| Only the Strong Shall Survive: DOT Forces Parents and Children to Extraordinary Lengths to Win Simple Improvements |
T.A. Summer Benefit a Thanks to all the folks who came out to support T.A.'s campaign for better bicycling. Great company, delicious food and a funny and thought-provoking talk by "The Ethicist" Randy Cohen made doing good fun for everyone! A special thanks to Randy Cohen and Stephen Lyle of the Village Restaurant & Bar for making this event possible.
The year's best bike tour is just around the corner. Don't miss your chance to see more of New York City in one day than most people see in a decade! Join T.A. or Renew Your T.A. Membership and Be Entered into a Drawing for Bikes, Clothes! Join or renew as you register for our bike tour and we will enter you into a special drawing.
T.A. members get great benefits like discounts at over 100 area bike shops, discounts on bike locks and our award-winning magazine in your mailbox four times a year, not to mention a strong advocate fighting for better bicycling 365 days a year! Even Thanks to the New York Sports Club for getting the word out about Transportation Alternatives’ NYC Century Bike Tour. Sign up as part of the NYSC team and get special goodies. Inquire at a NYSC branch near you today! Seeking Art Submissions T.A.'s newest campaign to promote bike safety is an informative spoke card: a small laminated card that fits between your spokes. Usually used as event ID badges for bike messenger races, a spoke card is the perfect place to stash important traffic laws and a checklist detailing what to do if you're in a crash. To make the design cool enough to be sported on bike wheels all over town, T.A. wants to display your best bike-themed artwork on one side! Submit your most awesome low-resolution copies of artwork for consideration to david@transalt.org A few lucky bicycle artists will see their design revolving around hubs all around town this fall.
|
You may not believe how hard it can be to win common sense improvements to our streets. The Community Collaborative to Improve Bronx Schools (CCB), a coalition of parents, schools and community groups who work together to win educational justice for Bronx schools, presented a proposal to the City Department of Transportation to create safe zones around all public schools in the Bronx. It is a common sense proposal that calls for long overdue improvements like speed humps on residential streets and more time to cross on busy streets in order to prevent any more needless deaths. Watch a short video of their inspiring story! http://homepage.mac.com/trorb/T.A./iMovieTheater63.html Last week, many months after the Coalition first presented its proposal to the DOT, and after winning support from 25,000 residents and 10 elected officials in the Bronx, holding numerous meetings with the City DOT and staging four major actions--including a funeral procession in front of Mayor Bloomberg's campaign office--the DOT called another last minute meeting to offer a counter proposal to frustrated parents and local residents. The City DOT proposal includes increasing the number of schools in a three-month reduced speed pilot program from five to ten schools in the Bronx and giving CCB a seat at the table for on-going discussion and evaluation of schools in need of improvement as part of the school safety campaign.The DOT has also promised to work with CCB on the City's Safe Routes to School program, though that program is currently missing in action. The City DOT proposal is still a long way off from what parents and children need to be and feel safe from the dangers of reckless drivers, though it is a first step towards long overdue improvements. But the question remains, why should the City DOT make it so difficult to win safety improvements around schools? Experience the dangers that one mother and her two children must face on their daily route to school. "Walking to School in the Bronx - One Family's Daily Journey" a film by Nicole Duncan and her two sons, edited by Clarence Eckerson Jr. http://homepage.mac.com/trorb/T.A./iMovieTheater64.html "Safe Streets NOW!" a short film edited and shot by Clarence Eckerson Jr. http://homepage.mac.com/trorb/T.A./iMovieTheater62.html
|
|
| Safe Bicycling Now! | |
On July 19, T.A., representing a coalition of New York City bicycling groups met with the Public Advocate, the City Department of Transportation Commissioner and the NYPD Chief of Transportation to urge action to prevent bicycling New Yorkers from being killed on our streets. According to the NYPD, eleven NYC cyclists have perished in crashes this year, compared to six over the same period in 2004. The coalition of city cycling organizations--including T.A., the Century Road Club Association, Five Borough Bicycle Club, Free Wheels, New York Bicycle Messenger Association, Recycle-A-Bicycle, Right Of Way, Staten Island Bicycle Association and Times Up!--is calling on the City to undertake a six point bike safety action plan to make streets and drivers safer for cycling. City Hall must convene a multi-agency taskforce to:
Bicycling is surging in NYC, and the City must provide safe streets for the millions of New Yorkers who bike each year. Bike lanes, greenway paths and traffic calmed streets and their strong traffic enforcement are not amenities; they are necessary safety improvements. While the coalition of NYC bicycle groups awaits a written response to our bike safety action plan, we are reaching out to elected officials and candidates for their support. Take Action! Ask your councilmember to support the six point action plan for safe bicycling. See a sample letter, and find your councilmember here. If you represent a group that is interested in joining this alliance, please e-mail info@transalt.org. |
|
| 99,998 New Yorkers + 2 Mayoral Candidates = Car Free Central Park | |
"The Central Park and Prospect Park drive loops should be car-free 100% of the time" - League of Conservation Voters' Mayoral Report Card. Most Mayoral candidates agree. At last week's mayoral forum organized by New Yorkers for Parks, all candidates except C. Virginia Fields voiced their support for a car-free loop drive or a trial closure period. Fernando Ferrer was the most vocal proponent, stating,"The sky won't fall if you say you can't use parks for driving." Thanks to the surge in support from those attending Shakespeare in the Park and the New York Philharmonic, 94,000 New Yorkers have now signed the petition for a Car Free Central Park. Help us meet the critical 99,998 threshold the week before the election, when we will present the two leading candidates with the petition and a pen. Have you signed the petition for a Car Free Central Park? http://www.transalt.org/campaigns/cpark/petition.html If you've already signed, forward this link to a friend. |
