Articles and Actions:
Events and Appeals:
Letters to T.A.: |
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| Calling all Cyclists: Take the 2005 Bike Report Card Survey | |||
Transportation Alternatives is preparing its ninth annual Making the Grade report on cycling conditions in New York City. To better inform the report card and decision makers, we are asking you, the T.A. E-Bulletin reader, to provide your own evaluation of New
York City bicycling conditions. Complete the survey and you'll be eligible to win a free ride
in the NYC Century Bike Tour on
September 10, 2006.
If you would like to view the current results without voting, please click here. Please grade each item from A to F, A being the best and F being the worst.
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| Happy Holidays from the NYC DOT (make sure you send a thank-you note) | |||
For years, the Department of Transportation's "Holiday Traffic Mitigation Plan" has allowed cars special access to Prospect Park 24 hours-a-day, five days-a-week during December and January.
This holiday season, resident's and visitors to Brooklyn's prize park got an extra-special, unexpected gift: No more special hours for cars. In preserving the sanctity of the park during the holidays, the DOT has taken a sure-footed step in the right direction. For this they should be thanked. With this welcome change, the likelihood of park use will surely increase, and healthier communities, safe recreation and improved quality of life will follow. Send the Mayor a Thank You e-Postcard: Mayor Bloomberg, Thank you for creating more car-free hours in Prospect Park. The Department of Transportation's recent decision to preserve Prospect Park's usual schedule of car-free hours during the holidays is an excellent policy choice that benefits all of New York City. Now that the hours are consistent throughout the year, the park's 7 million users will certainly be more inclined to take advantage of all Prospect Park has to offer. I hope that similar progressive decisions become a mainstay of DOT policy in the coming years. Sincerely, |
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| GWB South Side Path Open on Jan 23 | |||
On Monday, January 23, the Port Authority plans to re-open the fully-ramped biking and walking path on the south side of the George Washington Bridge and close the stair-only accessible path on the bridge's north side. See www.panynj.com for details.
The Port Authority is currently undertaking security improvements on the bridge. In August 2004, citing security concerns and lack of resources, the agency closed the bridge to bikers and walkers overnight. Advocates continue to push the Port Authority, and elected officials who oversee the agency, to implement strong security measures that will allow it to re-open the bridge to bikers and walkers 24-hours a day.
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| Get With the Renaissance | |||
Transportation Alternatives, along with the Project for Public Spaces and The Open Planning Project, has embarked on an exciting new campaign to inspire a renaissance for New York City streets.
The central aim of the campaign, aptly dubbed NYC Streets Renaissance (NYCSR), is to compel City Hall to better balance the requirements of automobiles and the needs of the residents and businesses. The NYCSR is already working with the residents of Astor Place and Union Square in Manhattan and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn to articulate a vision for streets that is more accommodating to walking, biking, shopping and, in a word: living. Visit nycsr.org/involved.php to get involved and help make the NYC Streets Renaissance a reality in your neighborhood. |
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| Livable Streets: A New Vision for New York Coming in February to the Municipal Arts Society |
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The NYC Streets Renaissance Campaign is pleased to present Livable Streets: A New Vision for New York. From February 1 thru March 29 the campaign will sponsor a captivating new exhibition and six exciting events at The Municipal Arts Society that explores the automobile and its effects on quality of life in NYC. This exhibit examines New York City's streets from a fresh perspective to facilitate, inform and inspire the public to ask, 'What if all space between buildings was your place to socialize, play, stroll and explore?'
Please RSVP for ALL events you plan to attend: rsvp@mas.org or 212-935-2075.
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| Help Plan and Ride the Queens East River-North Shore Greenway | |||
NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and NYC Department of City Planning
Public Meeting on the Queens East River and North Shore Greenway: Wednesday, January 25, 6 pm ARROW Recreation Center, 35-30 35th Street (35th Street between 35th and 36th Avenues) The NYC Departments of Parks and City Planning are designing the Queens East River and North Shore Greenway, a 9-mile biking and walking path from the Pulaski Bridge in Long Island City, Queens north along the waterfront to Astoria, then east past LaGuardia Airport ending at the Flushing Bay Esplanade. Come learn about the planned greenway, meet neighbors and give input! Details at: astoriawaterfront.org/upcoming T.A. and the Partnership for Parks' Astoria and Long Island City Waterfront Parks Catalyst Project Can't get enough greenway action? Or can't make January 25's greenway meeting? Join T.A. and the Partnership for Parks' Astoria and Long Island City Waterfront Parks Catalyst Project on a weekend afternoon bike tour of the planned Queens East River Greenway. See the planned greenway up close and get inspired to help make it a reality. Ride the greenway route and neighborhood streets and visit Queensbridge, Rainey, Socrates, Astoria and Ralph Demarco Parks, which will all be connected by this new waterfront greenway. E-mail bike@transalt.org for full details! To learn more about what's happening on the Queens waterfront, visit astoriawaterfront.org. |
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| Bike Contest Winners | |||
Two lucky New Yorkers are the proud winners of T.A.'s recent Win a Free Bike contests!
Laura Silver, is the winner of our Car-Free Bedford Avenue contest. Her slogan "Take the 'Ford' out of Bedford and get a street streaming with life," and essay helped win her a brand new roadster bike, courtesy of GreatUsedBikes.com, created with a classic look, perfect for cruising around all year long! Rachel Stein is the winner of our Fuji Bike the Strike contest. She submitted her powerful essay about biking during the strike to both T.A. and the Mayor's office. Says Rachel of her ride during the strike, "...This morning there was a special tranquility that came not only from the lack of cars but also from the knowledge that, for once, sustainable forms of transportation were normal." (read her full story) Rachel has won a new Fuji Absolute commuting bike, courtesy of Fuji Bikes. We received so many great essays from the Bike the Strike contest that just one winner wasn't enough. So, we are announcing a runner-up. Marcos Dinnerstein will receive a T.A. bike safety pack, complete with a light, bell and pants strap. "I asked the folks in the messenger center if they knew what had happened to my bike and they were very apologetic. 'Oh man, we didn't know it was your bike. We though it was some messenger who had locked his junky bike right there in Jerry Seinfeld's [bike parking] spot so we welded the lock off the bike and put the bike in the basement.'" (read his full story) Congratulations to all of our winners and to all of you who biked during the strike! |
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| Letters to T.A. | |||
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Taking Bridges with a Grain of Salt 12.05.05 Dear T.A., I'm a regular bicycle commuter who uses the Manhattan Bridge. In the two days since the recent snow I've used the bridge's north side cycle path and have found it very icy and very difficult to ride. On Sunday I noticed that it was plowed but the process still left a layer of snow on the surface that has since turned into ice. My question is, when the path is plowed can salt also be thrown down as well? Best, Dear Peter, We've contacted both the Department of Sanitation (the city agency responsible for snow plowing and salting on NYC streets) and the Department of Transportation (the city agency responsible for the East River bridges), and they've assured me that they are working together to clear snow from and put down salt or sand on all the East River bridge bike paths. We encourage you to call 311 to report the dangerous conditions you've encountered so we can put the problem on their radar. The more people that call, the better. Thanks for your help! Best, Pro Pedi-Cabs 12.19.05 Dear T.A., Are you aware that five members of City Council have introduced a measure to ban pedi-cabs from certain sections of the city? Anonymous Dear Reader, T.A. strongly supports pedi-cabs, and we regularly talk with the Pedi-Cab Association and many pedi-cab drivers. We oppose banning pedi-cabs from Midtown and have let the councilmembers who proposed a ban know that it is misguided. As pedi-cab regulation, enforcement and other issues progress, we will continue to talk to the Pedi-Cab Association and look for opportunities to let people know about specific issues. If you have specific concerns, ideas or issues, feel free to e-mail us. Best, Racking it Up 1.10.06 Dear T.A., I bike to work pretty often (I ride from the Upper West Side to SoHo), and used to be able to bring my bike up to the office, but now the building won't let me bring the bike in the passenger elevator. I asked them if they could install a bike rack in front, and they said that's up to the city. Is that true? If so, can you tell me which city agency/office I could contact for installation of a bike rack? Best, Dear Ann, The New York City Department of Transportation will install a CityRack bike rack in front on any building in New York City. You can fill out a request form on their website. Due to temperature constraints with the installation process, however, they won't be installing any new CityRacks until the spring. Additionally, I encourage you to take a look at our Indoor Bike Parking Solutions manual. It has lots of information you can use to convince your building to allow you to bring your bike indoors. Thanks for writing in, and if you have any more questions or concerns, please contact us any time. Best Curbing Parking, Flushing Traffic 9.28.05 Dear T.A., I don't know if you guys know of this, but there is a huge abomination of a parking lot in the middle of Flushing, and furthermore, the City is proposing to expand this parking lot, which will make the area into more of a traffic nightmare when it can be a pedestrian haven. There's even some grassroots opposition springing up, for obvious reasons. I've seen "no to parking lot construction" posters in Flushing storefronts. Maybe you should make this one of your campaigns, I imagine it would be quite popular. Anonymous Dear Reader, Thank you for your email. Here is a link from our website a few years ago with a report on parking in Jackson Heights. If you have seen groups that are already in opposition to the parking expansion, I recommend contacting them to find out what actions they are taking. I also recommend that you call your representatives and inform them that you oppose more free parking, as it encourages driving which degrades air quality, adds noise to the neighborhood and detracts from pedestrian accessibility. Please keep us posted of any action. Best, |
Making the Grade
