Jason Varone

Last Saturday, the opening of the Design Trust for Public Space's "Reinventing Grand Army Plaza" exhibit quickly transformed the plaza, normally devoid of any street life, into a vibrant public space. Visitors were welcomed with live music, a dance performance, food and exhibition tours. This photo set on Flickr has over 400 shots from Saturday's event. City Room reports:

Like media outlets everywhere, CNNMoney.com is reporting with greater frequency on rising fuel prices, with headlines like "Six fixes for pricey gasoline" and "Bad news for Detroit: Miles per gallon." In a recent online poll, the financial website asked a question that is surely on the minds of many Americans: "The next vehicle I buy will be...?" In the non-random sample of 42,275 respondents, more people said they are leaning towards a bike than a truck or SUV.

While car makers resort to their own gas gimmicks to move outdated and inefficient stock, more and more bikes are rolling out of cycle shops from Bismarck to the Bay Area. Even those in the auto business are making the switch: Mark Krenz, 48, is giving it a try. The Bismarck auto-parts store manager recently … Continued

Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 16. Check Transportation Alternatives’ Bike Month site for events.

Related: “Crisis” Mode AAA Urges Panicked Drivers to Take Transit Americans Turn to Prayer at the Pump  Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton: Where Is the Leadership?

The view of Gansevoort Plaza looking west.

This recent constituent e-mail shows that Council Member Jessica Lappin's lukewarm support for congestion pricing seems to have turned into full-fledged support now that the proposal has no chance of being implemented (taking a page out of Assemblywoman Joan Millman's book). In Lappin's defense, she did vote for pricing when it came before the council. But it might have been helpful had she found her voice a few months -- or even weeks -- before the plan went to Albany.

Also particularly germane today is this CARtoon by Andy Singer, the first of what we plan to make a regular series on Streetsblog. Singer is a Minnesota-based cartoonist known in the livable streets universe for skewering car culture in strips like this one.

In a piece from the March issue of Outside Magazine that seems especially relevant today, Tim Sohn writes about public space reform in New York City. His article is accompanied by an illustration of what the future of our city could look like: complete streets with dedicated bus and bike lanes, traffic calming gardens, and sidewalks wide enough to accommodate window shoppers without slowing pedestrian traffic -- none of which would depend on Albany for approval.

Attention New Yorkers who bike to work: Mathew Ides, a masters student at Hunter College Department of Urban Affairs & Planning, is surveying bike commuters in the city to see how they view the built environment. You can take the survey here. Ides has also set up a website, Hubs and Spokes, to provide more information about his research. Here's what he has to say about his survey: