Local Track

Where's the Brooklyn Bridge?
By the end of the summer, cyclists may find it easier to reach some of the bridges in and out of Manhattan. At T.A.'s urging, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) has agreed to install "trailblazer" signs indicating the best routes to the Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Queensboro, and George Washington Bridges.

Most bridge entrances for bikes and pedestrians are poorly marked and hard to find, so the signs will be especially useful at the approaches to the George Washington, Will1amsburg, and Queensboro Bridges, all of which are entered by obscure side streets.

Volunteers have been scouting locations since June, and T.A. will present a list of recommended sites to the DOT by midsummer.

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Senior Senator Calls NY State DOT Brain Dead
Speaking to the New York Times about the moribund train to the plane, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said that the DOT's "been brain dead for about 20 years."

Moynihan wants to use about 5 billion dollars, procured as repayment for the building of the New York State Thruway in the 1950s, to build a train from Manhattan to the city's airports. But he says, "The Department of Transportation will use the money to fix overpasses." He notes, "We are the only major city in a developed country that does not have a rail connection to its airports."

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Hard-Headed Man

The June 1 issue of Our Town, the East Side of Manhattan's weekly neighborhood paper, featured a cover piece by Transportation Alternatives Editor Brendan Mernin. The article called for more and better bike lanes, and for sidewalk racks and garage parking.

In response, reader Dan Wallack of West 65th Street in Manhattan wrote, "Mernin must have once fallen off his bike when not wearing a helmet. He obviously doesn't belong in New York City. Anybody wanna buy him a one-way plane ticket to Amsterdam?"