T.A. StreetBeat


	March 3, 2011

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg signed T.A.'s Saving Lives Through Better Information bill into law. It mandates the monthly release of crash, injury, fatality and summonsing statistics by the NYPD.

Articles and Actions

What Data Can Do
Volunteer Ex Machina

Events and Alerts

Members Only: Ready Set Century
The Sixth Annual Memorial Ride and Walk
Transit Riders United
My Metrocard

T.A. in the News

"Local blogger and cycling enthusiast Brian Van Nieuwenhoven took a more guerrilla anti-Cuozzo approach. He bought SteveCuozzo.com for 2 years and redirected it to the website for Transportation Alternatives, Cuozzo's sworn enemy..."I'm a proud, card-carrying T.A. member, and I'm happy to spread awareness that they exist and advocate for the safety, convenience and health of all commuters," he explained."

-- "New York Post Columnist Steve Cuozzo Schooled On Internet By Proud Cyclist"
Village Voice, 2/24 -- Learn more at www.stevecuozzo.com

What Data Can Do

Shazam! Like magic, T.A. bends the will
of the NYPD for express data delivery.
Image courtesy flickr user Mo Riza

In 2009, T.A. published Executive Order: A Mayoral Strategy for Traffic Safety to delineate deficiencies in NYPD traffic enforcement, summonsing and crash investigation procedures. But because T.A. knows the best advocates don't believe in armchairs, the report was hefty with actionable recommendations to improve the system. Of those recommendations, the most important pointed to the police department. Release all traffic safety data, T.A. recommended; crashes, contributing factors and summonses should be part of the public domain.

Sounds familiar? That's because T.A.'s Saving Lives Through Better Information Bill, also known as the TrafficStat Bill, just passed in the City Council. Last week, Mayor Bloomberg signed it into law.

The bill is named after the NYPD's regular meeting of precinct commanders and top cops, TrafficStat, a monthly, borough by borough review of street safety performance. It is where the NYPD talks quotas, sets targets for summonsing and tracks crashes; until now all that information exchange happened in secret. Despite how nicely we always asked, the NYPD would never share their stats.

The Saving Lives Through Better Information bill was T.A.'s brainchild because we understand enforcement will only get better with better data. Because of T.A. advocacy, soon each month every NYPD precinct will publish online:

Locations of every crash, pinpointing dangerous locations
Number of crashes, fatalities and injuries of motor vehicle drivers and passengers, cyclists and pedestrians
Contributing factors (like unsafe speed or red light running) that caused each crash, creating a priority list for summonsing efforts
Summonses issued, indicating whether precincts are responding to problems

This summer will come with access to a wealth of information that before was hidden -- see the remnants of a traffic crash and find out the cause; compare the number of crashes caused by an offense to the number of summonses issued; understand how many people are injured on streets you walk every day -- all in real data you can take right to your precinct Community Council and ask what for. The bill goes into effect June 22.

When that day comes, no doubt we'll drop some serious analysis on the subject; expect reportage, but also some celebration, as we find a way to award those John McClane precincts out there, point a finger at those Chief Wiggum traffic cops. Drop us a line and let us know what you think that data can do.

Volunteer Ex Machina

T.A. volunteers enlist Queens Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer's endorsement of more lanes for Queens' communities.

T.A. is a terrible braggart. Our tendency to boast about bills passed and bike lanes built appears in every corner of our advocacy. That's why we're proud to say that in the past year, T.A. took greater strides to advance the livable streets agenda than ever before.

But when that bike-chasing little dog pulls back the curtain, it is not any elected official or for-hire advocate behind the T.A. machine. The extraordinary group of people turning these cranks? T.A. volunteer committees. In every borough, T.A. volunteer committees are the sweat and chain grease behind our accomplishments.

T.A. volunteers have a serious agenda for 2011, and if you want to get in on the ground level, this is your moment. Here's what the voracious T.A. volunteer committees have planned, and how you can get involved:

In the Bronx, T.A. volunteers are seeking to up their numbers and amplify the voice of biking in the Boogie Down. Expect a gathering of allies in the coming months, and a two-wheeled collaboration with the Bronx Bike Coalition. The Bronx is up and the committee's here.

In Brooklyn, T.A.'s fastest growing volunteer committee will rally behind their Fix Fifth Avenue Project, a plan to put bike lanes on the length of Brooklyn's Fifth Avenue. Bike Friendly Businesses are on the agenda too; the plan is to sign up a whole slew. Volunteers will also rake in hard data with T.A.'s soon to drop Neighborhood Traffic Monitoring Kit. Where Brooklyn at? Here.

On Manhattan's East Side, T.A. volunteers will continue to focus on 1st and 2nd avenues until they get their way. Part of the plan is papering the offices of elected officials and potential allies with the smarts of the East Side Action Plan (PDF). To make the Action Plan more powerful, volunteers will recruit new members for the East Side Street Coalition. This way is East.

In Queens, T.A.'s most robust volunteer committee is still at work on Queens Boulevard, but now have a new tool in their belt: a workable traffic model of the boulevard, built by T.A.'s corp of urban planners to demonstrate how Queens Boulevard could be rebuilt. Outreach to insist cyclists bike polite is on the radar too, with Biking Rules education on the agenda. Catch the Queens kids here.

T.A.'s newest volunteer committee has sprouted on Staten Island. They want to grow their visibility as a community group on the island. One way volunteers will get it done is by keeping up a calendar of livable streets events. A secret surprise is on their agenda as well, and you'll hear it here first: the first ever Tour de Staten Island. Until then, this is the way to the Shaolin.

On the Upper West Side, T.A. volunteers plan to improve access for bikes across Central Park and on the Hudson River Greenway. A pedestrian-friendly redesign of the intersection where Broadway and Amsterdam hit West 71st is a goal too. Outreach is integral, and on the UWS, visible support is how volunteers plan to make Columbus Avenue's recent redesign a success story. Holler at them here.

Citywide, T.A. volunteers will be pushing for better relationships with their local precincts and more activity in local civics by upping Community Council and Community Board attendance. If you're unsure where you live, or want to get involved in a broader way, get volunteered here.

This big city is only as large as your tire size, at least with the New York City Century Bike Tour as your guide. As a bicycle ride, there is a route length for every ability; as a tour, it is the only way to really see all New York has to offer. It's T.A.'s largest event, and the only all-urban century ride in the nation.

On March 1, registration opened for the NYC Century Bike Tour. T.A. members get a big discount on the cost of registration. Take advantage of those digs. Or if you are not yet a member, sign up and save on registration for New York's greatest bike tour.

The Sixth Annual Memorial Ride and Walk

Image courtesy Andrew Hinderaker

Since 2005, the Street Memorial Project has been installing still white bikes around New York City. The bicycles are quiet memorials to cyclists killed on New York City streets, and a woeful reminder for all New Yorkers to travel safely and with respect for one another.

On Sunday, March 13th, the Street Memorial Project will host their sixth annual Memorial Ride and Walk, visiting the sites of pedestrian deaths and the Ghost Bikes installed for each cyclist killed since January of 2010. There will be multiple routes, starting in the Bronx, Upper Manhattan, North Brooklyn, South Brooklyn and Staten Island, along with a pedestrian memorial walk beginning in North Brooklyn. All rides will converge on Brooklyn Borough Hall.

The Sixth Annual Memorial Ride and Walk
Sunday, March 13th
Various Times and Starting Locations
For ride-day updates, follow the Street Memorial Project on twitter

Transit Riders United

Transit Organizing 101: Work the room.
Image courtesy Daniel S. Burnstein

In 1990s Los Angeles, transit riders in underserved neighborhoods were fed-up with the vast inequities in their transit service. In response, they formed the first ever union of bus riders and won.

T.A.'s Rider Rebellion and WE ACT for Environmental Justice have set their sights on a replicable campaign here. On March 5th, you can join them for training on how to organize for equitable transportation.

The effort is to educate transit riders in Harlem and Washington Heights as to how they can engage people in power to change the system for themselves. A documentary about L.A. transit riders organizing in their communities will be screened. Refreshments and lunch will be served and Spanish translation provided.

Organize for Transit Justice
Saturday, March 5th
10:00 am to 12:30 pm
WE ACT for Environmental Justice
1854 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan

My MetroCard

Transfer's free, but is it Art?
Image courtesy Michelle Doll

Last time we appreciated art with our MetroCard, we were underground and the medium was aerosol. Now an excellent set of legal subterranean art has been gathered in Lower Manhattan. On Thursday, March 17th, Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again, a collaborative show of art made on a canvas of MetroCards, opens on the Lower East Side.

The concept is clever, but the execution is what's commendable, as the good folks hosting Single Fare 2 have invited T.A. to be a benefactor of their art auction. Attend the show and throw a bid T.A.'s way.

Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again
Thursday, March 17th
5:00 to 9:00 pm
Sloan Fine Art
128 Rivington Street, Manhattan