NYCcentury.org
Choose Your Distance, Ride Your Pace. Early registration discounts end July 31st. Save $15! Register today!

Come to the Mailing Party, Wednesday, June 12th at 6 pm at the T.A. Office (115 West 30th, #1207). Free snacks, beer and scintillating conversation!

Environmental Transportation Advocate: Start August 2002

Experienced public interest advocate needed for T.A.’s cutting-edge NYC environmental transportation campaigning. Will manage pedestrian, traffic calming and car-free parks advocacy. Must have excellent writing skills, post-graduate political and/or advocacy experience and the ability to work both on policy issues and community coalition building. Salary $30k-$40k to start. E-mail and postal mail only. No phone calls please. Send cover letter (important) and resumé to Transportation Alternatives, 115 West 30th Street, Rm. 1207 NYC 10001 or info@transalt.org. Please do not attach Word documents--plain text or pdf only.

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.
Call 212-629-8080 or e-mail info@transalt.org.

Bike Counts Coordinator Needed

T.A. needs a responsible volunteer to take the reins of the East River Bridge Count project for the summer. Responsibilities include organizing monthly bike and pedestrian counts, collecting count sheets and compiling and presenting the data. Database or spreadsheet skills are a must. East River Bridge Counts are a barometer of cycling activity in the city. The data is also used in efforts to make bridge access safer for cyclists and pedestrians. To apply, contact: bike@transalt.org.

T.A. also needs volunteers to count all those bikes and pedestrians as they cross the Queensboro, Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. The counts take place from 7-10 am, one morning a month. To volunteer, register online.

T.A. still has two open internships: 

- Advocacy (work with T.A. program staff)
- Bicycle Research and Policy

Please visit transalt.org/intern for more information.

T.A. In the News

transalt.org/media

Latest

5/30 Fat fines aim to curb cyclists, Daily News

5/30 Heavy Pedal Fines: New law would hit crazed cyclists, New York Post

5/29 Private garbage trucks are most likely to kill, The Villager

5/21 Two-wheel lovers celebrate river path, Downtown Express

5/16 BP's office marks Bike to Work Week, Staten Island Advance

5/16 Re "Visionaries Dare to Take the Catwalk", New York Times

5/13 Cyclist Beats Car, Train In Race From Brooklyn To Manhattan, NY1

5/13 Weekend Warrior, Daily News

5/7 Step on a crack and break city's back: Mayor wants to make it harder to collect on personal-injury lawsuits, Staten Island Advance

5/3 A Day for Sunday Drivers on Two Wheels, New York Times

5/1 NYC Bike Week Returns This Month, Metro Sports

5/1 Biking: The Right Choice, Metro Sports

4/27 Car Accidents? Juries Tend to Think So, New York Times

4/22 Segway May Face Obstacles Too High in NYC Politics, New York Sun

4/19 Midtown Car-Pool Rules Lifted, Daily News

4/16 They Peddle Verrazano Bicycle Path, Daily News

4/15 New Bike/Pedestrian Path Over the Verrazano?, Park Slope Courier

4/15 5M for East River Ferry Routes Eyed, Daily News

4/15 Bridge tolls a boon to borough, The Park Slope Paper

4/4 Bridge Getting New 30M Walkway, Daily News

4/1 New York City Makes The Cycling Grade, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News

3/30 Less Traffic, a More Livable City, New York Times

3/29 Pedal Revolution, In These Times

3/29 Mayor Defends Out-of-Towner Toll Proposal, Daily News

3/26 Mayor Sets a New Tone, Pushing Drivers Toward Mass Transit, New York Times

3/18 Dummy Cameras Coming, Newsday

3/17 New Arena for Cars vs. Pedestrians: The Sidewalk, New York Times

3/6 Downtowners split on East River bridge tolls, Downtown Express

3/3 Tolls on East River Bridges? Not in Their Backyard, New York Times

3/1 City Driven To Push A.M. Car Pools, Daily News

2/25 Brooklyn Bridge ready to battle over Bloomin' bridge tolls, The Park Slope Paper

2/19 Pol Raps Car Policy, Daily News

2/19 Councilman targets carpooling, Staten Island Advance

2/18 A Walk on the Wild Side: City's streets a big threat to pedestrians, Daily News

2/15 Mayor Looks at Tolls for Bridges on East River, New York Times

2/15 Mike Eyes East River Tolls: Bloomberg weighs charging drivers to use four bridges, Daily News

2/15 Plan Would Take Toll on Bridges, Newsday

2/15 Bloomy's Budget Taking a 'Toll' on East River Bridges, New York Post

2/15 Bloomberg Proposes Tolls For Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges, NY1

2/14 East River Bridge Tolls, CBS 2

2/14 Dangerous Intersections, Fox 5

2/14 East River Bridge Tolls, Bloomberg Radio

1/25 Makeover for WTC Area? Plants, open air and light, Daily News

1/23 7% Drop in Accidents, But traffic deaths increase slightly, Daily News

1/18 Gifted Gifford, The New City Council Speaker: So What's Miller Mulling Over?, On the Line, WNYC Radio

1/17-23 Pelham Parkway intersection named to "deadliest" list, The Bronx Times Reporter

1/15 Traffic trouble zone: Beep pushes safe routes in University Heights, Daily News

1/11-17 Residents Protest Another Dangerous Crossing, Queens Tribune

1/9-15 Think Queens Blvd. Is The Borough’s Most Dangerous Road? Think Again. Residents Demand More Safety Controls on Northern Blvd., Queens Courier

1/7 Dangerous Bronx intersections named, News 12

1/6 Danger Is Lurking Where Speed And Thickets of Humanity Meet, New York Times

1/3 It's All Aboard, if They'll Fit, as Sept. 11 Jolts Mass Transit, New York Times

12/29 Police Release Driver of Van as a 7th Accident Victim Dies, New York Times

12/29 7th Crash Victim Dies: Survivors angry runaway van's driver wasn't charged, Daily News

12/28 7 Killed in Herald Square by Out-of-Control Van, New York Times

12/20 Review and Comment: Calming & Contradiction, Brooklyn Heights Press and Cobble Hill News

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

More Quotes...

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
-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 (hit 0 to speak with a human) or report them online at transalt.org/hazard  

Sidewalk obstructions: Mayor’s Quality of Life Hotline at 888-677-LIFE/5433

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. E-Bulletin is a bi-weekly publication of Transportation Alternatives. The T.A. E-Bulletin has 11,400 subscribers.

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 June 3, 2002

Three Former DOT Bigs Join Call For Car-Free Prospect Park

Former DOT Commissioners Lou Riccio and Elliot Sander and former First Deputy Commissioner Sam "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz have joined the call for a car-free Prospect Park beginning with a three month car-free trial period. Their support will further dispel exaggerated claims about the impact of the closure upon traffic. Using traffic counts conducted by the DOT, the commissioners and other traffic experts have conclusively determined that potential traffic diversions caused by a car-free park will be so small as to not be noticeable in neighborhoods surrounding the park. The DOT commissioners join a long list of local and national environmental and civic groups calling for a car-free park.

Support a Car-Free Prospect Park!

• Join T.A. today!
• Go to the Car-Free Prospect Park Web site and sign up for Brooklyn Committee e-mail list!
• Also check out the Car-Free Central Park Web site!

Help the DOT Get Legislative Approval for 25 More Red Light Camera Locations

The Department of Transportation--with T.A.'s support--is seeking a new state law (7266A) allowing it to use 75 red light cameras; the existing limit is 50. The cameras are a major success for the DOT. Not only do they work to reduce crashes, but they are very popular with the public, editorial boards and NYC elected officials. Below is a form letter that you should send to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in support of the bill. While T.A. wants the DOT to get 25 more cameras, we are disappointed that, over the last six months, the DOT did not raise its request to 150 cameras.  Just the same, 25 more cameras means 25 more safe intersections and deaths and injuries avoided.

Maybe you'll be the one saved by a red light camera. Please send this mail to Assembly Speaker Silver now.

New City Council a Disappointment on Transportation and Street Safety

In January, hopes were high that the City Council would take a new and insightful look at pedestrian and bicycling safety and big picture issues like the Carpool Rule and tolls on East River bridges. With long time T.A. friend Gifford Miller as Speaker of the City Council and the energetic John Liu as Chair of the Transportation Committee, things looked good. But, instead, Liu championed eliminating the Carpool Rule and dredged up long-time whipping boys like bicyclists riding on sidewalks; indeed, the Committee's record is defined by poorly reasoned legislation. In part, this is because the Council has done a poor job of communicating with critical agencies like the Department of Transportation and the Police Department as well as stakeholder groups like Transportation Alternatives.

In fact, the ineptness of the Council has led to opposition of city agencies to legislation that the Council has drafted to "help" them. For example, the Police oppose Intro. 157, which is intended to increase police authority to regulate "mobile billboards." Everyone loathes these annoying sign trucks that help clog the streets, but the cops oppose the measure because it will actually weaken the existing law. Likewise, the DOT seeks the authority to keep the mushrooming population of news boxes off of crowded sidewalks. But, again, the Council's bill--14A--is so poorly drafted that the DOT is asking the mayor to veto it.

T.A. Recommendation to the Council Transportation Committee

John Liu and the Transportation Committee need to do better. Committee staff should communicate extensively with agencies and stakeholder groups and discuss legislation before a bill is brought to a public hearing. Hearings are a very inefficient way of learning from experts and creating consensus. In the age of e-mail, faxes and telephones, bills should be thoroughly vetted before reaching a hearing. Similarly, the Committee staff should research an issue before drafting legislation. It is imperative that the staff collect basic facts and statistics about existing and former policies before they make a decision. Meanwhile, the Committee should hold hearings to listen to broad panels of experts on major issues of the day such as:

1. Reducing automobile use and traffic
2. Traffic calming, sidewalk widenings and pedestrian improvements
3. Cutting official parking permits
4. Safe routes to school
5. Bus rapid transit
6. Parking permits and fees
7. Tolling East River bridges
8. MTA Finances-fares and services

Flogging the Dead Horse Harder: Council Committee Passes Draconian Penalties Against Sidewalk Cycling While Sidewalk Motorists Face Few Sanctions

In an average year in NYC, bicycles kill no pedestrians and injure fewer than 200 pedestrians. In the same average year, motor vehicles kill 200 pedestrians and injure 11,000. But, in the last five months, this City Council has had zero hearings on street safety, zero hearings on cars on sidewalks and two hearings on bicycles on sidewalks. Councilmembers have introduced three different bills about sidewalk cycling and none have had to do with any other kind traffic, pedestrian or bicycle safety. Cycling on the sidewalk is a real problem, and T.A. opposes it, but it should be obvious that motor vehicles hurting and killing pedestrians on both the sidewalk and the streets demands the Council's attention more than the passage of ever more punitive penalties that will not be enforced by uninterested police commanders.

T.A. strongly condemns bicycling on the sidewalk, but getting cyclists off of the sidewalk requires vastly better police enforcement of the strict existing laws, rather than the new draconian punishments proposed by the City Council Transportation Committee.

The punishment for bicycling on the sidewalk is now even more severe. Before the passage of the new law, sidewalk cyclists over age 14 already faced potential punishment of a criminal misdemeanor, $100 fine, 20 days in jail and the confiscation of their bike until they paid the fine. The new law creates a three tier system of sanctions:

• Riding on the sidewalk away from pedestrians: $100 fine, no bike impoundment
• Riding on the sidewalk "endangering" pedestrians: $300 and or 20 days in jail, bike impoundment
• Physical contact with a pedestrian on sidewalk: $600 or 20 days, bike impoundment

Write Transportation Committee Chair John Liu and tell him to start paying attention to the dreadful conditions pedestrians face every day on NYC’s big, dangerous streets. Write to liu@council.nyc.ny.us. Click on this link for a template for your message. Be sure to include your name and address so that your message will be taken seriously. Please also send a copy of your message to T.A. at info@transalt.org.

Read more T.A.'s work to educate cyclists not to ride on sidewalks or register as a volunteer for our Give Respect/Get Respect campaign (we'll let you know via e-mail the next time we are holding an event). Also read about T.A.'s work to reduce pedestrian deaths, reclaim the sidewalks and make extremely dangerous streets like Queens Boulevard safer.

Raised Crosswalk Spotted in DUMBO

Drunk Driving Cops Who Kill and Injure To Be Dismissed

In late April, shortly after ex-officer Joseph Gray was convicted of vehicular manslaughter for killing a pregnant woman and three of her family members in Brooklyn, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly mandated that cops convicted of vehicular assault or manslaughter would be automatically dismissed--"absent of exigent circumstances." In response, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association expressed concern about "due process."

Streets in Shambles: Utility Companies Out of Control

Hudson River Greenway Reopens from Harrison Street to Vesey Street

It's now possible to reach the Esplanade or the streets of Battery Park City without riding on or across the highway.

Read more about T.A.'s work for greenways.

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Spring 2002 T.A. Magazine  
This issue has been mailed to all T.A. members. It includes news on bicycle, pedestrian and car-free Central Park and Prospect Park, sensible transportation, features and much, much more! View the Table of Contents or request a copy!

Selected articles

T.A.'s New "Ride-and-Ride" Bike Parking at SI Transit

Bridge Paths Caged

What Happen' at the Manhattan?

Can You Say "Kosciuszko"?

East River Greenway Grows! And Shrinks ...

Riverside Park Users Asked to Share

Good Mooooooove: DOT Requests Two Million in FEMA Emergency Dollars for Bollards

Discourteous, Unprofessional, Disrespectful: Remove Police Cars from Sidewalks

New Jersey - GWB Link to Palisades

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Take Action

T.A. has many volunteer opportunities.  Please visit our site to learn more about how you can help.  Come to the Mailing Party, Wednesday, June 12th at 6 pm at the T.A. Office (115 West 30th, #1207). Free snacks, beer, and scintillating conversation!

MAD AS HELL?  DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Call the Mayor's Quality of Life Action Line (real people 24 hrs a day) 888-677-5433 or e-mail Mayor Bloomberg.

POTHOLES, STREET HAZARDS GOT YOU IN A RUT?

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.  tstc.org

The daily Gotham Gazette

Bikes in Bogota? Car-Free Cartagena? Tel-Aviv by Train?

Go global at itdp.org!

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

RIDES AND WALKS

Thursday, June 6, 10 am. New York Botanical Garden. Central Park Boathouse. The Weekday Cyclists.

Friday, June 7, 6 pm. Horseshoe Crabs Mate & Lay Eggs. Flatbush Avenue at entrance to Floyd Bennet Field. Shorewalkers.

Friday, June 7, 10 pm. Central Park Moonlight Ride.  Columbus Circle. Time's Up!

Saturday, June 8, 8:30 am. Stony Point. Plaza Hotel. 5BBC.

Saturday, June 8, 9:45 am. Coney Island. Park benches behind Municipal building near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Fast and Fabulous.

Saturday, June 8, 10 am. Minnewaska Scenic Walk to Castle Point & Lake Awosting. Bus Terminal in New Paltz. Shorewalkers.

Saturday, June 8, 10:30 am. Five Bridges, 3 Boroughs. NE corner of 96th and Lexington Avenue. Shorewalkers.

Saturday, June 8, 1 pm. Riverside Park & Vicinity. East side of Broadway at 116th Street. Shorewalkers.

Saturday, June 8, 9 pm. Prospect Park Moonlight Ride. Grand Army Plaza. Time's Up!

Sunday, June 9, 7:45 am. Bi-State Environmental Ride #2. AYH. 5BBC.

Sunday, June 9, 8 am. Sunday Singles Cycling Affair. Princeton Junction, NJ. SIBA.

Sunday, June 9, 8:30 am. Perimeter Series: da Bronx. Van Cortlandt Park. 5BBC.

Sunday, June 9, 9 am. North County Trailway to Croton Reservoir. Central Park Boathouse. Fast and Fabulous.

Sunday, June 9, 9:30 AM. Shore Parkway Pedestrian Path. Upstairs at 59th Street/4th Ave N/R Station. Take a Walk, New York.

Sunday, June 9, 10 am. State Line to Nyack. Port Authority. Shorewalkers.

Sunday, June 9, 12:45 pm. Tibetan Trek to Staten Island. South Street Ferry Terminal. 5BBC.

Tuesday, June 11, 10 am. TBA. Central Park Boathouse. The Weekday Cyclists.

Thursday, June 13, 10 am. TBA. Central Park Boathouse. The Weekday Cyclists.

Saturday, June 15, 7:30 am. Clearwater Hudson River Revival. Grand Central Station. 5BBC.

Saturday, June 15, 9 am. Great Neck, Great Gatsby, Great Ride. Cunningham Park. 5BBC.

Saturday, June 15, 9 am. NYCC Newcomers Ride. Central Park Boathouse. NYCC.

Saturday, June 15, 9:15 am. Cranberry Mountain. Sloatsburg. Shorewalkers.

Saturday, June 15, 10 am. City Island Orchard Beach. Pelham Bay Station of #6 line, near coffee shop. Shorewalkers.

Saturday, June 15, 10 pm. History, Mystery, Murder & Money Tour. Southeast corner of Duane and Broadway. Time's Up!

Sunday, June 16, 8:30 am. Brooklyn Waterfront Bicycle Tour. The Steps of Borough Hall (Court and Joralemon St.). The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway and The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club.

Sunday, June 16, 9 am. Explore Queens. Plaza Hotel. 5BBC.

Sunday, June 16, 9 am. Off Road Vista: Old Put & Old Croton Aqueduct. Van Cortland Park. 5BBC.

Sunday, June 16, 9 am. Jones Beach. Central Park Boathouse. Fast and Fabulous.

Sunday, June 16, 10 am. Over the GW Bridge to Alpine. Port Authority Bus Terminal. Shorewalkers.

Tuesday, June 18, 10 am. TBA. Central Park Boathouse. The Weekday Cyclists.

More Rides and Walks...

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