Aaron Naparstek

November's Governing Magazine has a great story on how big cities across the U.S. are gearing up to make themselves more bike-friendly. There is no mention of New York City, but check out what Chicago is doing and how they are doing it:

Bruce Schaller's studies continue to give New York City policymakers a much more detailed idea of who commutes into Manhattan's Central Business District each day, where they came from and what they are doing once they get there (PDF file). 

A Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods traffic analysis predicts gridlock conditions could be almost daily events in the current Atlantic Yards plan. To highlight the need for further regional analysis and better area-wide traffic solutions, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods will be holding an information event. This is an opportunity to point out how Atlantic Yards will exacerbate the already traffic-packed intersection of Atlantic, Flatbush, and 4th Avenues. Volunteers will be holding signs, distributing literature, and helping pedestrians navigate these dangerous intersections.

Guess what Transportation Alternatives' Brooke DuBose and Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson found in Downtown Brooklyn's physically-separated bike lane on Tillary Street this morning? Cars and trucks, of course. Four of them driving, parking or unloading in the "protected" bike lane in just ten minutes of filming. Streetsbloggers who have been debating bike lane design and enjoying Bollard Porn, will appreciate Clarence's video:

Bruce Schaller's new study, Battling Traffic, released this morning at a standing-room only Manhattan Institute panel discussion, digs in to the question of what New Yorkers really think about the city's traffic congestion and the idea of using road pricing and other tools to manage it. Want to see what New York City gridlock looks like? Take a look at this remarkable map from Schaller's study:

The Schaller Study: What New Yorkers Think About Road Pricing (MI) At New Trade Center, Seeking Lively (but Secure) Streets (NYT) City Council Gives Taxi Owners Incentives to Switch to Hybrids (News) GM Slowing SUV Production (Business Week) Higher Gas Prices & Airport Security Boost Amtrak Ridership (USA Today) Arrest Made In Gunfight Over Brooklyn … Continued

Manhattan Community Board 3's Transportation Committee is holding a public meeting on the new bike lanes on Grand Street in the Lower East Side tonight at 6:30 pm at 273 Bowery (at Houston St.), University Settlement, Room 1. Details here. It is important that some bicycling advocates show up to this meeting. From Transportation Alternatives:

$15 Million in Grants Are Available for the Study of Congestion Pricing

Upper West Side City Councilmember Gale Brewer is emerging as City Council's top Livable Streets advocate. In April she worked with Transportation Alternatives to author Intro. 199, the Traffic Relief Bill. Today, Crain's Insider reports that Brewer now plans to introduce congestion pricing legislation:

Anyone who is upset about cars driving on the Hudson River Greenway or has doubts that New York City's bus rapid transit experiment will work without physical barriers to prevent motorists from driving and parking in bus lanes will find profound satisfaction in this video from Manchester, England.