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Life on Crutches in NYC
For the last month, since I broke my ankle, New York has ceased to be the same place for me. At least in terms of getting around the city, the landscape has been dramatically transformed. Week 1 was spent in relative isolation at my parents house on Staten Island where they were nice enough to shuttle me around to the few places I need to go. I felt like I was 10 years old again -- though, at 10, I rode my bike all over hilly Staten Island, so you could say I had more independence then. The week after, I came back to Manhattan. Various people had sort of warned me, "Oh, how are you going to get around in Manhattan." I must say, at first I had my doubts about getting around town, but I was able to be much more independent than out in Suburban Staten Island.
October 27, 2006
Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming Project: Ten Years On
March 1996: Residents in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Boerum Hill are tired of their streets absorbing overflow from the nearby Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Neighborhood groups have tried repeatedly to convince the City to protect the neighborhoods from rush hour through traffic. So far, the City has done nothing but promise further study. DOT officials have even criticized residents for not wanting to serve as doormats for Manhattan-bound motorists. Residents are now considering civil disobedience to protect their safety and quality of life....
October 26, 2006
The Bronx is Burning Bicycling
In the aftermath of last weekend's 5,000 rider Tour de Bronx, I thought it might be worth revisiting the the Department of City Planning's August 2006 Bronx Harlem River Bicycle and Pedestrian Study. The study identifies a number of specific ways to carve out space for cyclists and pedestrians and help neighborhoods of the South Bronx get better connected to the Harlem River waterfront. Though it doesn't recommend any ways to actually reduce motor vehicle traffic, there is some good stuff in here. More:
October 26, 2006
Flushing Meadows: Park or Parking Lot?
Streetsblog doesn't manage to get out to Queens all that often these days, so it's good to know that The Park Watchdog is keeping an eye on Flushing Meadows Park. Here is what he sees: Cars. Lots of them. Parked all over the grass.
October 26, 2006
Pedestrian-Friendly Changes for Grand Army Plaza
More public space for Grand Army Plaza: DOT says that it would give the street space highlighted in green to the Parks Department for use during public events and car-free hours in Prospect Park.
October 25, 2006
MTA Response to Pokey: Traffic Congestion = “Vibrancy”
The MTA's response to the annual Pokey Awards ceremony is always worth looking out for. Rather than using the publicity generated by the event to build political capital for some bus service improvement or another, the Transit Authority's response falls somewhere between defensive and infuriated. This year's statement is a doozy and reminiscent of Mayor Bloomberg's famous remark, "We like traffic, it means economic activity, it means people coming here." Here's what the MTA had to say:
October 25, 2006
DOT Announces Five Bus Rapid Transit Corridors
Sketches from an internal BRT Study depicting the three general types of stations: A) Major Station: Includes extended canopy with windscreens and seating. Icon and full platform pavement treatment. B) Standard Station: Shelter with Icon and full platform pavement treatment. C) Minimum Station: For locations with narrow sidewalks: Icon and platform edge strip only. Bigger image here.
October 24, 2006
Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway: Important Meeting Tonight
The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Inititiave is one of the most inspiring and visionary development projects going in New York City right now. The project is very grassroots. Over ten years ago, three Brooklyn residents, Brian McCormick, Milton Puryear and Meg Fellerath got it in their heads that Brooklyn's waterfront should have a bike path and linear park just as good as the popular Hudson River Greenway in Manhattan (see the rendering of Columbia Street at right).
October 12, 2006
Great New Website: Get Outta MyBikeLane
Check out my favorite new web site, MyBikeLane, by Greg Whalin.
October 9, 2006