Noah Kazis

Several surveys this year by top polling organizations have found citywide support for bike lanes. And in Park Slope and the Upper West Side, questionnaires put out by local elected officials have shown consistent neighborhood-level approval for new bike infrastructure. Now, another member of the City Council has found widespread enthusiasm for the city's bike lane program among his constituents -- and he doesn't represent the heart of the NYC bike belt.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Any moment now, Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce that Joe Lhota, the former budget director and deputy mayor for Rudy Giuliani, will be the next chairman of the MTA. There will be a press conference and press releases -- a singular opportunity for Cuomo and Lhota to put forward their vision for the transit agency.

In last winter's Chicago mayoral election, all the leading candidates made ambitious promises to increase funding for the city's struggling transit agency. Now, with a proposed $2 "congestion fee" -- really a downtown surcharge on the city's parking tax -- Emanuel plans to make drivers pay their fair share and use the proceeds to build a new rail station and the city's first bus rapid transit line.

A flatbed truck driver struck and killed a cyclist in East Williamsburg shortly after midnight last night.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

The Department of Transportation presented the findings [PDF] of its five-year study of transportation in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood at a packed public meeting last night. The massive transportation analysis included many critical projects that have already been announced, such as the 34th Street Select Bus Service route and extensions of the protected bike lanes along Eighth and Ninth Avenue, as well as a full slate of new improvements for the neighborhood, from signal retimings meant to improve pedestrian safety to new plaza space and a continuous sidewalk by the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.

With two stops in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan, the Department of Transportation this week continues its tour of community boards to present plans for city bike-share. In last week's presentation to Manhattan Community Board 2, DOT officials provided new details on the proposed boundaries for the bike-share system, its cost structure, siting criteria and the public process moving forward. The public also had a chance to offer preliminary input (it was all positive feedback from District 2) and ask questions about how bike-share will work. For those excited or curious about the program, these meetings are worth attending:

New York City's zoning regulation turns 50 this year. Though the zoning ordinance has been amended extensively over the last half-century, land use in New York is still governed under a basic framework established under Mayor Robert Wagner. In a panel discussion held last Friday by the Municipal Art Society, experts put forward a vision for a brand new planning paradigm for New York City. The panelists called for fewer restrictions on how buildings are used, a merging of the city's various land use codes, and a shift toward strategic planning.