We woke up on Monday to find that New York State has a new 750-mile bike lane.
OK, we're exaggerating, but as the Albany Times-Union reported, the state has finished a T-shaped bike and recreation path that goes from Manhattan to the Canadian border (that's the vertical leg of the T) and from Albany to Buffalo on the horizontal. The story was surprisingly short on details (um, how about a map to start? Oh, here you go), but long on possibilities.
Sure, a lot of the trail is not off-road, but the MTA sent over some pictures and, like Ithaca, they're gorgeous (below). So who wants to join Dave Colon on his latest "challenge": New York to Plattsburgh — and then strong to Niagara!
Meanwhile, in other news:
Ready, set, click: The Department of Transportation is urging anyone who cares about the future of the 34th Avenue open street — the one the agency calls "the gold standard" — to fill out a survey that offers supporters the chance to advocate for a permanent linear park. It also allows residents of the city to remind DOT that the principal dangers on city roadways are car drivers and to point out your outrage that any city agency would acquiesce to a form of transportation that is killing our planet, killing our air and killing our children. "Once DOT has compiled the results of the survey, we aim to hold another public meeting to share this feedback with you and community," the agency said in a statement (here's how the last meeting went).
So much for our massive Brooklyn Council election roundup! No sooner did we hit "publish" before we learned that a new candidate had thrown her hat into the ring to succeed Chaim Deutsch in the 48th District centering on Sheepshead Bay (Bklyner). We've reached out to Mariya Markh and will update our story soon (hopefully).
Monday was a day filled with the very kind of violence that a permanent open street on 34th Avenue would prevent:
No one was apparently injured in this crash, but how often do you get to see the sheer force and damage that can be done by a speeding, out of control van driver. This is must-see TV. (NYScanner via Twitter)
Perhaps the best news from Monday is the "bomb" in the Tesla never went off. (NY Times)
Thank the transit gods for reporter Aaron Gordon, whose hot take on the new Moynihan Train Hall rivaled, then exceeded, ours for its derisive shrug. (Vice)
As if everything else wasn't already awful: six women have been attacked at one Bushwick subway station since mid-November. (Bklyner)
Nothing to see here: The LIRR's $2.6-billion track expansion project is proceeding as planned. (WSJ)
And, finally, Georgia is really on our minds today, as the Peachtree State holds two runoff elections to determine party control of the U.S. Senate. Will it be four years of dysfunctional government under the leadership of Mitch "No $2,000 for You!" McConnell or four years of President Biden at least getting the chance to carry out his agenda? Tune in tomorrow...
Sixty people died in the first three months of the year, 50 percent more than the first quarter of 2018, which was the safest opening three months of any Vision Zero year.
