Aaron Naparstek

In today's Gotham Gazette, Bruce Schaller, Visiting Scholar at the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University, assembles a nice summary of the current state of the congestion pricing debate in New York City. He writes:

From a Streetsblog tipster:

An apology to Streetsblog tipsters. Though our new, high-tech "Contribute to Streetsblog" page has been up and running for a few weeks, I've been having technical problems with the tips@streetsblog.org account and haven't really been checking reader mail very regularly. The problem is now fixed and I'm excavating lots of excellent contributions. I'll try to post a bunch of them this week and I promise we'll be better about this in the future, so please keep them coming. Here is the first batch:

This letter just rolled off my printer:

At an event hosted by the League of Conservation Voters, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will deliver a major speech outlining sustainability challenges and goals for the City of New York through the year 2030. This will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by NBC News Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw.

Dedicating a Ghost Bike for a Friend (NYTurf) Streetfilms: Video of Saturday’s Eric Ng Memorial (Sblog) DOT Officialy Introduces New “Shared Lane” Signs and Markings (DOT) DOT Releases New Signs To Help Bikes And Cars Share The Road (NY1) Move over, drivers – you have company (News) City Council Seeks to Regulate the Pedicab Industry … Continued

Eric Ng, a 22-year-old teacher and activist, was killed on December 1 by a drunk driver as he rode his bicycle on the Hudson River Greenway. Yesterday, Time's Up! and Visual Resistance organized a series of events to pay tribute to Eric's memory. Clarence Eckerson was there with his video camera. (You can find higher resolution Quicktime video here).

Ugandan Transportation Policy Light Years Ahead of New York CityThe greater Kampala metropolitan area will flip the switch on its congestion charging system in February. The city "will raise revenue from vehicle owners who may want to drive to town instead of using cheap buses. The introduction of a congestion fee will instill discipline." Idi Amin would be proud.

Three mornings a week I ride past the South Brooklyn Casket Company on Union Street with my two-year-old son strapped to the back of my bicycle on our way to the nursery school. Though the Casket Company always has trucks parked and unloading all over the sidewalk (and someone, I assume it's the boss, likes to park his Mercedes right next to the building's front door), I've always had a real soft spot for the Casket Co.. It is one of the last functioning light industrial companies in the neighborhood. And I know that my block, the stretch of little townhouses on the south side of Union between 4th and 5th was once filled with Italian funeral parlors. Bearing the pre-gentrifcation name, "South Brooklyn," the Casket Company is one of the last genuine remnants of the old neighborhood.