Sarah Goodyear

"People are addicted to their cars," said John Street, the Mayor of Philadelphia, at a panel on transport yesterday during the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit. He was identifying what he saw as the major challenge for cities striving to make their transport systems more environmentally sustainable.

Crain's New York Business reports that the group leading the campaign against congestion pricing will begin a lobbying blitz aimed at derailing Mayor Bloomberg's pricing proposal next week, just as the mayor goes to Albany to try to win state legislators over to his PlaNYC initiative. The arguments to be mounted by the "Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free Coalition" range from the speculative to the alarmist:

London mayor Ken Livingstone, whose congestion-pricing plan has served as a model for Mayor Bloomberg's, is expected to unveil today an even more radical measure aimed at reducing pollution in his city. According to the Guardian, Livingstone's proposal would target high-emission commercial vehicles:

Opening this summer: East River State Park on the Brooklyn waterfront 

Without Fee, City Drivers Unlikely to Change Habits (NY Sun) Climate Change Panel Reaches Consensus (NYT) As Climate Warms, England’s Coast Crumbles (NYT)  Bloomberg Wants to Give Ferries a $40m Boost (Observer) Driving While Dumb in Red Hook (Brooklyn Paper) Busta Rhymes’ Tinted Windows Get Him Busted (Daily News) More Big-Box Retailers to Join IKEA? … Continued

Via the blog of Stuart Hughes, a BBC journalist who lost part of his leg in Iraq while on assignment in 2003 and who is an avid cyclist, come a few interesting links regarding cycling in London. First, a BBC story on the skyrocketing popularity of biking both for recreation and commuting in London, a rise that has coincided with a decreasing injury and fatality rate for cyclists:

After weeks of speculation, City Hall has announced that Janette Sadik-Khan, a senior vice president at Parsons Brinckerhoff, will be the new commissioner of the NYC DOT. This from a press release issued this afternoon by the mayor's office:

Would they get out of their cars if they could surf the Web on the bus?

A story about the new bus bulbs on Lower Broadway in the New York Times highlights the role that enforcement will have to play if DOT's plan to make the boulevard more bus-friendly is to work. (Bus Rapid Transit, of course, will face similar issues when it rolls out later this year.) The story points out that Broadway's current bus lane -- bus bulbs or no -- is often blocked by double-parked delivery and placarded vehicles.

Foes of congestion pricing marshalled by the Queens Chamber of Commerce held a press conference yesterday at which several politicians from the borough took a stand against the mayor's plan. According to a press release provided by the chamber, City Council Finance Chair David Weprin called the proposal unnecessary: "I don't think City Hall understands that another unfair tax which would hurt working class people is not only uncalled for, but also unnecessary to reduce traffic. Before we tax people more we should first consider trying some simple traffic mitigation alternatives to reduce congestion."