T.A. StreetBeat

T.A. StreetBeat

July 15th, 2009

Executive Order: A Mayoral Strategy for Traffic Safety (PDF)
takes a holistic look at traffic enforcement in New York City. You can read the full report
here (PDF) and find out more in the upcoming issue of Reclaim.

Articles and Actions

Executive Order
Calling for Access
Harlem River Park

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Events and Alerts

Biking Rules PSA Contest: $4,000 Grand Prize
Volunteer with the Street Memorial Project
Tour de Queens
T.A. Is Hiring!

T.A. in the News

"You could drive a car straight through the gaps in NYPD enforcement, and as it turns out, many New Yorkers do. Our study shows what most New York City drivers have already figured out: no one is watching."

-T.A. Executive Director Paul Steely White as quoted by Gothamist , 7/14

Executive Order

New York City's chief executive takes a look at Executive Order.

That New York City's streets are nearly lawless isn't news, but a new T.A. study that details the extent and impact of traffic-enforcement troubles is making headlines.

Executive Order: A Mayoral Strategy for Traffic Safety (PDF) isn't just an eye-popping list of statistics, though. It's the outcome of hours of interviews with more than 30 experts in traffic engineering, law enforcement, safety and public health. They unanimously conclude that street safety is a serious problem that can only be addressed by a new set of comprehensive procedures and deterrents.

Among the report's 20 recommendations are the:

Creation of an Office of Road Safety at City Hall in charge of reducing traffic violations, crashes, injuries and fatalities.
Distribution of points to licenses from the time of conviction, not retroactively from adjudication, in order to keep dangerous drivers off the road.
Redeployment of NYPD officers to crash-prone locations.
Passage of the Hayley Ng and Diego Martinez Law.

Many of the Mayor's agencies are taking aggressive steps to improve the safety of city thoroughfares. The Department of Transportation, City Planning and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are engineering for, and educating around, 21st century streets, but without a coordinated strategy that includes real enforcement, all of that work will be compromised.

You can download the complete report here (PDF) .

Calling for Access

John Liu needs to hear from you. Image courtesy notaphotographer on flickr.

In the past 10 days, more than 1,000 people sent e-faxes to get bikes in buildings. In the next 10 days, we want 1,000 more to call for the cause.

City Council Transportation Committee Chair John Liu needs to know that you support the Bike Access to Buildings bill, and he should too.

Liu backed similar legislation in the past and stood with T.A. on the steps of City Hall last September to speak out for bike access to buildings, so call him and tell him to join the Mayor, the City Council Speaker, 33 of her colleagues, the Commissioner of the Department of Buildings, the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation and the city's leading transportation and health advocacy groups in supporting Intro. 871.

Take Action!
To make sure John Liu hears you loud and clear, give him a call at 212-788-7022 or 718-888-8747.

Harlem River Park

In response to a T.A. report (PDF) and the Harlem River Park Task Force's advocacy, the City will make significant pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements at three crucial intersections leading to Harlem River Park.

135th Street at Madison Avenue, 139th Street at 5th Avenue and 142nd Street at 5th Avenue will likely see enhancements by 2010, according to a DOT letter sent to the Harlem River Park Task Force last month.

T.A. is thrilled about these exciting steps forward and will continue to work with the Harlem River Park Task Force to ensure that the improvements are implemented in a timely fashion.

Biking Rules PSA Contest: $4,000 Grand Prize

Lights, camera, action!

If you've got what it takes to make the best Biking Rules public service announcement, we've got $4,000 for you. Other prizes include a new bike, video cameras, bike gear and much, much more.

For contest info, visit BikingRules.org/PSA.

Submission deadline is August 31, 2009.

Volunteer with the Street Memorial Project

Image courtesy Ghostbikes.org.

For more than five years, the NYC Ghost Bike Project, Pedestrian Memorial Project and Ghostbikes.org have helped New Yorkers remember lives lost on city streets and foster a culture of mutual respect. If you’re interested in getting involved with their efforts, they encourage you to attend one of their upcoming pot lucks. For more information visit their volunteer page.

Tour de Queens

Watch the Tour de Queens video at Streetfilms.org.

The Second Annual Tour de Queens pedaled its way through the country's most eclectic borough in style. More than 1,000 smiling cyclists saw St. Albans, Kew Gardens, Hollis and other great neighborhoods on an amazing 18 mile route.

If you want to relive the ride or see what you missed, check out the Streetfilm.

If you want to show off your Tour De Queens photos, upload them to flickr and tag them TransAlt.

T.A. Is Hiring!

We're looking for a part-time consultant to run the New Amsterdam Bike Slam, a design battle that will have two teams competing against each other to generate the best plan for increasing bicycling in around New York Harbor.

For more information visit: transalt.org/about/jobs