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MoMA-goers enjoying T.A.'s public space installation on Park(ing) Day.
Photo courtesy Ken Missbrenner
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Articles and Actions
Events and Alerts
T.A. in the News
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Copenhagen-Style Bike Lane Coming to 9th Ave |
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With better bike lanes on the way, groups need to ask for more and expect the best from the DOT.
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On Manhattan's Ninth Avenue from 23rd Street to 16th Street, the New York City Department of Transportation will soon build the city's first Copenhagen-style bike lane.
The new "cycle-track" will be placed between a lane of parked cars and the sidewalk, affording cyclists of all ages and abilities a safe and comfortable ride, if only for a few blocks. T.A. looks forward to the expanded application of this type of traffic-protected bike lanes, a necessary step if cycling is to be a safe and attractive option for the majority of New Yorkers who are not comfortable riding in traffic.
The DOT also announced that an 8.1 mile network of new bike lanes will be installed throughout North Brooklyn connecting Greenpoint/Williamsburg with Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Bedford Stuyvesant, Prospect Park and the rest of the Brooklyn bike network. And if that wasn't enough, the bike lane on Fifth Avenue from 23rd Street to Washington Square Park will be upgraded to a buffered bike lane similar to the one that runs along Lafayette from Spring Street to 14th Street.
As the DOT raises the bar for its bike lane design and implementation, cyclists, community groups and advocates need to raise their expectations. In the coming months, T.A. will be urging the DOT to expand the application of traffic-protected lanes, and to adopt a "complete streets" policy that gives designated space to cyclists on all city streets. To make sure you see new bike lanes and better infrastructure in your neighborhood, contact your community board and the DOT.
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Blitz on the Bridge |
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Immoral Hazard: The NYPD is ticketing cyclists whose only crime is negotiating the danger around the Williamsburg Bridge.
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On Friday September, 21st, NYPD Traffic Officers unleashed a ticket blitz against cyclists entering and exiting the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge bike and pedestrian path. Based on reports from cyclists who were ticketed, citations were mainly issued for "blocking the flow of vehicular traffic". T.A. heard a number of reports from cyclists who were threatened and issued second tickets when they chose to question charges. According to eyewitness accounts, one woman was even pulled off of her bicycle by an officer in the middle of the intersection.
The Williamsburg Bridge is the most heavily-cycled East River bridge. Close to 4,000 people cross it by bike everyday, yet traffic conditions on the Manhattan-side of the bridge are treacherous at best, forcing cyclists to find their own way around the mess. Without safe space to protect cyclists from speeding cars rocketing down Delancey Street, it is inappropriate for the Police Department to ticket cyclists for doing their best to negotiate this dangerous intersection. Doesn't Mayor Bloomberg's long-term sustainability plan, PlaNYC, highlight the need to encourage and promote bike riding? Safer access and egress, not aggressive ticketing, is the way to make this key connection serve the growing number of New Yorkers who bike.
To make the case for improved safety around NYC's most popular bridge for bicyclists, and to ensure that use only continues to grow, T.A. will be surveying Williamsburg Bridge users in the coming weeks. If you would like to assist in this effort by distributing and or taking the survey, please contact volunteer@transalt.org.
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Take Action:
If you received a ticket on September 21st (or at any other time), report it to T.A. online. We keep all information confidential.
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Park(ing) Day Hits 20 NYC Streets |
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Park(ing) Day was a huge success! Twenty parcels of public space--that on any other day would be parking spots serving only a handful of drivers--were repurposed to benefit thousands of pedestrians. With a little ingenuity and a lot of creativity, groups from Staten Island to the Bronx fashioned green spaces, sitting places, and active public space from some of the most undervalued real estate on the planet.
The most encouraging and exciting part of Park(ing) Day was the positive response from the public. Not only were New Yorkers eager to spend some of their workday in a repurposed Park(ing) spot, but many people also wanted to know how parks of this type could be made permanent. Given Park(ing) Day's popularity, the city should consider developing a program where neighborhoods could apply to transform 1 or 2 parking spots on their street into permanent community space. If you would like to see such a transformation on your street, please contact streets@transalt.org.
If you missed Park(ing) Day or just want to remind yourself how fun it was, check out StreetFilms newest short, Park(ing) Day 2007 NYC. To find out how you can become involved next year, sign up for the Park(ing) Day mailing list at the Park(ing) Day organizing site.
And a special thanks to REBAR, The Trust for Public Land, The Open Planning Project, Councilmember Gale Brewer, Chashama, Clarence Eckerson, Colin Beavan, Day de Dada, Endless Love Crew, Fordham University, Green Map, Ian Dutton, Jen Petersen, Julie Raskin, Jennifer Ewing and Columbia Students, Kiss + Cathcart Architects, The Lower East Side Girls Club, Ms. J's Gym and Dance, Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, New York University Environmental Health Clinic, Park Slope Neighbors, Project for Public Spaces, Sustainable Flatbush, Time's Up, Upper Green Side, Yoshihara McKee Architects, and all the groups and individuals involved in Parkin(ing) Day 2007 NYC!
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| LOOK for Safer Streets |
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The LOOK campaign affirms cyclists' rights to the road.
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The City, together with T.A. and the NYC Bicycle Safety Coalition, recently announced the LOOK safety campaign. Designed pro bono by Publicis in Seattle, the edgy new marketing campaign encourages motorist and cyclists to literally look out for each other.
LOOK campaign advertisements will run this fall on bus stop shelters, bus tails, phone kiosks, taxi tops, at gas stations and on postcards that will be placed in restaurants around the city. The ads will also be featured in Time Out NY and New York Magazine and radio advertisements will be broadcast on local stations. LOOK is online at looknyc.org.
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| David Byrne Presents: How New Yorkers Ride Bikes |
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David Byrne will host an evening of music, discussion, film, readings, and surprises dedicated to the advancement of bicycling in New York City.
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An eclectic evening of music, discussion, film, readings, and surprises dedicated to the advancement of bicycling in New York City. The event, hosted by the former Talking Head David Byrne, will include talks by Transportation Alternatives' Paul Steely White, the urban planner Jan Gehl, the designer Yves Béhar, and representatives from the Department of Transportation, the Department of Health, and the Warrington Cycle Campaign; readings by Buck Henry and Calvin Trillin; an appearance by the Classic Riders Bicycle Club; a performance by the Young@Heart Chorus; a demonstration by a professional lock picker; and more.
Saturday, October 6th
7:30 pm
Town Hall ($16)
123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan
Tickets are also available at the Town Hall box office.
Free valet bicycle parking will be provided.
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| Tour de Bronx! |
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See new places, ride new routes and make new friends for FREE at this year's Tour de Bronx.
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Join us on October 21st for the largest FREE bike tour in New York City, The Tour de Bronx, now in its 13th year. Choose the 25- or 40-mile route. Each has snacks, rest stops and includes a section of the temporarily closed Sheridan Expressway. Volunteer and marshal opportunities are still available. Check out www.TourdeBronx.org for more info.
The Tour de Bronx is presented by the Bronx Borough President's Office and Transportation Alternatives.
¡El sitio Web de Tour de Bronx, ahora disponible en español!
La oficina del Presidente del Condado del Bronx y Transportation Alternatives los invita al 13o paseo anual del Tour de Bronx – el paseo ciclista GRATUITO más grande de Nueva York. Tour de Bronx será realizado el domingo, 21 de octubre del 2007.
Para información en español, visite TourdeBronx.org/es.
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| Congestion Pricing Advocates - Activate! |
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Help T.A. hit the streets to win congestion pricing.
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Transportation Alternatives is planning a massive organizing effort to win congestion pricing, but we need boots on the ground to make it happen. Join T.A. next Monday at our first volunteer night for congestion pricing activists. We will lay out our street outreach, phone banking and organizing for the fall. Bring your calendars as we develop our five-borough strategy. Dinner provided!
When: Monday October 1, 6:30-8 pm
Where: T.A. Office, 127 West 26th Street, Suite 1002 (between 6th and 7th Avenues)
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| GWB South Path to Repoen on 9/28 |
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Say goodbye to stairs--the George Washington Bridge south path is back.
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Port Authority officials report that the George Washing Bridge south walkway/bikeway will reopen on Friday, September 28th. Please check the Port Authority website for the latest updates.
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| Time's Up! 20th Anniversary |
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Time's Up! turns 20 and parties to prove it.
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Time's Up Environmental Organization is celebrating its twentieth year. Come celebrate twenty years of achievements and support the future of the environment at their 20th Anniversary Fundraising Party.
Friday, September 28th
8 pm-late
49 E. Houston Street, Manhattan
Sliding Scale: $10-$1000*
*Get in free if you become a member at the door.
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| Help Us Make More Good News - Become a T.A. Member Today! |
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| Become a T.A. member and help us work for a smooother ride!
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Do you like seeing good news in the StreetBeat? Join T.A. and help us keep it coming! When you become a member you support the hardest working advocacy group in NYC. Your membership dollars ensure that we're able to advocate on your behalf and fill every StreetBeat with campaign updates on congestion pricing, new bike lanes, safer streets and more car-free hours in City parks as well as events like Park(ing) day and the LOOK Street Safety Campaign.
Membership dollars are what keeps T.A. rolling -- join Transportation Alternatives today!
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| T.A. in the News |
Cyclist's Death Inspires PSAs, Queens Ledger, 9/27
Congestion Pricing's Effects On Upper Manhattan Debated, Columbia Spectator, 9/26
Exploring Green Queens on a Bike, Part I, Epoch Times, 9/26
New York City Ate My Bicycle, StreetsBlog, 9/25
Buffered bike lanes for New York, www.motoring.co.za, 9/24
City To Experiment With New Bike Lane In Chelsea, NY1, 9/24
New York City to try new bike lane, China Post, 9/24
Parks on a Lark, New York Times, 9/23
A Busy City Street Makes Room for Bikes, New York Times, 9/23
NYC to try new bike lane, with parked cars as barrier, am New York, 9/23
NYC to try new bike lane, with parked cars as barrier, Newsday, 9/23
New NYC Bike Lane Has Parked Cars Barrier, WCBS, 9/23
New Bike Lane Uses Parked Cars as Barrier, WINS, 9/23
NYC to try new bike lane, with parked cars as barrier, WABC-TV, 9/23
It's Park(ing) Day, gothamist, 9/21
How Clean (or Dirty) Is Our Air?, New York Post, 9/21
Why is There a Picnic in My Parking Spot?, StreetsBlog, 9/21
More Park, Less Lot. New York City Parking Spots Have Been Transformed into "Parks", The Daily Green, 9/21
Parking spots converted to 'pocket parks', am New York, 9/21
Putting the Park Back in Parking, New York Times, 9/21
Dozens Of Parking Spaces Turned Into Mini Parks For One Day, NY1, 9/21
Green Brooklyn Conference: From Bicycling to Composting, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 9/21
PARK(ing) Day, Grist Magazine, 9/21
Tricycling Is Good for the Environment, ABC News, 9/21
Turning Parking Spaces Into Miniature Parks, WCBS 880, 9/21
Replacing Parking with Parks, Gotham Gazette, 9/20
Groups ask MTA to Delay Vote on Fare, Toll Hikes, Newsday, 9/20
Readers Weigh in on Congestion Pricing Plan, Riverdale Press, 9/20
Avenue Makeover, West Side Spirit, 9/20
NYC Gets Its First-Ever Physically-Separated Bike Path, StreetsBlog, 9/20
Letter to the Editor: Transportation Alternatives Praises Holt Column, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 9/19
Cycling Artist's Death Sparks First Citywide Rider Safety Drive, New York Daily News, 9/19
City Bike Riders: LOOK Out, Metro NY, 9/19
M.T.A. Fare Increase? Hold On, Groups Say, New York Times, 9/19
Groups to MTA: Hold off on Hikes, am New York, 9/19
Slain Hip-Hopper's Dad, Friends Rap police Efforts, The Villager, 9/19
City to Unveil 'Look' Bike Safety Campaign, StreetsBlog, 9/18
New Bike Safety Ads Urge Drivers to Look Out, New York Times, 9/18
Honk! Vrooom! New York Is a Drivers' Paradise, New York Observer, 9/18
NYC Rolls Out First Citywide Bicycle Awareness Campaign, MediaPost, 9/17
MTA switching tracks; F express on the table, Brooklyn Paper, 9/15
Transportation Alternatives is a member-supported non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Join T.A. today! |
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