Transportation Alternatives

In the wake of a string of pedestrian fatalities, more than 100 people gathered on the steps of City Hall this morning at an event organized by Transportation Alternatives to demand that mayoral candidates step up to address street safety.

Beginning next week, Central Park's north loop will be closed to cars for two months, DOT announced today.

Transportation Alternatives observed nearly nine in ten Brooklyn motorists breaking the speed limit while compiling data for its new report on dangerous driving [PDF], but enforcement from NYPD remains almost non-existent. In fact, TA says it clocked more drivers speeding in 12 hours than NYPD ticketed in all of 2011. That's why speed cameras are necessary for city streets.

Next year, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will mark its 50th anniversary. Although the structure was designed to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle paths, they were never included. Now, advocates are hoping a renewed push can close the gap in what they're calling the Harbor Ring, a 50-mile loop around Upper New York Bay. This week, the initiative launched an online petition to Governor Cuomo, asking him to support the plan and move it forward.

Today, Transportation Alternatives is launching CrashStories, a new website where pedestrians and cyclists can report crashes or near-misses with motor vehicle drivers on an interactive map. Developed by Hunter College city planning graduate student Aaron Fraint, the project aims to fill gaps in official data sources and offer a place for crash victims to be heard.

At its annual membership meeting last night, Transportation Alternatives unveiled its transportation policy platform heading into the thick of this year's election cycle. Primary day -- September 10 -- is less than six months away, and TA is calling on candidates in the mayoral and City Council races to include these principles in their campaign platforms:

To read the Daily News analysis of 2012 summons data, you'd think NYPD has reckless driving completely under control. While the story throws out a lot of purportedly high figures, as usual the tabloid's perspective is distorted by the windshield.