The year 2007 may prove to be one of the most important years in the storied history of New York City's development. In a future timeline of urban advances, it might be printed in as big a font and as bold a type as 1811--when the grid system was adopted--or 1904--when the I.R.T. subway opened. The text adjacent to 2007 could say something like "the start of livable streets," or "the bike boom begins," or "congestion pricing kicks off." It may turn out that all of those descriptions may suit 2007. The real question is, in hindsight, will they?

Good afternoon, my name is John Kaehny. I represent Transportation Alternatives, a group of 2,500 New Yorkers who favor walking, bicycling and mass transit over cars, and encourage others to do the same.

Good afternoon. My name is John Kaehny. I represent Transportation Alternatives, a group of 2,500 New Yorkers who are striving to make our city more livable by improving walking, cycling and mass transit and reducing dependence on the automobile.

Many of us are tired of fighting the West Side Highway. We want the it fixed, we want our riverside park, our walking and cycling path, and more and safer pedestrian crossings. But tired and impatient as we are, we don't want more cars, and that is exactly what we will get if the Enhanced Basic Reconstruction plan is built.

The following are in addition to the concerns we expressed in previous testimony

Though the criteria the State Department of Transportation (SDoT) and the DEIS have articulated for evaluating different options for the 9A corridor are reasonable, the SDoT's interpretation of them is heavily biased towards increasing automobile capacity and auto travel. This bias has produced a DEIS that is flawed by its failure to seriously consider options that do not increase automobile capacity, like light rail, or additional money for existing public transit.

Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance
Sustainable South Bronx
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice
New York City Environmental Justice Alliance
Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development
Tri-State Transportation Campaign
in collaboration with

Mothers on the Move

Construction of new highways has proven to be disastrous for cities and the environment while yielding little or no economic advantages.