Noah Kazis

When Hunter College professors Peter Tuckel and William Milczarski released a report finding that 1,000 pedestrians were injured in collisions with bicycles each year in New York state, Streetsblog noted that the injury trend was downward. Even though bicycling is booming in New York City, fewer New Yorkers seemed to be getting injured each year. The media hysteria over "bike bedlam" looked even more like pure fantasy.

By taking out a troublesome diagonal from the Manhattan grid, the Green Light for Midtown program improved street safety and retail business while creating new public space at one of New York City's most iconic locations. Pedestrian injuries are down 35 percent and injuries to motorists are down 63 percent, even while traffic is flowing more smoothly than ever. Pedestrian volumes are up 11 percent in Times Square, bringing business to area shops and catapulting Times Square to the second-most expensive retail area in the city.

Last Monday, DOT workers laid down gravel and epoxy on top of the asphalt on a block of Putnam Avenue, transforming the area between Fulton Street and Grand Avenue from through street to public space. On Sunday, Clinton Hill came out to celebrate. The opening weekend block party was captured by local documentary maker Adele Pham, who distilled two minutes and 12 seconds of pure feel-good video.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

The City Council Transportation Committee held hearings on three bills today, each of which would add more requirements to the Department of Transportation's review process for street redesigns, especially bike lanes.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Last night, the full board of Manhattan Community Board 8 voted in favor of building a protected bike lane on First Avenue between 60th Street and 96th Street.

When it comes to Staten Island, the Department of Transportation and MTA are considering a different model for Select Bus Service.