Livable Streets
Streetsblog Basics
Life on Crutches in NYC
For the last month, since I broke my ankle, New York has ceased to be the same place for me. At least in terms of getting around the city, the landscape has been dramatically transformed. Week 1 was spent in relative isolation at my parents house on Staten Island where they were nice enough to shuttle me around to the few places I need to go. I felt like I was 10 years old again -- though, at 10, I rode my bike all over hilly Staten Island, so you could say I had more independence then. The week after, I came back to Manhattan. Various people had sort of warned me, "Oh, how are you going to get around in Manhattan." I must say, at first I had my doubts about getting around town, but I was able to be much more independent than out in Suburban Staten Island.
October 27, 2006
Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming Project: Ten Years On
March 1996: Residents in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Boerum Hill are tired of their streets absorbing overflow from the nearby Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Neighborhood groups have tried repeatedly to convince the City to protect the neighborhoods from rush hour through traffic. So far, the City has done nothing but promise further study. DOT officials have even criticized residents for not wanting to serve as doormats for Manhattan-bound motorists. Residents are now considering civil disobedience to protect their safety and quality of life....
October 26, 2006
Street Hockey: The New Stickball?
More evidence that hockey -- and livable streets -- aren't just "a white thing." From the New York Times' Metropolitan Diary (along with a photo sent in by the author)...
October 26, 2006
MTA Response to Pokey: Traffic Congestion = “Vibrancy”
The MTA's response to the annual Pokey Awards ceremony is always worth looking out for. Rather than using the publicity generated by the event to build political capital for some bus service improvement or another, the Transit Authority's response falls somewhere between defensive and infuriated. This year's statement is a doozy and reminiscent of Mayor Bloomberg's famous remark, "We like traffic, it means economic activity, it means people coming here." Here's what the MTA had to say:
October 25, 2006
Tomorrow: Protest Rally in Response to Atlantic Avenue Carnage
The Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association is holding a rally tomorrow in response to two horrific car killings in Boerum Hill in recent weeks. AABA has been fighting for years for more neighborhood-friendly traffic policies along the Avenue. Here are the details:
October 24, 2006
Creating Great Public Spaces in New York City
Project for Public Spaces just published a great piece of work that is very much worth a download. The paper is called "Nine Ways to Transform New York into a City of Great Places." From the introduction:
October 6, 2006
Eyes on the Street: German Bike Parking
Copenhagen is getting all the attention lately, but it's not the only livable European city with great cycling facilities.
October 5, 2006
Traffic’s Human Toll
For the last two years or so Transportation Alternatives' Karla Quintero has been working on a New York City-based update of the famous "Appleyard Study" examining the social costs of traffic. Karla presented the study's preliminary findings last year at a forum I helped organize in Brooklyn and it was really interesting. This event is sure to be a good one. From Transalt:
October 3, 2006
Pricing for Sustainability
In his weekly radio address yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg discussed some steps his administration is taking toward a sustainable future, including the creation of an Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and a Sustainability Advisory Board, which held its first meeting last week.
October 2, 2006