Transportation Policy
Streetsblog Basics
Five Small Steps to a More Effective, Progressive DOT
With a new commissioner coming in to run New York City's Department of Transportation, now is a good time to begin a conversation about what the agency could be doing differently to make itself more effective. DOT has a tough job. It has conflicting, and sometimes contradictory, mandates from the mayor, city council and communities it serves. The agency is often asked to bridge deep differences in neighborhoods between those most concerned with parking and driving and those focused on better walking, cycling, quality of life and long-term sustainability. It's not unheard of for the same council members who demand better bus service to protest changes in parking rules that would reduce double parking and speed bus service. But there are things that DOT can do relatively easily and at low cost to improve its relations with the public and raise the level of the transportation discussion. Here are five of them:
April 30, 2007
It’s Official: Sadik-Khan in at DOT
After weeks of speculation, City Hall has announced that Janette Sadik-Khan, a senior vice president at Parsons Brinckerhoff, will be the new commissioner of the NYC DOT. This from a press release issued this afternoon by the mayor's office:
April 27, 2007
Can Technology Make Public Transit More Alluring?
Would they get out of their cars if they could surf the Web on the bus?
April 27, 2007
Is Walking PlaNYC’s Missing Mode?
"Transportation has always been the key to unlocking New York's potential."
April 26, 2007
Fun With Numbers (Or: The PlaNYC Index)
Number of times each of the following words or phrases appears in the PlaNYC chapter on transportation:
April 26, 2007
Media (Mostly) Give PlaNYC Its Due
When Malcom Murray-Clark, Director of Congestion Charging at Transport for London, visited New York last month, he cited negative media coverage as a major obstacle to implementing the congestion charge in the English capital. By contrast, unlike some, New York media on balance appear willing to give PlaNYC, and congestion pricing, the benefit of the doubt -- at least for now.
April 25, 2007
Queens Chamber Continues Campaign Against Congestion Pricing
Foes of congestion pricing marshalled by the Queens Chamber of Commerce held a press conference yesterday at which several politicians from the borough took a stand against the mayor's plan. According to a press release provided by the chamber, City Council Finance Chair David Weprin called the proposal unnecessary: "I don't think City Hall understands that another unfair tax which would hurt working class people is not only uncalled for, but also unnecessary to reduce traffic. Before we tax people more we should first consider trying some simple traffic mitigation alternatives to reduce congestion."
April 25, 2007
Electeds React to Congestion Pricing
Forty-eight hours in, here is what some elected officials are saying about PlaNYC and congestion pricing.
April 24, 2007
Will City Council Override Mayor’s Pedicab-Bill Veto?
Anticipating a vote in the City Council this afternoon to override the mayor's veto of Intro 331-A, a bill to regulate pedicabs, a group of pedicab operators was demonstrating outside the American Museum of Natural History after Bloomberg's big Earth Day speech.
April 23, 2007
How Green Is Our Mayor
Bookending his much-vaunted Earth Day speech with congratulatory video clips from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mayor Mike Bloomberg called for New Yorkers to take the initiative in the international fight against global warming, positioning himself as a leader on the issue.
April 23, 2007