Transportation Alternatives
Streetsblog Basics
Can New York City Reform Its Dysfunctional Community Board System?
New York City's 59 community boards often serve as the sole venues where the public can assess and vet street design projects. But they are also structured in a way that inhibits any sort of change, giving de facto veto power over street improvements to a small clique who can serve for life.
May 1, 2015
New Families For Safe Streets Campaign Defends Right of Way Law
Families For Safe Streets released videos and posters this morning defending the Right of Way Law, in response to a campaign by Transport Workers Union Local 100, which wants MTA bus drivers exempted from the law.
April 30, 2015
Ride With Clarence on the Tour de Staten Island
Close to 2,000 people turned out Sunday for Transportation Alternatives' 2015 Tour de Staten Island. For the event's fifth year, riders were treated to areas of the new Fresh Kills Park that aren't yet open to the public. Other highlights included oceanside riding and views of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, where the Harbor Ring Committee continues to advocate for bike and pedestrian access.
April 13, 2015
TA: De Blasio Must Undo Construction Budget Cuts to Fix Dangerous Streets
Arterial streets -- the city's big, busy, highway-like roadways -- cover just 15 percent of the New York City street network but account for nearly 60 percent of all pedestrian fatalities. The city will have to overhaul these streets to achieve Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero goals. And to make those changes, the city must reverse cuts to its roadway reconstruction budget, according to a new report from Transportation Alternatives [PDF].
March 19, 2015
TA: Inconsistency Between Precincts Undermines NYPD Traffic Enforcement
In the year since Mayor Bill de Blasio promised stepped-up traffic enforcement under Vision Zero, NYPD has moved in the right direction, according to a new report from Transportation Alternatives [PDF]. At the same time, enforcement varies dramatically from precinct to precinct, weakening overall deterrence.
February 27, 2015
Sunday: Families For Safe Streets to Train Spotlight on Feckless NYC DAs
Since January 2012, Streetsblog has maintained a database of all known pedestrians and cyclists killed by drivers in New York City. We collect as much information on each crash as possible, including any charges filed against the motorists who took the victims' lives.
January 8, 2015
The Most Important Bus Routes in NYC Tend to Perform the Worst for Riders
The slowest bus in New York City is the M79, and the least reliable is the local M15, according to the Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives, which today awarded these two routes the "uncoveted" Pokey and Schleppie awards, respectively.
December 11, 2014
Families for Safe Streets to Call on DAs to Prosecute Reckless Drivers
Update: Sunday's event has been postponed, according to a TA press release, "in solidarity with those protesting the grand jury decision not to indict in the Eric Garner case."
December 4, 2014
TransAlt’s Noah Budnick Named New Executive Director of SF Bike Coalition
Transportation Alternatives Policy Director Noah Budnick has been named the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's new executive director, the SFBC announced today. Budnick will succeed Leah Shahum, who will step down after 12 years leading the organization.
December 3, 2014
Envisioning a Safer Queens Boulevard Where People Want to Walk
While safety improvements have saved lives on Queens Boulevard since the late 1990s, when it was routine for more than a dozen people to be killed in a single year, the "Boulevard of Death" remains one of New York City's most dangerous streets. As DOT prepares to launch a comprehensive safety overhaul in the coming months, advocates have published some ideas about how to redesign Queens Boulevard for the Vision Zero era.
November 25, 2014