Our editor spent part of the holiday weekend in Fire Island — and all we got was a lecture about Vision Zero (not even a T-shirt, even!). Frankly, the guy won't shut up about how he walked from one end of the island to the other and never saw a private car.
But he's right: cars are virtually banned on Fire Island all summer in favor of bikes and a few golf carts — all capped at 8 miles per hour.
Makes you wonder, Mr. Mayor, why we can't have what they have out in Saltaire, Ocean Beach, Atlantique and other island towns: the calm, the peace of mind, the relief from the feeling of impending death by automobile that you get when you banish cars and build livable communities. With deer, even!
Well, maybe the next mayor will work on it.
In the meantime, here's all the news from the weekend:
- Streetsblog covered the bizarre incident involving an NYPD officer using his squad car to crash into a cyclist on Avenue A on Saturday. The Daily News also covered it, though the headline, "Citi Bike gets wedged under NYPD SUV as cops pull cyclist over," definitely downplayed the NYPD's use of deadly force against a cyclist whose main "crime" appeared to be passing through a few red lights.
- Meanwhile, no one was charged when a wrong-way driver killed a pedestrian on W. 128th St. in Harlem on Sunday. (NYDN, NY Post)
- In an unrelated related story, cops hit a pedestrian after racing through a red light. (NYDN, NY Post)
- David Weprin is still calling for no one to actually be tolled once congestion pricing begins in 2021. But he's not alone, as this NY Post story shows.
- Former Ranger Sean Avery is still out there like a ghost of Tom Joad, documenting abuse of cyclists. This time, he captured a sanitation truck almost hitting a cyclist. (Sean Avery via Instagram)
- The Daily News editorial board called the NYPD's three-week ticket blitz to stem the blood tide of cyclist deaths "tragically half-hearted." Get this, the Daily News even doubled-down: "A far better answer is sustained enforcement coupled with street redesign that gives bicycles their own, protected lanes on designated thoroughfares." We could not agree more!
- Meow! Subway workers have really come a long way since Joe Lhota was running the place. (NY Post)
- The private sanitation industry is very slow to make safety improvements mandated by law — but the companies do have until 2024 to get fully up to speed. (NYDN)
- Prompted by a few Streetsblog tweets on Independence Day, Gothamist also reported on the inexplicable DOT and NYPD rules that bar cyclists from the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges, even as cars get unfettered access.
- Here's a cautionary tale for all of you who have started riding Revel scooters all over the place. (NY Post)
- Don't be deterred by the headline in this elitist-sounding Daily Beast piece about cycling — author Richard Greenwald makes some good points about how the city needs to create bike infrastructure in a broader, more equitable manner.
- In case you missed it, Gov. Cuomo may announce today that taxpayers will spend $300 million on a new LIRR train station next to Belmont Park, where the Islanders are building a new arena. Maybe some young reporter will ask the governor to explain why taxpayers are spending $300 million (plus the inevitable unforeseen costs) so that a team that lost money in Brooklyn can move to Long Island and make money. And here’s another one: Why build a new station that will still require shuttle buses to get fans to the games when there’s already an LIRR station exactly where the new arena will sit? (Long Island Business News)
- And, finally, our editor wrote one of his "Cycle of Rage" columns about how rich people with cars clearly don't deserve free parking, prompting many readers to send their own photographic evidence. Friend of Streetsblog Ken Coughlin sent in this shot of Central Park West with plenty of spaces.
