Ditching Their Cars

Automakers have spent a century and countless trillions of dollars making car-dependent living the American norm. But U.S. resident still aren't sold, a new survey suggests.

January 28, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines: Plowed In Edition

It was still a mess out there. Plus other news.

January 28, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines: The Storm Before the Calm Edition

What a mess (was Gersh actually right?!). Plus other news.

January 27, 2026
See all posts