Thursday’s Headlines: We’ll Always Have Paris Edition

People are always asking us, “Why are you guys always writing about how awesome Paris is?” And the answer is simple: It’s a city that gets stuff done for pedestrians and cyclists — much like New York could do … if we weren’t so stuck up about how everything is so “different” here.

The above rant was occasioned by a new Streetfilms video from U.N.-award winning documentarian Clarence Eckerson, aka the Orson Welles of the Street, whose work in the City of Light has reminded us anew how far behind we lag as a global capital.

His latest video shows how much can be accomplished in a very short period — just about a year — when a city is serious about safety and livability. And don’t even get us started on Paris’s latest SUV crackdown.

Enjoy:

In other news:

• The Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council is really ramping up its effort to get Mayor Adams to see that he’s just dead wrong if he believes what he’s hearing from the very small number of opponents of the Underhill Avenue bike boulevard. Here’s the group’s latest debunk, via the platform formerly known as Twitter:

• Must-read: A delivery worker tells you what it’s like out there in this amNY op-ed.
• Lots of outlets covered the announcement of the April 4 opening arguments in New Jersey’s specious lawsuit against congestion pricing — and the timeline for the toll. (NYDN, NY Post)
• Hell Gate followed our story on how badly Mayor Adams is doing on buses.
• Repeat after us: The driver of a minivan struck and badly injured two Brooklyn kids yesterday. To read the Post or Patch, you’d think the minivan acted of its own accord!
• Hat tip to The Village Sun for putting a human face on yet another crash victim — and reminding us that every death robs our city and our neighborhoods of irreplaceable people.
• Curtis Sliwa is right — we’ve got to take back the street … from his Guardian Angel thugs! (NY Times)
• … And Hell Gate sees what’s coming.
• More livable streets for Hudson Square. (amNY)
• Please don’t drive with an Apple headset on your face — no matter how this NY Magazine headline suggests you should.
• Former federal transit man Larry Penner has a theory on why MTA capital projects are so “expensive” in his words. (Mass Transit)
• Friend of Streetsblog John Massengale read Julianne Cuba’s piece about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and reminded us that he has also been discussing what a waste of money it is to rebuild the highway. Here’s his prescient Daily News op-ed on the subject.
• Grad student Dimitris Koutoumbas brings us up to date on his quest for better bus stops in Hartford. (Hunter Urban Review)
• You gotta look sharp — even if you don’t get the price you wanted. (Crain’s)
• Finally, Transportation Alternatives has a new map and report about Vision Zero fatalities. Click around to see the program’s successes and shortcomings: