Quebec Approves Carbon Tax on Fuels to Cut Greenhouse Gases
Quebec will become the first Canadian province to impose a carbon tax on energy producers. Bloomberg reports:
June 14, 2007
Brainstorming a New Vision for Midtown’s East River Waterfront
The Municipal Art Society of New York, City Council member Dan Garodnick, and Manhattan's Community Board 6 ran an intensive day-long workshop last Wednesday to develop a new vision for Midtown's inaccessible East River waterfront. On Sunday, MAS unveiled some of the results. From the MAS press release:
June 13, 2007
Forever Double-Parked on Google’s Memory Lane
Writing about Google's new Street View feature in this week's Brooklyn Paper, Brooklyn Heights Blog publisher Homer Fink finds out why the New York City Police Department has doled out more parking summonses in Brooklyn Heights this year than in any other precinct in New York City:
June 13, 2007
New TV Ad Focuses on PlaNYC’s Health Benefits
The Campaign for New York's Future has released a new poll, a glossy mailer that'll go out to 380,000 families, and a television advertisement focusing on the health benefits of Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030. The Daily Politics has a nice write-up:
June 12, 2007
New Bike Lanes Won’t Leave Room for Escalade Double-Parking!
Across the Park, a blog dedicated to Brooklyn's Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood, notes the striping of new bike lanes on Lincoln Road and Maple Street, just to the east of Prospect Park. We assume that this is meant to be read with an ironic tone, though, you really never know in Brooklyn these days:
June 12, 2007
California Sues Municipalities for Bad Urban Planning
USA Today reports on a new development in the fight against climate change:
June 11, 2007
96th St. Subway Station and Sidewalk Reduction Moving Ahead
The MTA held a public hearing this week on the proposed $80 million overhaul of the 96th street subway station, one of the system's oldest stations. While the new subway station looks great, the plan includes the nibbling away of 8 feet of much-needed sidewalk space on either side of Broadway while adding an additional turning lane for motor vehicles.
June 8, 2007
Chicago Alley Initiative Shows How to Make Streets Greener
Chicago's Department of Transportation started the Green Alleys Program to use the city's many alleyways to conserve natural resources and improve the environment. Although New York City doesn't have too many alleys, the beautifully-designed, 47-page Green Alleys Program booklet (PDF) offers several techniques that could still be useful in making New York City streets perform better environmentally.
June 7, 2007
Car-Free Sundays Return to the Bronx
In the early 1990's three and a half miles of the Grand Concourse, a major arterial roadway
in the Bronx, was closed to cars every Sunday from July through November (kind of like Bogota Colombia's Ciclovia).
The closures provided residents with much-needed open space to bike, walk, play and develop a sense of community with neighbors.
Despite its popularity, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani killed the
program in 1996.
June 7, 2007