Livable Streets

A correspondent reports:

Thursday, July 20, 2006 at 2:30 pm New York City Council250 Broadway, 14th Floor Hearing Room (across from City Hall).

"The greatest achievement of New York is the streets," says architect Hugh Hardy. And he says we can achieve richer public places -- if New York's citizens can persuade officials to make those places serve people rather than cars.

This is an artist's rendering of what West 125th Street would look like after Columbia University's expansion is completed more than a decade from now.  (It is included in an overview of the plans that appears in the print edition of Columbia magazine, which, um, hasn't updated its web presence in a while.)  Regardless of whether you're in favor of or against the expansion, it is clear that Columbia is trying hard to persuade skeptics and opponents that the expansion will be a good thing for this part of Harlem.

Van Brunt and Wolcott Streets. Before paint, July 7. After paint, July 14.

The other night in the Financial District, the buildings of Trinity Place were lit-up all noir-like, and light illuminated the steam temporarily wafting skyward from an orange stack. The lighting set up a visual image of a comic book, larger-than-life metropolis that will appear in Spiderman III.  I enjoyed watching a take or two of traffic on the streets as the star flew through the air on some kind of hoist, and generally I am a fan of Hollywood filming here because besides creating jobs, it usually improves the city's image, and encourages tourism, and reminds viewers around the world of the excitement that daily life here can include: New York remains the ultimate movie setting because it is the place where anything can happen. But the New York's huge film industry has been leaning on a not-so-secret crutch that has now been eliminiated. (Hat tip to The Oil Drum.) An essay by Francis X. Clines in the Times brings to light some news:

London Mayor Ken Livingstone:"Cycling is the fastest, cheapest, most healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around London, which is why we are investing almost £20 million this year to improve cycle facilities in the capital. The number of cyclists on our roads has doubled since 2000 and we've already exceeded our cycling targets five years ahead of schedule, on top of achieving a shift from car use to public transport. I will now be looking at setting tougher targets so we can continue to build on this success and encourage many more cyclists in London."

Manhattan-bound on the Brooklyn Bridge this morning, on the way to Transportation Alternatives' City Hall rally. The traffic jam on the right, the smog-cloaked city in the background, the sparsely populated bike path -- this is what a broken transportation system looks like.

There will be a public celebration for Jane Jacobs this evening, 5:00 pm, under the arch in Washington Square Park.