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NYC Century Bike Tour Register online today and save $15! Regular registration discounts end August 28th.
Experience the world’s greatest city! Ride the 15th Annual NYC Century Bike Tour on September 12, 2004.
Featuring a selection of distances (15, 35, 55, 75 or 100 miles) and magnificent views of New York's bridges, neighborhoods and parks.
Talk T.A. with New Executive Director, Paul S. White
1 – 3:30 pm Saturday, August 21 (rain date Sunday, August 22) PD
O'Hurley's In case of inclement weather call (212) 629-8080 for further info.
T.A. In the News Latest
T.A. News Time on your hands? Eager to
make a difference? T.A. needs folks who are retired, work part-time or
between jobs to help our top-notch advocacy staff make the city a better place for bicyclists,
pedestrians and transit riders. Valet Bike Parking Volunteers Needed Volunteer to provide valet bike parking at events throughout the year. Register online to express your interest in this opportunity. T.A. still has two open internships:
- Advocacy
(work with T.A. program staff) Please visit transalt.org/intern for more information. Donations Wish List Help cycling and walking and get a tax deduction. Donate to T.A. We need: -Pentium II or better
PCs Contact Matt: info@transalt.org
Do Your Part for Safer Streets! Report: Potholes
and Hazards: Sidewalk
obstructions: Mayor’s Quality of Life Hotline at 888-677-LIFE/
Read more about T.A.'s work to reduce street hazards at transalt.org/haz Report Dangerous Cabs: 212-221-TAXI or report them online.
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. The Bulletin has 26,000 subscribers. Transportation Alternatives is a 5,000-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!
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We are especially pleased to announce that T.A. has won significant victories on two campaigns--red light cameras and car alarms. Red Light Enforcement Cameras Saving Lives
While significant, the win is
bittersweet. T.A. and our allies on this issue--the Tri-State Transportation
Campaign, the City Department of Transportation, the Mayor, Queens State Senator
Frank Padavan and Queens State Assemblymember Mark Weprin--had hoped that
Car Alarms: Peace and Quiet, Reclaimed Public Space
Though it will not solve New
York’s car alarm problem, the Council’s near unanimous passage of Int. 81A
reaffirms the broad support for a full
Int. 81A would ban the sale and installation of new car alarm sirens that blare beyond the current three minute legal limit. In other words, it does nothing to stop alarms that sound less than three minutes, or any type of alarms purchased or installed outside the City. The Council shied away from a
full ban citing the alleged difficulties involved in disabling existing alarms.
The reality is it is easy for car owners to switch off their car alarms. Nearly
every car alarm can be deactivated through a valet procedure, active arming, or
simply by not using the power locks and locking their car doors manually. And
for those few cars that come with alarms that can't be easily deactivated, the
drivers will only be subject to a fine if their alarm
Whether or not the City Council overrides the Mayor’s veto, there is still an opportunity to include a full audible car alarm ban in the city's updated noise code, which is currently under revision. T.A. will continue to work with the administration and city council to move towards ending the useless wail of audible alarms, one of the most irksome ills of a car-choked city.
Port Authority to Restrict George Washington Bridge Bicycling/Walking Path Hours
August 29-September 2: Closed 9 pm-6 am September 3-Until Further Notice: Closed Midnight-6 am
Beyond just the immediate
inconvenience to the many bridge users, T.A. is extremely concerned that this
bridge closure establishes a dangerous precedent for government agencies to
restrict bicycling and walking. The City Department of Transportation’s four
East River bridges are the backbone of the City’s bicycling network; closing
For questions or comments on this issue, you can reach the Port Authority at 800-221-9903 or www.panynj.gov/rfframe.HTM.
Last week, Kathleen Nerney, 77, was hit by a truck driver while crossing with the WALK signal at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 9th Street in Brooklyn; she died in the hospital later the same day. Sadly, Ms. Nerney's death was not an isolated incident. Drivers kill a disproportionately high number of senior citizens across the city each year. Seniors are at a disadvantage when crossing the street because:
Double Standard for Double Parkers I'm disgusted that the police in Brooklyn fail to ticket cars that people
double-park to avoid "No Parking, Street Cleaning" regulations. Blocking street
cleaning is only a $45 fine but the more
Elliot M.
I recently noticed that two new signs have been erected on the south pedestrian and bike access ramp of the George Washington Bridge. One states that, starting August 29th, the pedestrian and bike path will be closed from 9 pm to 6 am. The other sign reads "Camera use prohibited." I'd guess that, for better or worse, these may be part of new so-called anti-terror measures, and they illustrate how concerned authorities are for our well-being. Given that the EPA has rated New York City air quality as less-than-healthy, one may reasonably hope that the Port Authority will also close the bridge to automobile traffic during these same hours, which would make much more of an impact. However the signs I saw made no mention of the possibility. Jeff B.
I am worried about the GOP Convention! I usually ride my bike to work. My office is at 68th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan and I live in Downtown Brooklyn. My usual safe route is over the Brooklyn Bridge to Chambers Street to the Hudson River bike path to 72nd Street and then through Riverside Park to 5th Avenue and to my office. I have searched www.nyc.gov to find out if this route will be blocked during the convention but there is no information. HELP! Got any clues? L.G. T.A. Response: So far, the City has not alerted us to any specific closings of the Brooklyn Bridge promenade, Hudson River Greenway or other routes you mention in your e-mail. If a major bike route is closed during the convention, we will try to post an announcement at www.transalt.org.Chambers Street Bike Path Hi,
Josh R.
[an error occurred while processing this directive] Take Action
Advocacy Committees Brooklyn@transalt.org Centralpark@transalt.org Gowanus@transalt.org Citywide: |
WIN A FREE NYCBike--made especially for people who ride in the City. Join or renew your Transportation Alternatives membership as you register for the NYC Century Bike Tour and be entered automatically into our raffle.
Come to the Volunteer Magazine Mailing Party, Wednesday, August 25th at 6 pm at the T.A. Office (115 West 30th, #1207)! Free beer, soda, snacks and scintillating conversation.
Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from Europe Prof. John Pucher, Bloustein
School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University Sponsored by Auto-Free New York and Transportation Alternatives Presenting detailed information and illustrations of truly state-of-the-art walking and cycling facilities in the Netherlands and Germany, Pucher demonstrates what COULD and should be done, even here in New York, to vastly improve conditions for walking and cycling.
Join T.A.
today to start receiving Transportation
Alternatives Magazine, our members-only in-depth quarterly
magazine— Selected articles
Opportunity Knocks for Brooklyn Bridge Connector
Improvements Coming to the Hudson River Greenway
DOT Pondering 8th Avenue Bike Lane
DOT Launches Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes Must Use Street Design to Encourage Walking
$5 Million to Jump Start NYC Bus Rapid Transit
Support for Car-Free Central Park Swells
S.T.O.P. (Standing Together Organizing Parents) TAKE
THE TOUR!
POTHOLES, STREET HAZARDS GOT YOU IN A RUT? Call DOT at 212-225-5368 and hit 0 to skip the message and speak with a
human. You can also report them online at transalt.org/ STAY SMART & INFORMED Savvy
transit riders get their lowdown on the subways here: Sensible
Transport Junkies::  The daily Gotham Gazette: gothamgazette .org NYC News summaries and savvy commentary. Bikes
in Bogota? Car-Free Cartagena? Tel-Aviv by Train?
Give on-line at transalt.org/join Quick!
What's your city council GET THERE!
Check our maps page for links to NYC-area bicycle and transit maps. RIDES AND WALKS Visit Shorewalkers for extensive walk listings. Saturday, August 21, 7:30 am. Bike to Art. Grand Central Terminal. 5BBC. Sunday, August 22. Tour of the the Hamptons. Massapequa Park Bike Club. Sunday, August 22. Ramapo Rally. BTCNJ. Sunday, August 22, 9 am. Queens Perimeter Ride Standard. Bridgemarket. 5BBC. Sunday, August 22, 10 am. Bicycle Beach Bums Ride #8. Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park. 5BBC. Friday, August 27, 7 pm. Critical Mass. Union Square Park North. Time's Up! Saturday, August 28, 9 am. The Chocolate Ride. City Hall. 5BBC. Saturday, August 28, 11 am. Green Apple Downtown Cycling Tour. 6BC Botanical Garden (East 6th Street, mid-block between Aves B & C) on bikes or skates. Time's Up! Saturday, August 28, 10 pm. Riverside Ride. Columbus Circle. Time's Up! Sunday, August 29. Tour de Putnam. Veteran's Memorial Park (Starting and Finishing Point), Gipsy Trail Rd, Kent, NY. Putnam Visitor's Bureau. Sunday, August 29. North Fork Century. Main Street & Railroad Avenue/Port Jefferson, NY. Bicycle Shows, U.S. Sunday, August 29, 8:45 am. Rock Around the Rock. City Hall. 5BBC. Sunday, August 29, 10 am. Bicycle Beach Bums Ride #9 and Beach Bum Blowout. City Hall. 5BBC.
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Two T.A. Wins
After years of dogged advocacy and recent cooperative effort with the family of
Nicholas Ho, a 12-year-old Queens bicyclist critically injured by a
red light runner on July 7, Transportation Alternatives scored a major victory
last week when the New York State Assembly finally approved A.11663/S.7599, the
extension of New York City's successful red light enforcement camera program.
The bill, which had been held hostage in the State Assembly, will extend the
program for five years and bodes well for the future passage of additional
enforcement cameras. 
the
state legislature would also agree to expand the red light enforcement camera
program from 50 to 100 cameras. Red light enforcement cameras, which the City
already uses, have been shown to reduce serious pedestrian injuries by 19%. A
June 2004 independent audit commissioned by the British government found that
their red light camera program has saved over 100 lives a year and averted over
870 serious injuries (including deaths) annually. In New York City, red light
cameras have enabled more than 1.4 million summonses for red light running over
their 10 year lifespan. If this seems like a lot of summonses, consider that New
York City drivers run more than one million red lights every day. 
Automated enforcement
technology is a proven potent tool in the fight against reckless driving. T.A.
will continue to push for the expansion of the red light enforcement camera
program; we are also hard at work advocating for the introduction of speed and
bus lane enforcement cameras.
Read more about
T.A. celebrated a small victory
earlier this summer when the City Council finally took a step towards banning
the use of audible car alarms in New York City. The City Council's Environmental
Protection Committee approved an amended version of Int. 81 and sent it to the
full council, which passed Int. 81A on July 21, 2004. This week, the Mayor
officially announced his intention to veto the bill; the City Council has not
announced whether it will override the veto. 
ban on the use of car alarms, and is an
important stepping stone to a full ban. 
goes off; which, on a
properly functioning alarm, is supposed to happen only in the event of attempted
theft. If an alarm truly is working properly, its owner ought to be willing to
run the risk of a ticket. 
Citing security concerns and
lack of resources, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced last
week that, starting on Sunday, August 29, it will close the George Washington
Bridge bicycling and walking path overnight: 
To mitigate the effect of the
closure, the Port Authority has asked bus companies operating out of the bridge
bus terminal on the Manhattan side of the bridge to accommodate bicycles when
the path is closed. 
these paths, even overnight, would cripple New York City bicyclists and
drastically reduce the number of people who bike in the city. In 1990, when the
City DOT restricted bicyclist and pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge
during rush hour, bicycling on the bridge dropped by nearly 80%, even with
access to a shuttle. 
According to the Port
Authority, the agency needs more funding to restore full bridge access; the
money would go to overnight security patrols and to completing capital projects
that would mitigate security concerns. While the Port Authority and elected
officials seek that funding, T.A. will work with the Port Authority to reduce,
and eventually eliminate,
the hours that the bridge path is closed to lessen the impacts on bicyclists and
walkers. 
1. As people age they become frailer, decreasing their ability to withstand the
impact of a vehicle traveling at any speed. 
T.A.'s Safe Routes for Seniors
program advocates for traffic calming measures at senior centers to force
drivers to slow down and pay more attention, which helps address the first two
problems listed above. To remedy the third, T.A. has embarked on a new city-wide
study of senior citizen crossing times at intersections of varying length. The
study is in progress, but statistics to date show that, throughout the city,
seniors need at least one additional second per foot of crosswalk or asphalt
more than they currently have. Even a small change like this can mean the
difference between life and death for one of our city’s most vulnerable
populations.
dangerous
double parking alternative is $115. The City needs money and this is a great way
to get it! In Park Slope, Brooklyn, street after street has double parked cars,
especially 2nd and 3rd Streets between 4th and 8th Avenues.
George
Washington Bridge Walking and Bicycling Path Closure 
Republican
National Convention and Bicycling Facilities 
I'm
a T.A. member and recently read that the City has plans to renovate Chambers
Street in Manhattan. Do you know if any thought has been given to including a
bike path as part of the plan? Among other things, it would make it easier for
Brooklyn commuters to reach the Hudson River bike path. 
T.A.
Response:
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