T.A. StreetBeat

August 27th, 2009



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T.A. in the News

  • "If the summer of '69 was the summer of love, the summer of '09 might be the summer of the pedestrian."

    -Paul Steely White in the Los Angeles Times , 8/26


Where Do They Stand?

Candidates for City Council District 25 (Jackson Heights).

Does your candidate know a park from a parking spot? You can find out at TACandidateSurvey.org, a new website that helps New Yorkers find out where candidates stand on progressive transportation issues.

The website not only aims to help New Yorkers make an informed decision on Election Day (as well as in the Primaries, which are September 15) but also to show those running for office that biking, walking and transit are increasingly significant issues in local and citywide campaigns.

The survey questions, which were sent out to every declared candidate in district and city-wide races in New York City, were written by T.A.'s staff and aim to capture candidates' opinions on transportation-focused issues that T.A. members care about. We asked about bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, traffic justice, MTA funding and loads of other pressing transportation topics. Finding out what your local and citywide candidates think is as easy as plugging in your address at TACandidateSurvey.org.

And for those of you who are real political junkies, this year, T.A. hosted a series of debates. Comprehensive summaries of the Manhattan District Attorney debate, the City Council District 39 (Park Slope) debate and the City Council District 25 (Jackson Heights) debate can be found at Streetsblog.org. The City Council District 33 (Williamsburg/Greenpoint/DUMBO) debate will be held on Tuesday September 1 at 7 pm at Automotive High School. All are welcome.

We hope that all of our efforts during this political season can help you make an informed decision in the September 15 Primaries and on Election Day. We'll see you at the polls!




From Chaos to Compliance

The NYPD likes to brag that they issued 1.2 million traffic tickets last year. That's not much considering that drivers run 1.2 million red lights each day.

In New York City, the phrase "traffic law" often seems a misnomer for the rules of the road. More often, those "laws" appear to be suggestions, recommendations or afterthoughts.

To test this assumption, T.A., with the help of dozens of volunteers, set out to quantify just how often New York City's traffic laws are broken. We sent out scores of observers to a few big intersections and recorded nearly 40 hours of traffic data. In doing so, T.A. was able to demonstrate a simple method for understanding the pervasiveness of traffic violations that the City could easily adopt.

The results, published in the new study titled From Chaos to Compliance (PDF), are hardly surprising, but still, they paint a shocking portrait of New York City streets:
  • Traffic law violations occurred approximately three times every minute per intersection -- 157 times an hour.
  • Drivers failed to yield the right of way 24 times an hour.
  • Drivers disregarded traffic controls, including traffic signals, signs and roadway markings, approximately two times every minute -- over 100 times an hour.
  • Over 38 hours of surveying, no summonses were issued for moving violations in the survey areas.
  • 57% of pedestrians believed they were endangered by traffic while navigating the survey areas.
  • 43% of pedestrians actually avoid an area or intersection in their neighborhood because they feel endangered by lawless driving.
The report suggests that a lack of deterrence facilitates this type of behavior and calls on the Mayor and the New York City Police Department to approach this problem scientifically, by deploying personnel where they're needed most, adopting the study's methodology and applying it to gauge compliance, deploying traffic cameras to monitor conformity with speed and traffic-signal laws and enabling citizen-reported violations through 311.

Had the NYPD been enforcing the violations observed in the study, the City stood to make a minimum of $478,645 in fines. Considering the budget woes of New York City, the fact that thorough enforcement at just four locations for only 38 hours could yield nearly half a million dollars in benefits, makes a better approach to enforcement both a financial and safety necessity.

As of press time, neither the Mayor nor Police Commissioner Kelly has acted on these suggestions, but if they want to make traffic laws into more than suggestions, they've got a good place to start.




Remembering James Langergaard

James always knew how to make you scratch your head, and how to make you smile.
Longtime T.A. supporter, James Langergaard died on the evening of August 18. He was struck by a car while crossing Queens Boulevard on his bicycle and killed instantly. Our condolences go out to his family, friends, loved ones and everyone else fortunate enough to have known him.

James was T.A.'s "Volunteer of the Month" in 1998, a member since 1991 and New York City's unofficial "bike philosopher". He was a great supporter of livable streets and, more importantly, a great person. He will be sorely missed.





New Amsterdam Bike Slam

Four hundred years after Henry Hudson's arrival in Manhattan, two teams of Dutch and American planners and designers face off in a battle for the future of New York City transportation. Their challenge: find ways to bring NYC cycling up to the level of the Netherlands, the only country with more bikes than people.

Spread over three days, the New Amsterdam Bike Slam is a live design battle, a dance party, a world-class transportation summit, a bridge across the Atlantic and a path forward.

The excitement starts with a symposium titled "Global Trends in Sustainable Mobility" on Friday, September 11, heats up with a dance party on Saturday, September 12 at Cielo and wraps-up on Sunday with an award ceremony and cocktails. For a complete listing of the events, RSVP details and more information visit NewAmsterdamBikeSlam.org.

New Amsterdam Bike Slam is an initiative of Amsterdam Cycling to Sustainability, produced by Vélo Mondial and Transportation Alternatives, with funding from Transumo and the City of Amsterdam.

Park(ing) Day

Click here to watch a Streetfilm about last year's Park(ing) Day.
New Yorkers know all about making the most of small spaces. Whether it's reorganizing a storage unit or furnishing a studio apartment, getting what we can from the space we've got is part of the urban experience. On September 18 that ethic travels outdoors for Park(ing) Day.

Park(ing) Day is an international event that reclaims parking spots and transforms them into engaging, people-friendly public spaces for one day a year.

Park(ing) Day NYC is a New York City Streets Renaissance collaboration which supports the conversion of parking spots throughout New York City's five boroughs into human-friendly places for a single day. These small, temporary public spaces provide a breath of relief from the auto-clogged reality of New York City, and aim to spark dialogue about our valuable public space and how we choose to use it.

In the past, participants have built parks, installed jungle gyms, held meetings, grilled or just gathered with friends in their parking spot. If you're interested in participating, or want to find out where some of this year's park(ing) spots will be, visit ParkingDayNYC.org.


POP.Park

What fits in a box, fills a parking spot, costs less than $20 and reclaims public space?
If you've got an answer, you've got a POP.Park.

In celebration of Park(ing) Day 2009, T.A. is hosting a new park(ing) spot competition. We're bringing Park(ing) Day out of the box by challenging creative types to design a portable and affordable pre-fabricated POP.Park that people can use to reclaim public space each and every day of the year.

POP.Park competition finalists will be invited to construct their prototype on Park(ing) Day 2009 and entries will be judged by POPular text-message voting. The winners will be announced at T.A.'s annual REDUX event and the winning POP.Park prototype will be fabricated and sold on the T.A. website.

Conflux Festival
This year, T.A. will be presenting on Park(ing) Day and POP.Park at the Conflux Festival, the annual New York festival for contemporary psychogeography, the investigation of everyday urban life through emerging artistic, technological and social practice.

At Conflux, people from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures come together at the festival to re-imagine the city as a playground, a space for positive change and an opportunity for civic engagement. It's the perfect place to talk about Park(ing) Day and POP.Park.

This year's Conflux Festival starts on September 17 and runs until September 20. For more information, schedules and a complete list of participants, go to ConfluxFestival.org/2009.


Lights, Camera, Action!

You've now got until September 28 to enter the Biking Rules PSA contest and try to take home the grand prize of $4,000, a new Kona bike or loads of awesome gear. If that wasn't reason enough to submit a short film or some sweet snapshots that show why Biking Rules or what the Biking Rules street code is all about, the contest is hosted by BAM Cinématek, and the winning shorts will be shown on their big screen.

For more info, visit BikingRules.org/PSA.

Submission deadline is September 28, 2009.


NY/NJ Bike Route Gets Car-Free Connector

A challenging section of the classic trans-Hudson ride just got a bit safer.
Although the thousands of cyclists that cross the George Washington Bridge each week on their way to the beautiful views and low-traffic roads of Palisades Interstate Park have been using it for nearly a year, the GWB/PIP connector path will officially open to cyclists next Tuesday, September 1 at 11 am.

This improvement will not only encourage more cyclists to enjoy the beauty that Palisades Interstate Park has to offer, it will also keep riders safer on the formerly hair-raising descent and climb that framed cycling trips across the Hudson for so many years. Thank you Palisades Interstate Park Commission.




No Impact Man

Colin Beavan -- celebrated green blogger, author, subject of the No Impact Man documentary, T.A. Board member, and all-around good guy -- spent a year living with zero net environmental impact in the heart of Manhattan. His family of three lived without creating trash, using electricity or traveling on anything but a bicycle or scooter. They discovered that living simply was not only better for the environment but also created a much higher quality of living.

His book detailing the journey goes on sale September 1 and a documentary about the project opens in theaters nationwide September 11. For listings go to NoImpactMandoc.com.

If you'd like to try living like Colin and his family, you can. The No Impact Project is challenging people to try and live with no impact for one-week. They'll put participants on a team and guide them through the steps day-by-day. They promise that you'll discover for yourself that less really is more. Sign up at NoImpactProject.org.


T.A. is Hiring a Bike Advocate
We're looking for a bicycle organizer to help galvanize public support to make New York City a safer and more congenial place to bicycle and to encourage more New Yorkers to ride bikes.

Applicants should have a proven record of achievement, with a strong background in political organizing, community development and/or public affairs and a strong desire to make New York City a better place to bike and walk. City cycling experience and Spanish language skills are a plus.

For more information and application instructions go to transalt.org/about/jobs.








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