Public Health
Streetsblog Basics
Construction of Piazza de Meatpacking is Underway
Dept. of Transportation street design projects are moving incredibly fast these days. Only a few weeks ago the City announced that, in response to long-standing community requests,
it would create a new public plaza, buffered bike lane, and major pedestrian improvements at that big, crazy intersection in
the middle of the Meatpacking District.
July 12, 2007
Mayor Speaks at Times Square Pricing Rally
Supporters of congestion pricing rallied yesterday in Times Square, urging state lawmakers to act by July 16 on Mayor Bloomberg's initiative or risk losing $500 million in federal funds. "The time is now," said the mayor, according to the New York Post. "We cannot walk away from this opportunity."
July 6, 2007
Free Bike Helmets for Delivery Workers Today
In anticipation of two new laws that take effect in July, DOT is handing out free helmets to commercial cyclists. One law requires businesses to provide helmets to employees who use bicycles as part of their work, and to make sure their workers wear them. Another law requires businesses to display this poster (pdf) in their workplace. From the DOT press release:
June 26, 2007
Jackson Heights: New Front in One-Way Battle
A view of 35th Ave. in Jackson Heights, part of the DOT's proposed one-way pair for the neighborhood
June 19, 2007
Brainstorming a New Vision for Midtown’s East River Waterfront
The Municipal Art Society of New York, City Council member Dan Garodnick, and Manhattan's Community Board 6 ran an intensive day-long workshop last Wednesday to develop a new vision for Midtown's inaccessible East River waterfront. On Sunday, MAS unveiled some of the results. From the MAS press release:
June 13, 2007
City Holds Its Breath for Silver
At the end of last week it appeared Mayor Bloomberg was on the verge of pulling it off. Having scored a congestion pricing bill in the state Senate, coaxed a cautious endorsement from the governor, and all but securing a near half-billion dollar pledge from Washington, Bloomberg sailed into Friday's state Assembly hearings on a wave of green apple-fueled adulation.
June 12, 2007
Chicago Alley Initiative Shows How to Make Streets Greener
Chicago's Department of Transportation started the Green Alleys Program to use the city's many alleyways to conserve natural resources and improve the environment. Although New York City doesn't have too many alleys, the beautifully-designed, 47-page Green Alleys Program booklet (PDF) offers several techniques that could still be useful in making New York City streets perform better environmentally.
June 7, 2007
Car-Free Sundays Return to the Bronx
In the early 1990's three and a half miles of the Grand Concourse, a major arterial roadway
in the Bronx, was closed to cars every Sunday from July through November (kind of like Bogota Colombia's Ciclovia).
The closures provided residents with much-needed open space to bike, walk, play and develop a sense of community with neighbors.
Despite its popularity, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani killed the
program in 1996.
June 7, 2007
Ciclovia: Is NYC Ready?
With a successful Bike Month now behind us and a spectacular Tour de Brooklyn completed, we perhaps have an opportunity to dream bigger for how we can celebrate our bicyclists, our streets and communities in this city.
June 6, 2007