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U.K. Study Finds Wearing a Bike Helmet May be More Dangerous
We are certainly still going to be wearing our helmets when we ride bikes on New York City streets, but here is an interesting study by Dr. Ian Walker a "traffic psychologist" from Bath University in Great Britain. Walker found that motorists drove more safely and carefully when passing cyclists who were not wearing helmets. These findings are similar to some of the ideas put forward by David Engwicht in his book, "Mental Speed Bumps: The Smarter Way to Tame Traffic," a very interesting read if you haven't already picked it up.
September 14, 2006
Super Staten Solar Stop Signs
New LED Flashing Stop Sign (with Solar Power Source)
September 7, 2006
Is DOT Doing Enough to Make NYC Bike-Friendly?
The question was debated, albeit briefly and in slow motion, by two New York City Department of Transportation employees in the pages of the New York Times last week. Last week, in a Sunday City section op/ed piece, Andrew Vesselinovitch argued that DOT is not doing enough for New York City cyclists. Vesselinovitch is the former Director of DOT's Bicycle Program who made headlines in July when he claimed in a publicly-released resignation letter that the agency's leadership was purposefully undermining the progress of New York City's bicycle network. This week, a response to Vesselinovitch comes from Ryan Russo, the DOT's newly appointed Director of Street Management and Safety. Their back-and-forth is re-printed below, in full:
September 5, 2006
Rally for a Livable Houston Street
(Photo by Will Sherman of Transportation Alternatives)
August 31, 2006
Dead Ball
Whatever you think of the idea of a highrise cluster in Downtown Brooklyn, you have to worry that the sponsors of the Atlantic Yards project suggest that creating jobs and housing justifies the kind of planning that discourages street life. Among the lowlights of the marathon August 23 "public hearing" on the draft Environmental Impact Statement covering the Atlantic Yards, consider these signs:
August 29, 2006
The Suburbanization of NYC’s Waterfront
Recently, a bunch of us took a bike excursion along the East River waterfront from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn to the new Water Taxi Beach in Hunters Point, Queens. Traffic was light most of the way and street life relatively heavy.
August 28, 2006
Streetfilm: The Transformation of Willoughby Street
This spring, the DOT transformed the corner of Willoughby and Adams Streets in downtown Brooklyn from a dull gray, little-used automobile pass-through (above) into a pedestrian space complete with chairs, benches, plants, tables and sun umbrellas. But would the people come? Filmmaker Clarence Eckerson took his video camera to the corner to find out. The result is a 1-minute, 26-second Streetfilm on the Willoughby Street transformation. He quotes Streetsblog's own Ethan Kent:
August 24, 2006