Aaron Naparstek

From this morning's International Herald Tribune:

Stockholm Voters Approve Congestion Charging in Referendum (IHT) UN summit = gridlock galore (Daily News) Spitzer’s for MSG move into Moynihan Station (AMNY) Atlantic Antic: Nets promos, luxury housing, and opponents (AYR) New Bush climate policy on the way? (Grist) A Homemade Governors Island Transportation Plan (Built Enviro)

Did people have a chance to listen to Brian Lehrer's interview with DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall and Transportation Alternatives' Noah Budnick yesterday morning? If so, what did you think?

Ryan Russo is the New York City Department of Transportation's Director for Street Management and Safety, a newly-created job that he started in July. Previously, Russo worked as DOT's Downtown Brooklyn Transportation Coordinator where he was instrumental in designing and developing a number of improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and more livable streets (PDF file) over the last three years. Streetsblog caught up with Russo on Tuesday, a few hours after the City's big bike safety announcement:

It was noted on the Brian Lehrer show this morning that the City's Bicyclist Fatality and Injury Report (PDF file) identifies three specific locations or "clusters" where bicycle fatalities were unusually common between 1996 and 2005. A "cluster" is defined as "three or more fatalities within 1,000 feet." The three densest clusters were found on the east side of Manhattan north of Midtown, Park Slope in Brooklyn and Hunts Point in the Bronx. From page 11 of the  report:

We are certainly still going to be wearing our helmets when we ride bikes on New York City streets, but here is an interesting study by Dr. Ian Walker a "traffic psychologist" from Bath University in Great Britain. Walker found that motorists drove more safely and carefully when passing cyclists who were not wearing helmets. These findings are similar to some of the ideas put forward by David Engwicht in his book, "Mental Speed Bumps: The Smarter Way to Tame Traffic," a very interesting read if you haven't already picked it up.

Charles Komanoff at Right of Way has churned out an initial analysis of the City's bicycle injury and fatality study. Here is his take:

Christine Quinn's City Council overrode its first mayoral veto yesterday. According to the Gotham Gazette:

City to Double the Number of Cameras at Traffic Lights (NYT) Taxi Commission Mulls Fare Increase (Gothamist) Port Authority outlines $39.5M of projects (Crain’s) City Council Vetos Mayor Mike to Keep Gas Cheap (Post) Arctic Sea Ice Shrinking Rapidly (Sierra Compass) Transit Riders – More For Work, Fewer For Fun (Gotham Gazette) Restoring Staten Island’s … Continued