Transportation Policy

 The increase in CO2 caused by over 20,000 parking spaces sought by the city would "effectively take away more than one-third of the gains" promised by Mayor Bloomberg's hybrid cab plan.

The third annual Tour de Brooklyn was a special treat as New York City DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan rode the entire event with over 2,000 enthusiastic cyclists. The new commissioner introduced herself to riders at the beginning of the ride and had some very positive things to say about cycling in New York City. The ride covered 18 miles, starting in Grand Army Plaza, heading down 4th Avenue to Bay Ridge, then stopping in Dyker Heights for a respite before returning to Prospect Park. As always with the TdB, the emphasis was on friends, family, and fun.

On Saturday, seventeen New York City and State elected officials stood with the Campaign for New York's Future and officially endorsed PlaNYC. They are:

It seems inconceivable given the overwhelmingly positive developments of the past few weeks, but the city wants to increase parking in Manhattan by some 20,000 spaces, and is defending itself in court for the right to do so.

Critics of congestion pricing often claim that small businesses will bear an unfair burden if the Mayor is successful in implementing his plan. But yesterday, a diverse group of small business leaders from throughout the five boroughs gathered on the steps of City Hall yesterday to voice their support for the Mayor's PlaNYC initiative. From The Campiagn for New York Future's press release:

If you are planning to write a letter urging your local City Council Member to support Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal, the chart below will be useful to you. Based on 2000 census data, it shows the percentage of New York City workers who commute to work by car into Manhattan south of 60th Street (also known as the region's Central Business District or CBD).

Inside City Hall, a daily political show on NY1, filed this report last night on congestion pricing, traffic enforcement, and PlaNYC. Their report highlights the flawed Quinnipiac poll and the mayor responded, "City government is supposed to lead, state government is supposed to lead, federal government is supposed to lead, not do polls and and do just the popular things. They are supposed to do what's right."

From the San Francisco Chronicle via Carfree USA: