Eyes on the Street: Eastern Parkway Gets Removable Rubber Ped Islands
DOT has installed "removable rubber pedestrian islands" at two intersections on Eastern Parkway, two months after Mayor de Blasio authorized the removal of concrete pedestrian islands to ostensibly make room for the West Indian Day Parade.
November 2, 2016
TA Calls for Grand Street to Serve People, Not Cars, During L Shutdown
Volunteers from Transportation Alternatives rallied on the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge last night to call on the city to prioritize Grand Street for buses, bicycling, and walking when the MTA shuts down the western portion of the L train for 18 months to make Sandy-related repairs.
November 2, 2016
Tonight: Testify Before CB 7 Votes on Riverside Park Greenway Detour
A late addition to the calendar: Manhattan Community Board 7 will vote on the Parks Department's proposal to route cyclists away from the waterfront greenway between 72nd Street and 83rd Street. If you want to preserve access to the flatter, straighter, better-lit waterfront path during the majority of the year when crowding is not an issue, tonight is the time to testify.
November 1, 2016
You Can Now Tell 311 About Bike Lane Blockers
New Yorkers can now report drivers illegally blocking bike lanes via the city's 311 website and mobile apps, according to an update from 311 yesterday.
November 1, 2016
DOT: City Should Have a Voice in New York’s Driverless Vehicle Future
If you believe the companies developing automated vehicle technology, driverless cars could be on the market as soon as 2021. It will probably take a lot longer than that for real autonomous fleets to operate in cities, but government agencies are already anticipating how to handle the driverless car future. On Friday, the New York City Council transportation committee got in on the action.
October 31, 2016
NYC Can Make Room for New Food Carts and Leave Space to Walk
The City Council is expected to move swiftly on a bill to eventually double the number of food vendor permits. Before the package of bills known as the Street Vending Modernization Act passes, advocates want to ensure that it includes more safeguards to avoid obstructing crowded sidewalks.
October 28, 2016
Why Is the MTA OK With High-Speed Car Tolls But Not High-Speed Bus Fares?
MTA officials revealed today that the MetroCard will linger until 2022, though the agency still intends to phase in a new fare payment system starting in 2018. What remains unknown is whether the new system will enable electronic proof of payment, a fare collection method that promises to speed up NYC's snail-paced buses.
October 26, 2016
Deadly Woodhaven Boulevard and NYC’s Broken Community Board Process
Yesterday morning, a driver struck and killed 13-year-old Jazmine Marin as she walked across Cross Bay Boulevard at 149th Avenue on her way to school. The location is deadly -- one other person has been struck and killed there since 2012, and Cross Bay is one of the most dangerous streets in the city. From 2009 to 2013, 17 pedestrians lost their lives on Cross Bay and Woodhaven Boulevard (the name of the same street north of Liberty Avenue) [PDF].
October 25, 2016
Bill Giving Cyclists a Head Start at LPIs Gets a Council Hearing Next Month
Momentum is building for Council Member Carlos Menchaca's bill to allow cyclists to proceed at traffic signals at the same time that pedestrians get the go-ahead. Intro 1072 would affect intersections with leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) -- signals that give pedestrians a head start to establish themselves in the crosswalk ahead of turning motorists. If the bill passes, cyclists can legally take the same head-start.
October 24, 2016
No More Stalling: DOT Redesigns Gerritsen Ave After Teen Cyclist’s Death
DOT will install a two-way protected bike lane and other traffic-calming measures on Gerritsen Avenue, the street next to Marine Park in southern Brooklyn where a drunk driver killed a teenage cyclist this summer [PDF].
October 24, 2016