Noah Kazis

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

In his relatively brief time at the helm of the MTA, Jay Walder earned widespread plaudits for introducing technological innovations while guiding the agency through increasingly perilous financial straits. His departure comes at a critical moment for the transit agency. With a $9 billion deficit facing the MTA's capital program at the end of this year, whoever replaces Walder will need political skill and technical expertise to spare transit riders another round of enormous fare hikes or service cuts. Even the most competent transit executive will have a hard time pulling it off, and leadership from the governor's office and the state legislature will be absolutely necessary.

Step aside, San Francisco!

The Department of Transportation is rolling out a response to Midtown traffic congestion that is as high-tech as it is intellectually outdated. Microwave sensors, video cameras, and E-ZPass readers will gather traffic information in real-time and beam the information to the DOT's Queens command center, where engineers will instantly adjust the traffic lights as needed in an attempt to fine-tune the workings of the traffic grid.

New Pedestrian Plaza at Bronx Hub Emerging as Centerpiece of Neighborhood Revitalization (WSJ) Times Editorial Urges Cuomo to Sign Bloomberg Taxi Bill Binghamton Leaders Hope Cuomo Signs Complete Streets Law (YNN) Suffolk County Has Region’s Highest Bike Fatality Rate, With Hispanics Most in Danger (MTR) Bystanders Gathered Around Lamar Odom, Not Teen Killed in Crash (News) … Continued

We have an update from NYPD on the curb-jumping motorist who struck and injured a pedestrian in Midtown this morning. Police said the driver hit a 73-year-old woman on the sidewalk while attempting to back into a parking space on 58th Street. The victim was sent to New York Presbyterian Hospital with serious head injuries, according to NYPD; she is now in stable condition.

What transportation projects would you build with $31 billion? That's how much would have been raised had the tolls on the four city-owned East River Bridges not been removed 100 years ago today.

The first section of the new East River Waterfront Esplanade officially opened in the short stretch between Wall Street and Maiden Lane today. The full two-mile, $165 million park will run from the Battery to just north of the Manhattan Bridge when complete in 2013.

The gender gap in American cycling is a thorny and persistent issue, and New York City performs relatively poorly on the measure. The percentage of female bike commuters has wavered between 20 and 25 percent of the total over the last two decades, but with a marked rise in the most recent years.