TSTC

A quick reminder: You can RSVP for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign's annual benefit up until 3 p.m. tomorrow. The word from Tri-State's Veronica Vanterpool is that they've lined up a great space with a tasteful selection of wine, beer and hors d'oeuvres. The schmoozing figures to be a Streetsblog reader's dream. Local transpo officials, community leaders and activists, the non-profit stars you know and love -- they'll all be there. And, of course, during the evening Aaron Naparstek and Clarence Eckerson will share honors with New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez.

Judged by statistics on violent crime, New York may be the safest big city in America. But its amazingly low murder rate masks a less encouraging trend: With 300 city-wide road deaths a year, reckless driving now rivals homicide as a mortal threat.

Next Tuesday's legal symposium on vehicular homicide, presented by Transportation Alternatives, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, will feature a prominent special guest: presumptive Manhattan DA-elect Cy Vance.

In the past 30 days, no fewer than seven pedestrians have been killed by motorists in New York City. True to form, the only drivers to face charges were those found to be intoxicated. The rest were granted instantaneous pardons by NYPD, several without as much as a blemish on their driving record.

Via Mobilizing the Region, here's some more mayoral bike news, this time from across the Hudson. Newark's Brick City Bike Collective launched earlier this summer, bringing a new voice for safe streets to a city that sorely needs it. After just those first few months, they managed to woo Mayor Cory Booker to come along for their first organized ride. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign's Kyle Wiswall reports:

The Lincoln Tunnel Express Bus Lane is a congestion-busting powerhouse, moving 62,000 riders into Manhattan during the morning rush every day and enticing huge numbers of commuters to leave their cars at home. It is now "the most efficient roadway in the country," according to an analysis by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. One shudders to think of the traffic nightmare we'd have without it.

Within the $27.5 billion allocated for "highways" in the stimulus bill signed by President Obama yesterday, there is some good news for pedestrians, cyclists and cities.

Whatever your stance on the Ravitch Commission's MTA rescue plan, the broad inequities of allowing New York transit service to deteriorate while fares rise 23 percent are stunning. The doomsday budget passed earlier this week would affect vastly more New Yorkers than bridge tolls or congestion pricing, burdening those who can least afford the added delay and expense.

Older pedestrians face a disproportionate risk of death in Manhattan and other downstate New York areas, according to a new study by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.