At Upper West Side Vigil, Families Mourn 9-Year-Old Lost to Traffic Violence
Hours after Mayor de Blasio unveiled his administration's approach to sharply reducing traffic deaths yesterday, hundreds of New Yorkers gathered at an Upper West Side intersection to mourn 9-year-old Cooper Stock, who was killed last Friday by a turning taxi driver while crossing West End Avenue with his father.
January 16, 2014
De Blasio Rolls Out a Multi-Agency Approach to Reducing Traffic Violence
Calling traffic fatalities an "epidemic" that deserves immediate attention from the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched his administration's "Vision Zero" agenda this afternoon, setting out to eliminate traffic deaths within a decade. The most important news to come out of today's announcement is that his administration will enlist multiple agencies to tackle the multifaceted problem of traffic violence. A working group led by the city's police, transportation, health, and taxi commissioners is tasked with coming up with an action plan by February 15.
January 15, 2014
DOT Proposes Crosswalk Fix Where Renee Thompson Was Killed
In September, 16-year-old Renee Thompson was walking to the subway after getting off work just after 10 p.m., when, crossing Third Avenue at 60th Street, she was hit and killed by a turning truck driver. Now DOT is proposing shorter crossing distances at the intersection, but Community Board 8's transportation committee wants the agency to go further and also look at the dangers pedestrians face just one block away, where drivers jostle along Second Avenue to get on to the Queensboro Bridge.
January 15, 2014
Harlem CBs Look to Weaken Safety Plan; Levine: DOT Should Move Ahead
A 10-block road diet proposed for Morningside Avenue in Harlem continues to face resistance from Manhattan Community Board 10. In the latest development, it seems the transportation committee chair of CB 10 is trying to convince neighboring Community Board 9, which contains the west side of the avenue, to amend its vote in favor of the road diet and fight against it instead. Meanwhile, Council Member Mark Levine says DOT has heard more than enough input from the community boards and urged the agency to move ahead with the project.
January 13, 2014
The Last Thing New York Needs Is a Tax Break for Drivers
The MTA capital program, which funds maintenance and expansion of the transit system, is on the final year of its five-year cycle. A new plan is being developed, and the big question is how the state is going to pay for it. At a hearing of the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, state legislators got briefed on the need to plug the enormous funding gap in the next capital program. At the same time, one State Senator is trying to create a new tax incentive to drive.
January 10, 2014