Replacement For Yankee Stadium Parking Will Still Have to Pay The Bills
As the operator of the taxpayer-financed Yankee Stadium parking garages heads toward default, there's no longer any question that providing so much parking in such a transit-rich location was a mistake on the scale of Carl Pavano's contract. The decision to give up $2.5 million in city taxes and $5 million in state revenue has proven a poor investment indeed. The question, at this point, is what comes next.
March 17, 2011
Transit, Not Traffic, the Most Important Transpo Issue for New Yorkers
What's the most important problem facing New York City? Three times as many registered voters say it's the quality of transit service compared to the number who say traffic congestion, according to a new poll. While transportation remains a second-tier issue relative to education and the economy, the poll does show the importance of transit for those who care most about the issue.
March 16, 2011
The Fulton Street Mall: Retail Success on NYC’s Original Transitway
As the New York Post continues its increasingly tedious assault on pedestrians and crosstown transit riders, its writers always seem to suggest that giving priority to buses in an important retail area is both radical and self-evidently bad for business. If they bothered to look just one borough away, they'd see that nothing could be further from the truth. The eight bus- and pedestrian-only blocks of downtown Brooklyn's Fulton Mall make up the most successful retail strip in the city outside of Manhattan.
March 14, 2011
New NYS DOT Commish on Smart Growth: “We Need to Go Further”
Coming two days after her confirmation as the new commissioner of the state DOT, Joan McDonald's keynote speech at today's annual meeting of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council offered her the chance to lay out her agenda for statewide transportation policy. McDonald's remarks should provide cause for optimism among New Yorkers hoping for a more progressive transportation system: She strongly endorsed smart growth principles and indicated to Streetsblog after her speech that she welcomes the planning process that could advance the Sheridan Expressway teardown.
March 10, 2011
Obama’s Transpo Secretary Is a Big Fan of Janette Sadik-Khan
New York City politicians may have had their feathers ruffled by Janette Sadik-Khan, but on the national stage, New York City's transportation commissioner is getting nothing but love from the Obama administration for her innovative leadership.
March 9, 2011
DOT to Daylight All Left Turns on Lexington Avenue in Midtown
In last year's landmark pedestrian safety study, the Department of Transportation found that three times as many crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve left turns as right turns. To respond to the heightened danger of left-turning vehicles, DOT promised in its action plan to "daylight" all left turns on a major Manhattan avenue, removing parking spaces near the intersection to improve visibility.
March 8, 2011
Opponents Sue City Over Prospect Park West Bike Lane
Opponents of the Prospect Park West bike lane have filed a lawsuit against the city in relation to the project, according to the New York City Law Department. The suit, which has been threatened for a month, was filed at the end of the day today in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Download it here.
March 7, 2011
Cuomo Budget Amendments Claim End to MTA Raids After This Year
In amendments to the state budget released last week [PDF], the Cuomo administration claims that its $100 million raid on dedicated MTA funds was a one-time deal that won't be repeated in the next three years.
March 7, 2011