Traffic Enforcement

Legislation allowing the city to curb deadly driving through the use of speed enforcement cameras will soon resurface in Albany.

It may now be safe for cyclists who want to get some exercise -- as opposed to waiting for lights to turn green or for officers to finish writing $270 tickets -- to return to Central Park.

If you want to get the attention of the New York news media, the formula apparently goes something like so. Step one: turn a personal pet peeve into a matter of public record by filing a baseless lawsuit. Step two: watch reporters beat a path to your door.

Just about every New Yorker knows off the top of their head exactly what the most dangerous intersections in their neighborhood are (for me, it's got to be the western end of 125th Street). But what most New Yorkers don't know is what to do about it. Now, thanks to Transportation Alternatives' new Neighborhood Traffic Monitoring Toolkit [PDF], there's a step-by-step guide for citizens to track traffic violations on their streets and press community leaders to improve street safety.

One year after Newark installed cameras at its most dangerous intersections, crashes and instances of red-light running were down by sizable margins.

A crowd of 300 people, outraged at a police ticket blitz that threatens to effectively eliminate Central Park as a place of recreation for cyclists, ran into an unyielding blue wall at last night's meeting of the Central Park Precinct's community council. The precinct commander, Captain Philip Wishnia, offered no hope that his precinct's enforcement of red-light laws at each of the loop road's 47 traffic lights will abate, nor any assurances that his officers will exercise meaningful discretion.

Major crimes in Central Park may be up by 50 percent, but that hasn't stopped significant resources from being spent on the ongoing NYPD crackdown targeting recreational cyclists in the park. Precinct officers are stopping cyclists for a variety of infractions, including spot equipment checks for missing bells and lights, but most notoriously are handing out $270 tickets to riders who roll through any of the loop drive's 47 traffic signals, even if the only other living being in sight is a squirrel.

Tracking the NYPD's enforcement of traffic laws, including tickets issued to cyclists, has long been part of Transportation Alternatives' job. A new tool on their website makes it easier than ever -- especially relevant while the city's bike ticketing blitz continues.

The City Council passed three bills to open up traffic information unanimously today, according to Juan Martinez of Transportation Alternatives. The most far-reaching of those bills, Jessica Lappin's legislation forcing the city to release fine-grained data about traffic crashes and traffic summonses every month, is expected to be signed by Mayor Bloomberg, the Daily News reported this morning.