Aaron Naparstek

In its lead editorial yesterday, the New York Times called out the presidential candidates for their failure to address issues facing U.S. cities in this year's campaign. If only the Des Moines Register's editorial board had published something like this back in November...

Researchers Link Car Exhaust Fumes to Heart Attacks (Guardian) MTA Unveils $13.7M in Bronx Subway and Bus Upgrades (News) Brodsky: Congestion Pricing Push Will Make Weiner Mayor (Politicker) London Mayoral Hopefuls Tout Their Green Credentials (BBC via Planetizen) Brodsky: Don’t Trust Us With the Pricing “Lock Box” (Politicker) Former Bogota Mayor Penalosa in NYC to … Continued

You've got to hand it to Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky. His anti-congestion pricing shtick is so finely honed it almost reads like haiku poetry. Here's a bit of verse I derived from a recent Q&A in a newspaper that covers important New York state political issues like, who is Albany's most eligible bachelorette? In the Poet-Statesman's own words:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn made a big pitch for enhanced ferry service in her State of the City Address today:

London Mayor Ken Livingstone is on a tear. Yesterday he announced a £500 million investment in new bicycling infrastructure. Today, he approved a plan to charge the drivers of SUVs, high powered sports cars and other large engine, high emission vehicles a £25 fee ($48.75!) to drive into Central London's congestion charging zone. Simultaneously, low emission vehicles will become exempt from paying the charge. In a press release, Livingstone said,

Television news legend Gabe Pressman hosted a debate on congestion pricing between Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and Partnership for New York City President Kathy Wylde on Friday. The transcript is online at WNBC and it's worth a read if you want to see Wylde catch Brodsky in a couple of small but significant mistruths and get a sense of the arguments that free motoring advocates are using to try to kill the Traffic Commission's anti-gridlock plan.

Sources who wish not to be named send along the following story:

Two news stories came across the wire yesterday that highlight vast differences in the way U.S. cities treat the use of bicycles for transportation. First, there was this story out of Chicago:

More and more, we're seeing grassroots, community-driven Livable Streets project gaining traction on the citywide level. Here's another example of just that: