Noah Kazis

With Albany lawmakers unwilling to properly fund the MTA, transportation planners are looking to plug the gaps that have opened up in the transit network and expand New Yorkers' travel options using existing resources. That's certainly a big part of the thinking behind the Bloomberg Administration's recent decision to expand private van service where bus lines were cut. One of the other ways New York will try to wring more value out of the infrastructure we already have is cab-sharing.

The Charter Revision Commission's preliminary report is out, and the headline news is that while term limits and instant runoff voting got nods, the Bloomberg priority of non-partisan elections didn't make the cut. The land use process, which was the subject of an entire commission forum last month, will likely remain unchanged for the time being.

After some vocal complaints spurred compromises to NYCDOT's ambitious original proposal to redesign the streets near Union Square, Manhattan Community Board 5 held strong last night, voting 24-1-1 to move forward with the fundamental safety features of the plan. Rather than cave to the most belligerent core of anti-bike residents and NIMBY businesses, the board actually strengthened its resolve in the face of irrational and uncompromising opposition.

Feds Award $293 Million in Transit Grants, Transpo Nation Looks at Winners and Losers (1, 2) Why Did D.C.’s Streetcar Bid Lose Out? (GGW) Fed Funding for Second Ave Subway, East Side Access Dwarfs Bus/Streetcar Money (SAS) Local Activism Convinces City to Remove Staten Island Greenway Fence (Advance) Charter Revision Report Drops Today: Term Limits … Continued

A garbage truck driver hit and killed a cyclist in Bushwick at around 8:50 p.m. last night. According to NYPD, the driver and the cyclist were both traveling on Varick Avenue, when the truck turned onto Meserole Street and struck the cyclist.

Transportation is a public health issue. As profiled in the recently released report from the Trust for America's Health, "F as in Fat," obesity rates continue to rise across the nation, increasing the risk of serious health problems like diabetes and hypertension. To solve the obesity epidemic, the data suggest, we need to rethink our dependence on the automobile. 

In a surprise to few, the wannabe-suburban East River Plaza big box mall can't fill its 1,428 space parking lot.

LaHood Smacks Down Pro-Distracted Driving Lobbyists (Transpo Nation)  Tom Angotti: NYC Needs Comprehensive Planning, Not Ad Hoc Side Deals (Gotham Gazette)  Planner Alex Garvin Talks NYC Zoning Rewrite, Superblocks (Urban Omnibus) Yonah Freemark Questions City’s Commuter Van Program, Transit Privatization (TNAC) What “Regime Change” Looks Like in Albany: Senate Leader’s $50K Mega-SUV Now a Hybrid … Continued

Here's a look at NYCDOT's plan for the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge [PDF], which would give cyclists traveling between Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Sunnyside, Queens a safer and more comfortable ride by installing bike lanes with extra-wide buffers. The project recently got some press in the Brooklyn Paper for attracting the opposition of local trucking interests.