Manhattan

Michael Bloomberg (front row, fourth from right) with other mayors at the C40 Summit 

On Earth Day Mayor Mike Bloomberg placed transportation and environmental issues at the top of New York City's political agenda. He took a major step towards changing the conventional wisdom that traffic congestion is a sign of the city's vibrancy and economic health. And he joined the list of forward-thinking global mayors like London's Ken Livingstone and Bertrand Delanoe in Paris who have said that excessive automobile dependence is a drag on the urban economy, detrimental to public health, and a contributor to global climate change.

This is how newly appointed transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan got to work this morning. Accompanied by DOT director of street management and safety Ryan Russo, assistant commissioner and director of signs and markings Gerard Soffian, and bicycle program coordinator Josh Benson (pictured above, left-to-right), she took the scenic route, traveling along 9th Avenue through the West Village, the Hudson Street and 8th Avenue bike lanes and the Hudson River Greenway.

With one possible exception, no elected official has been more outspoken against congestion pricing for New York City than Queens Council Member David Weprin. A scan of the city's campaign finance database reveals over 20,000 reasons why that could be.

Park Slope and Manhattan Valley have the largest numbers of bike commuters in NYC

 Janette Sadik-Khan has one week to go before taking over as the city's new transportation commissioner. Not surprisingly, a public appearance Friday found her well prepared to push Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC congestion pricing program.

What a big weekend for public cycling events. This Sunday, more than 30,000 cyclists enjoyed perfect weather for the 30th anniversary of the Five Borough Bike Tour, a 42-mile traffic free ride through the city including a jaunt along the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn. It is the largest recreational cycling event in America.

A story about the new bus bulbs on Lower Broadway in the New York Times highlights the role that enforcement will have to play if DOT's plan to make the boulevard more bus-friendly is to work. (Bus Rapid Transit, of course, will face similar issues when it rolls out later this year.) The story points out that Broadway's current bus lane -- bus bulbs or no -- is often blocked by double-parked delivery and placarded vehicles.