This year's NYC Century Bike Tour was the biggest and best yet. Image courtesy richdrogpa on flickr.

Rally for a Car-Free Prospect Park

The Youth Advocates are "Trees on Strike" for a car-free park.

With school back in session and stories of summertime fun floating through hallways, four Brooklyn youth are recounting their months spent fighting for a car-free Prospect Park.

As summer interns with the Prospect Park Youth Advocate program, these four spent three days a week clocking the speed of cars in the park, hosting fun and educational street theatre and talking to park users, family, friends and elected officials about how their park--Prospect Park--could be made better without traffic. Through their work, the Youth Advocates--Michael, Farah, Kelena and Oswald--have galvanized Brooklynites around this issue and collected 10,000 postcards to the Mayor in support of a car-free Prospect Park.

Of course it's not enough just to collect postcards--you've got to deliver them as well. That's why we're asking you to join Transportation Alternatives and the Youth Advocates on Monday, September 15th as we walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall and "Bring it to Bloomberg." With the Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band, City Council Members James, Yassky, de Blasio and Eugene, the Youth Advocates will carry 10,000 postcards and a strong message that Brooklyn needs its most beautiful and important park to be car-free today.

If Prospect Park is your park, your city refuge, your place to play or your destination to meet friends and family, we need your help to make it even better. Join us as we ask Mayor Bloomberg to bring his green initiatives to Brooklyn and make Prospect Park safe, healthy and car-free.

Park(ing) Day NYC is September 19th

Make sure to visit a Park(ing) Spot near you on September 19th.

Friday, September 19th is Park(ing) Day NYC. Come out and join T.A., volunteers, Park(ing) Day participants, and thousands of other folks at one of more than 50 parking spots around the city that will be temporarily transformed into vibrant, functional public spaces.

Neighbors will create places of connection and community, artists will paint on an asphalt canvas, and architects and designers will try out exciting designs. Elected officials will show their dedication to their constituents, and businesses will prove that they can be more to their neighborhoods than shops.

With the help of a mini-grant from T.A., Park(ing) Day NYC participants will provide thousands of New Yorkers with a break from their daily routine in the form of a safe place to sit down and a little more room to breathe. In the process, Park(ing) Day will make a powerful statement about the impact that a small slice of urban refuge can have on the city's streetscape.

You can find a Park(ing) Spot near you at parkingdaynyc.org/spots.

Queens Boulevard "Bike Pool" Gets You Home Safe

T.A.'s campaign for a protected bike lane and pedestrian safety improvements on Queens Boulevard heats up this week with the first-ever Queens Boulevard "bike pool." Queens Boulevard is a critical, yet dangerous part of many bike commutes in Queens. By riding together in a group each month, we'll give the borough's bike commuters a safe, escorted ride home while making a statement about the need for a physically-protected bike lane on the essential artery. The rides will begin at the Queensboro Bridge and end in Elmhurst.

To date, Council Members Gennaro, Gioia, Liu and Avella have indicated their support for a protected bike lane on Queens Boulevard. With backing from a growing list of community groups, the campaign is building the political support necessary to bring DOT action.

Be part of the growing movement by riding with your neighbors for a safer Queens Boulevard.

Queens Boulevard Bike Pool
Friday, September 12th
6:30 pm
Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge Bike Path
Contact bike@transalt.org to connect with the rides and the campaign.

NYC Century: Hundreds of Miles and Thousands of Smiles

NYC Century Bike Tour riders break for hot dogs on the boardwalk. Image courtesy Nicholas Whitaker

Last Saturday, Tropical Storm Hannah brought high winds, inches of rain and stormy weather to New York City. On Sunday, Transportation Alternatives brought bikers by the thousands. Undaunted by the previous day's weather, 5,200 New York City Century riders took to the streets in the biggest and best T.A. bike tour yet.

If you missed it or just want to relive the ride, you can check out this amazing YouTube video.

If you have photos of the Century, post them on flickr and tag them transalt. We'd love to see all the smiling faces and wild places that you caught on film.

T.A. would like to thank this year's New York City Century sponsors: Brooklyn Brewery, Trek, Bicycle Habitat, Adam White, Seth Asher, Tour des Trees, Bailey Works, Breakaway Courier Systems (and their drivers Elbert, Steve, Legend and Dennis), Crumpler, Tom Cat Bakery, Cape Cod Potato Chips, Cedars' Mediterranean Food, Spokes and Strings, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Krylon, Country Choice Organic, Kontos Foods, Clif Bar, Ginger Ninjas, Function Drink, NYC Velo and Trek of Brooklyn as well as the NYPD, the Parks Department, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, the Department of Sanitation, Martin Grillo and Emergency Medical Rescue and the hundreds of volunteers and marshals who made this ride such an amazing adventure. Because of their hard work, thousand were able to bike for better biking.

Don't forget to mark your calendars: the 20th Annual NYC Century Bike Tour is Sunday, September 13th, 2009.

Stand up for Bike Access to Buildings

Over 30 bikes parked indoors at One Madison Avenue.

On Wednesday, September 24th, join Transportation Alternatives, elected officials and fellow New Yorkers on the steps of City Hall as we urge the City Council to pass a law requiring bicycle access in office buildings in New York City.

A bikes in buildings bill would require office buildings to permit bicycle access for employees, enable workers to store their bikes at work during the day and remove one of the biggest obstacles in cycle commuting: the lack of secure and adequate bike parking.

Bike in Buildings Rally
Wednesday, September 24th
10:45 am
City Hall
Manhattan
RSVP to peter@transalt.org.

106th Street Bike Lane Ribbon Cutting

Join T.A. and neighborhood stakeholders for a bike lane celebration.

If you live on the Upper West Side or commute through that area, stop by Innovation Bike Shop on Tuesday September 16th at 6pm for a special neighborhood welcome for the new bike lanes on 106th Street.

We'll have free bike gear giveaways, food and drink, and of course, plenty of folks on bikes!

Brought to you by the the Upper West Side Streets Renaissance Campaign, the Duke Ellington Boulevard Neighborhood Association (D.E.B.N.A.) and Innovation Bike Shop.

106th Street Bike Lane Ribbon Cutting Party
Tuesday, September 16th
6 pm
Innovation Bike Shop
105 West 106th Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam)
Manhattan

Ride Your Bike to Pickle Day on the LES

Ride your wheels and spend time with the Pickle Man on Sunday. Image courtesy rocketlass on flickr.

Transportation Alternatives will be providing free bicycle valet parking at this Sunday's Pickle Day. Leave your wheels with us and take in the music, cooking and home canning demonstrations, children's activities, neighborhood walking tours and of course free pickle samples of every possible variety. Pickle Day is hosted by the Lower East Side BID and the NY Food Museum.

LES Pickle Day
Sunday, September 14th, 2008
11 am-4:30 pm
Orchard Street (between Broome and Grand)
Manhattan

Ravitch Commission Public Hearings on Transit Funding

The Ravitch Commission, the State-appointed panel set up to find new money for transit following the collapse of congestion pricing, will hold public hearings next week. Testimony is by invitation only, but it's critical to fill the room, bring signs and give vocal support to the cause of more money for transit, especially if congestion pricing is part of the equation. We need to show the Commission that the eyes of ordinary New Yorkers are on them, and we expect credible solutions to prevent transit from falling back into the chaos of the 1970s.

Ravitch Commission Public Hearings
Monday, September 15th
Session 1: 10 am-12:30 pm
Session 2: 1:30 pm-5 pm
Eisner-Lubin Auditorium
NYU Kimmel Center
60 Washington Square South
Manhattan

If you live outside NYC, you can attend one of the Westchester and Long Island hearings. See details here.

Designing Governors Island's Newest Open Space

Give your ideas for the future Governors Island Park and Great Promenade.

An acclaimed team, led by West 8, is kicking off the design process for new open spaces on Governors Island. On Saturday, September 27th and Sunday, September 28th, members of the design team will host a workshop to hear what kinds of activities you would like in the future park. The workshop includes a tour of the site of the future park, currently off limits to the general public. Visitors have the option of taking the tour on a Governors Island tram or by bike. After the tour, a facilitated conversation will allow you to give your feedback and impressions. The entire workshop, including the tour, will last two hours.

Space is limited. If you wish to participate in the tour and workshop, you must RSVP in advance to ecavanagh@empire.state.ny.us. Please indicate which workshop you would be able to attend and if you will take the tram tour, bring a bike or need to rent one from the kiosk on Governors Island. If you are interested in the workshop but cannot attend at one of the scheduled times, please let us know so we can keep you informed about future opportunities for input. For more information and a more detailed ferry schedule, please visit govisland.com.

NYMTC Community Planning Workshops

Billions of Federal dollars will be spent over the next 25 years to improve the region's transportation system, and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) wants your input into how that money should be spent.

NYMTC's 2010-2035 Regional Transportation Plan will lay out a long-range framework for improving the region's transportation system--its roads, bridges, freight and mass transit facilities, and its bicycle and pedestrian networks.

Interactive workshops are being held throughout the region to encourage your comments, ideas and suggestions for your community's transportation future and to discuss the new plan, including various trends and issues, NYMTC's shared goals for the region and its proposed development vision, and the regional socio-economic and demographic forecasts that will form its foundation.

Brooklyn Community Workshop Monday, September 15th 3-5 pm & 7-9 pm Brooklyn Borough Hall Community Room 209 Joralemon Street	Bronx Community Workshop Tuesday, September 16th 3-5 pm & 7-9 pm Bronx Borough President Office Hearing Room 198 East 161st Street
Staten Island Community Workshop Wednesday, September 17th 3-5 pm & 7-9 pm Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Board Room 130 Bay Street	Manhattan Community Workshop Thursday, September 18th 4-6 pm & 7-9 pm NYMTC 22nd Floor 199 Water Street
Queens Community Workshop Friday, September 19th 3-5 pm & 7-9 pm Queens Borough President Office Room 213 120-55 Queens Boulevard

Bicycle for a Day

On September 20th, Bicycle for a Day (BFAD) is officially launching at Manhattan's South Street Seaport. From 10 am-5 pm everyone is invited to join in a day of music and fun. You'll have opportunities to meet NY Sports legends, celebrities, and lots of other surprises. Enter the BFAD raffle where you can win a Custom Tumi BFAD messenger bag, MBT's shoes, New York Health and Racket Club memberships and much more!

BFAD is designed to inspire individuals to take steps towards solving environmental issues. Riding a bike is one simple thing that each of us can do to make an immediate, positive impact in reducing carbon emissions. BFAD is a foundation committed to the preservation and restoration of the environment. Money raised from the sale of the BFAD Dog Tag is donated to Water Keeper Alliance and American Forests ReLeaf. Protecting our rivers, lakes, streams, oceans, replanting forests, and bringing trees to areas that need them.

Walk, skateboard, hop, run, rollerblade, bicycle, pogo-stick, however you like to the South Street Seaport. Just don't burn any gas! Together we can make a difference.

For more information go to bicycleforaday.org.