Traffic
Streetsblog Basics
The Windshield Perspective, Same As It Ever Was
From the way back machine comes this remarkable essay, "The Last Traffic Jam," about the blind spots that plague the motoring mentality. The anonymous author, writing for Time Magazine in 1947, delivers observations about road rage and the endemic violence of driving that still apply today.
June 6, 2008
Bike, Transit or Car: Which Is the Fastest Commute?
Tomorrow Transportation Alternatives will hold the 7th Annual Great NYC Commuter Race. Three contestants -- traveling by bike, transit and car -- will see who has the quickest commute from Fort Greene in Brooklyn to Manhattan's Union Square.
May 28, 2008
Do Alternate Side Parking Rules Increase Traffic Congestion?
Our regular babysitter Laura, an R train commuter, is out of town this week. Nicole, the woman providing us with back-up nanny service for our 1-year-old, travels to our house, in Park Slope, in a mini-van. This morning she noted, quite happily, that there was so little traffic on her way from Ocean Parkway that she was trying to figure out what holiday it must be.
May 21, 2008
Driver’s Remorse: Tardy Brodsky Delayed by “Accident”
A tipster who attended last night's MAS event about Moynihan Station sent us this delicious tidbit, in which some small measure of justice is served for Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky's contribution to the killing of congestion pricing:
May 14, 2008
Historic Town Chooses to “Retain Its Charm” By Enabling Sprawl
On Friday, Streetsblog looked at how northern Virginia can't get enough road widening. As a follow-up, Gary Toth of Project for Public Spaces directed us to another example of how smart growth faces hurdles in the places that need it most -- in this case, the Trenton suburb of Bordentown, New Jersey (right: the main drag).
May 12, 2008
A Bridge and Tunnel Transit Solution
Historically, East River bridges have carried more transit -- and more people -- than they do today. View a larger version of this image.
May 12, 2008
Northern Virginia Locked In to Congested Roads
Suburbanites in northern Virginia are finding their streets more clogged with traffic than ever, and, as the Washington Post reported earlier this week, they aren't about to get bailed out by road-widening projects. Here's the crux of the problem, told from the Post reporter's decidedly windshield perspective:
May 9, 2008
Councilman Koppell Wants “Sadik-Kahn” Fired Over Turn Signal
More termed-out wackiness from City Hall. Last week, Bronx City Council Member G. Oliver Koppell issued a press release calling for the "resignation or removal" of DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. The reason? Koppell wants a left turn signal at 254th Street and Riverdale Avenue, and DOT doesn't think the intersection needs one.
May 6, 2008
Streetfilm: Lessons from L.A.
Never let it be said that transportation reform advocates don't have a sense of humor. How else can you explain the decision to take one of Los Angeles' best known pedestrian advocates and interview her while driving around the Hollywoods at rush hour on a Friday night?
May 1, 2008