Support Opening the Hudson River Greenway, Unnecessary X-Mas Ped Crush at Rockefeller Center, SI Right Turn on Red Vetoed Block the Boxes, Second Ave Subway Engineering Study Underway, New V-Train Service Begins December 17th

Come to the Volunteer Night on Wednesday, December 12 at 6 pm at the T.A. office (115 West 30th Street, #1207)!

Enjoy yourself with a friendly crowd, get free beer and snacks while helping out with T.A.'s latest mailing. For more info contact Craig Barnes at 212-629-8080 or events@transalt.org.

T.A. News

T.A. has hired a Membership and Events Director! Please welcome Kit Hodge to T.A. She can be reached at events@transalt.org

T.A. still has three open internships:

- NYC Century Bike Tour (helping organize the 2002 NYC Century)
- Bike Week (helping organize 2002 Bike Week)
- Advocacy (work with T.A. program staff)

Please visit transalt.org/intern for more information.

T.A. In the News

transalt.org/media

Latest

12/10 Car Flips Over Inside Prospect Park, Park Slope Courier

12/3 Technology Desk: IT, Marketplace

11/26 Parking Garages Suffer From Manhattan Security Rules, New York Times

11/12 For the New Mayor, a City's Advice on Challenges That Must Be Faced, New York Times

11/5 Park Advocates Jeer Winter Traffic, Park Slope Courier

10/22 THE ROAD BACK: NYC Bike Riding Up 50% Since Sept. 11, Wall Street Journal

10/15 Downtown commuter woes need fix: Pressure building for new bus lanes; many fear job losses because of PATH, Crain's New York Business

10/5 Trade-Off by Environmentalists on Rebuilding, New York Times

10/1 Cycling in a New World, Bicycle Wire

9/27 Off Limits to Solo Drivers, New York Post

9/27 Transit System Faces Tough Test, Newsday

9/19 Commute Eases, With Mass Transit: Holiday helps trim gridlock, Daily News

Donations Wish List

Help cycling and walking and get a tax deduction. Donate to T.A. We need:

-Pentium II or better PCs
-Laptop computer (P 100+)
-Digital Camera
-VCR (4 head)
-Good chairs for conf. table or desks
-Computer Projector

Contact Matt: info@transalt.org

Do Your Part for Safer Streets! Report:

Potholes and Hazards:
212-CALLDOT or report them online at transalt.org/hazard [note: due to the WTC disaster, the form can no longer be processed online by the NYC.gov web site. Please phone in your hazard reports in the meantime.]

Read more about T.A.'s work to reduce street hazards at transalt.org/haz

Report Dangerous Cabs: 212-221-TAXI

Read more about T.A.'s work to make cabs safer for pedestrians and cyclists at transalt.org/cabs

The T.A. Bulletin is a bi-weekly publication of Transportation Alternatives.

Transportation Alternatives is a 5000-member NYC-area non-profit citizens group working for better bicycling, walking and public transit, and fewer cars. We work for safer, calmer neighborhood streets and car-free parks. Join T.A. today!

Week of December 3, 2001

Support Opening the Hudson River Greenway!

Write to the Director of the Office of Emergency Management, Richard J. Sheirer using our quick form below!

Please use or modify the text below or compose your own text -- just click "Send my letter" when you are done. If your e-mail program cannot handle forms, simply visit this page online. A copy of your message will be sent to T.A. as well as the Director of OEM. Your messages will also be tallied and referred to in further correspondence T.A. has with other city agencies, strengthening our argument for immediate opening of the greenway.

Subject:

Dear OEM Director Sheirer:

Thank you for the great work OEM has done helping New York City make it through the aftermath of the terrible events of September 11. Like other civic minded New Yorkers, I will always remember the victims and heroes of that tragic day. This is my home and I love it. No act of terror will keep me from seeking a better future for our great city. Since 9/11 the OEM has closed the Hudson River Greenway path between 44th street and 57th street due to security concerns. As a New Yorker, I am painfully aware of the need for new security measures. However, this closing is not a workable long-term solution. It interdicts the busiest bicycle and pedestrian path in the United States during a time when the subways on the West Side of Manhattan are severely disrupted. Further, the public is being asked not to drive, yet five adjacent lanes of motorized traffic are allowed to pass by the same point. Given these circumstances, the city should do what it can to make other travel options more viable – like opening up the greenway to bikes and pedestrians. I am confident that the flexible and creative staff of OEM can implement a plan which will allow the greenway to be completely opened. Again, thank you for your great public service. I look forward to the unrestricted opening of the Hudson River Greenway from Lower Manhattan to 155th street.

Sincerely,

Name:
Street address:
City:
State: Zip:
E-mail:

Please include your full contact information so that your message will be treated as official correspondence! Many thanks to those who participated in our online letter-writing campaign to support the Car Pool rule--349 of you so far! If you have not had a chance to participate yet, please visit our Web site to do so. We still need you to help keep the pressure on!

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Unnecessary X-Mas Ped Crush at Rockefeller Center

Just blocks from the closed Hudson River Greenway, the streets surrounding the thronged Rockefeller Center Christmas tree display remain open to motor vehicles --- and car bombs. On the sidewalks of 49th and 50th streets between 5th and 6th avenues, tens of thousands of pedestrians are jammed together like cattle. These intolerably crowded sidewalks --- pedestrians outnumber motor vehicles 20-1 here --- are a monument to the City's fixation on moving cross-town motor vehicle traffic at all costs. (More evidence of this cars-first mania are the much criticized pedestrian barricades nearby.)

The Police Department, and OEM, would be wise to make 49th Street and 50th Street adjacent to Rockefeller Center pedestrian-only streets --- except for one lane on each for busses. According to traffic guru Sam Schwartz, this was done with great success during the 1970's and '80's. As it is, walking by Rockefeller Center is extremely, and unnecessarily, unpleasant, especially for families with children. It is also one of the city's most exposed terrorist targets. We urge the city to use make a smart transportation and security decision.

SI Right Turn on Red Vetoed

On November 21, Governor Pataki vetoed the Staten Island Right Turn on Red bill. In his veto he stated that "while reducing traffic congestions is an important public purpose, protecting the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists must be our paramount concern." We couldn't agree more. Write to Governor Pataki and thank him for supporting T.A. and the City in the defeat of this dangerous bill.

Block the Boxes

In late November, T.A. joined with the NYC DOT to support Proposed Int. No. 943-A, a city law giving the city the authority to regulate the plague of news racks and newspaper vending boxes on city sidewalks. Currently, the DOT has no authority to keep boxes from crowding sidewalks and blocking ADA ramps. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated when City Council crumbled under pressure from the newspaper industry which claimed the law would violate their right to free speech. T.A. will rejoin the issue in January with the new mayor and City Council.

Second Ave Subway Engineering Study Underway

The board of the MTA has approved a $200 million contract to for a preliminary engineering study for the Second Avenue Subway connecting 125th Street with the financial district. Construction is planned to begin in 2004 and will take 15 years to complete at an estimated cost of $12 billion. Read more about the project on the MTA Web site.

New V-Train Service Begins December 17th

V-train service between Queens and the Lower East Side will begin on December 17th. The V train will be a local train running along Queens Boulevard and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Please see the MTA Web site for details.

Correction

In our E-Bulletin dated November 12, 2001, we stated that Mayor-elect Bloomberg did not mention bicycles in his transportation platform. While this is true, his environmental platform does mention bicycles several times, including the following statement:

"We should move toward a bike friendly and pedestrian friendly environment to foster alternatives to the use of motor vehicles."

Read his full Environmental Sustainability and Protection statement online.

Fall 2001 T.A. Magazine
--already mailed out to all T.A. members--including news on bicycle and pedestrian issues, features, ride listings, and much, much more! View the Table of Contents or request a copy!

Sample articles

Motorists Given Five Lanes of W. Side Hwy While Adjacent Hudson Greenway Blocked

Keep Cars Off the East River Greenway

City's Dummy Red-Light Camera Plan a Smart Move

SI Right Turn on Red Waits Governor's Signature

Bike Lanes: Quality over Quantity

The World Trade Center Attack

Take Action

T.A. has many volunteer opportunities. Please visit our site to learn more about how you can help. Come to the volunteer night on Wednesday, December 12 at 6 pm at the T.A. office, 115 West 30th Street, #1207. Free beer, snacks and scintillating conversation.

transalt.org/volunteer

Advocacy Committees
Want to do more? Step into the front lines of T.A.’s campaigns for better cycling, walking and car-free parks. Join a T.A. volunteer advocacy committee. Read more at: www.transalt.org/volunteer/advocacy

Bronx@transalt.org

Brooklyn@transalt.org,
transalt.org/campaigns/brooklyn

Centralpark@transalt.org,
transalt.org/campaigns/cpark

Gowanus@transalt.org ,
transalt.org/campaigns/sensible/gowanus.html

Citywide:
Info@transalt.org,
www.transalt.org

T.A. delivers results for cyclists and pedestrians. Help keep us strong at this critical time.

JOIN T.A. TODAY
• Online membership sign-up now available! T.A.’s members support our advocacy for bicyclists and pedestrians. So should you.

Looking for a great holiday gift that will keep giving all year long? Give a gift membership in Transportation Alternatives!

PRESS WATCH

STAY SMART & INFORMED.

Savvy transit riders get their lowdown on the subways here:

straphangers.org
The ultimate source for bus and subway service changes, rider comments and complaints that produce action. Help yourself and T.A.’s favorite transit advocates – Check it out.

Sensible Transport Junkies:

Subscribe to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s e-weekly, Mobilizing the Region. www.tstc.org

Insiders Breakfast on Fresh Baked NYC Politics & Policy

The daily Gotham Gazette. gothamgazette.org NYC News summaries and savvy commentary.

Give on-line at transalt.org/join.

Quick! What's your city councilmember's name? Don't know? See: www.nypirg.org

GET THERE!

Check our maps page for links to NYC-area bicycle and transit maps.