T.A. StreetBeat

July 30th, 2009


The new Sands Street bike lane is one of the City's best bridge approaches
and an asphalt monument to one of T.A.'s top advocates.


Articles and Actions

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Events and Alerts

T.A. in the News

  • "Transportation Alternatives, a group that promotes bike-riding and mass transit, tested Mayor Bloomberg's anti-placard movement by parking a car illegally in Manhattan last week with a fake permit bearing the name of a bogus agency, "Citizen Protection Administration. After six hours, the green Mazda Miata didn't get any summonses."

    -NY Post , 7/27


Sands Street Bike Lane a.k.a the Budnick Bikeway

The Sands Streets bike lane is a beginning as well as an end.
The completion of Brooklyn's new Sands Street protected bike lane makes getting on and off the Manhattan Bridge as easy as pedaling. It also closes a painful chapter in the history of New York City bike advocacy.

On March 29, 2005, Noah Budnick, who is now T.A.'s Senior Policy Advisor, hit a pothole while biking on Sands Street and crashed. He was seriously injured and cycling advocates from around the city and across the country wondered whether one of bicycling's most respected voices would return with the passion and dedication that had taken him so far.

Noah surprised us all with a quick recovery, and soon made it clear that he wasn't just back, but also better than ever. In the years that followed, cycling in New York City saw some massive improvements, including the nation's first on-street, traffic-separated bike lane and the installation of hundreds of new bike-parking spots. Wherever changes came, Noah had trod, and nowhere is this truer than on the stretch of Sands Street that connects Navy Street with Jay Street.

It took four years, lots of hard work and your support, but the Sands Street Bike lane -- or the Budnick Bikeway if you prefer -- is here, and we're going to celebrate with a member-drinks event.


Stop by the Sands Street bike lane, we'll cut a ribbon, take some pictures and then head to Recycle-a-Bicycle in DUMBO for a party.

Sand Street Bike Lane Inauguration
Friday, August 7th
6:30 pm
Manhattan Bridge and Sands Street
Brooklyn, NY

Member Drinks
7 pm
Recycle-a-Bicycle
35 Pearl Street
Brooklyn, NY

Admission is $10 and drinks are on us! Member Drinks is open to all T.A. members. Not a T.A. member? Join at the door and get free admission!

Space is limited, so please e-mail rick@transalt.org to RSVP.




Bring in the Bikes!

New York City has seen the light: the Bike Access to Buildings Bill is a law.

Yesterday, City Council passed a landmark piece of legislation that allows tens of thousand of cyclists to ride to work and bring their bike inside.

To take full advantage of this hard-won law, T.A. is going to work to double the number of New Yorkers who commute by bicycle in the next 2 years.

In the coming months, we'll make a major push to win 50 miles of protected bike lanes and a public bike share system -- two improvements that will get tens of thousands more New Yorkers cycling.

We urge you to make a donation to T.A. today to help us launch this new campaign.

More commuter cyclists means safer streets and an increased visibility that will show more New Yorkers that biking to work is fun, easy, sustainable and safe. Please help us shape this virtuous cycle. Make a donation to T.A. today.




Summer Streets

The first of this year's Summer Streets is less than two weeks away.
Summer Streets is back by popular demand. On three August Saturdays -- the 8th, 15th and 22nd -- Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park will be closed to cars and open to people from 7 am-1 pm. Bring your friends, your family and your neighbors. Show them how sweet city life can be when people get priority over cars.

Throughout the route, there will be tons of great events, free bike rentals, repairs, and lots of musical performances. T.A. will lead rides from neighborhoods around the city and staff booths along the route, so stop in and say hi. We'll be there with smiles on. Will you?


Summer Streets Feeder Rides depart at 8:30 am from locations all over the city and leave the festivities at noon to get you back to your neighborhood in time for lunch.

Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
Meet under the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch at Grand Army Plaza
Return ride will meet at the Lafayette Rest Stop (Bicycle Habitat)
RSVP Here

Astoria Park, Queens
Meet up in Astoria Park in front of the World War I Memorial along Shore Boulevard
Return Ride will meet at 51st Street and Park Avenue
RSVP Here
Woodlawn, The Bronx
Meet at East 233rd Street and Bronx Boulevard
Return Ride will meet at 72nd Street and Park Avenue
RSVP Here 		Inwood, Manhattan
Meet at Isham Park, on Isham Street at Seaman Avenue
Return ride will meet at 60th Street and Park Avenue
RSVP Here




Tom Vanderbilt on the 'E' Word

Best Selling Author Tom Vanderbilt asks why transportation reform often elicits charges of 'elitism' in the Summer Issue of Reclaim.

You can read the article online.

Of course, if you were a T.A. member, you'd have already seen it.

Transit on the Big Screen

Join StreetFilms at the New York Transit Museum on Wednesday, August 5 from 6 - 7 pm. They'll be screening a program of short films exploring and celebrating transit systems from across the country and around the world. Discussion to follow.

Transit on the Big Screen
Wednesday, August 5th
6-7 pm
Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street
Brooklyn

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.

Walk 21

Join the world's best urban planners, leaders and visionaries, at Walk21, in New York City October 7-9.

This three-day conference will feature a dynamic mix of plenaries, workshops, poster sessions and "walkshops" which will showcase New York's most innovative new projects -- from the new pedestrian spaces in Times and Herald Squares to projects in neighborhoods in all five boroughs.

Register early for best rates: walk21nyc.eventbrite.com.

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.

BlockPartyNYC.org

This summer, communities across the city will come together at block parties. Whether you're organizing one, thinking of stopping by, or wondering which is closest to home, BlockPartyNYC.org is an invaluable resource. It has all the whos, whats, wheres, whens and hows that you'll need to party in the street this summer, so stop by.



Member Shops
Everybody knows that fenders keep you dry, and a good lock will help protect your bike, but it takes a savvy cyclist to realize that the most important accessory is a T.A. membership.

You can now sign up to become a T.A. member at these great bike shops:
Bespoke Bicycles
64-B Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217

 Brooklyn Bike and Board
560 Vanderbilt Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
ModSquad Cycles
2119 Frederick Douglass Boulevard
New York, NY 10026

 Jeff's Bicycles Plus
1400 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Bicycle Habitat
244 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012

 Nyce Wheels
1603 York Avenue
New York, NY 10028


We Like Bike on Twitter: Sign Up and Support

This summer 42 bike enthusiasts are riding their way across the country in a massive celebration of biking culture. If 20,000 people follow the ride on Twitter, our good pals at the Alliance for Biking and Walking will get $42,000 from 42 Below, so sign up. And Retweet.








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info@transalt.org; Phone: 212-629-8080; Fax: 212-629-8334