Transportation Policy
Streetsblog Basics
Stockholm Voters OK Congestion Charging
From this morning's International Herald Tribune:
September 18, 2006
Streetsblog Interview: Ryan Russo
Ryan Russo is the New York City Department of Transportation's Director for Street Management and Safety, a newly-created job that he started in July. Previously, Russo worked as DOT's Downtown Brooklyn Transportation Coordinator where he was instrumental in designing and developing a number of improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and more livable streets (PDF file) over the last three years. Streetsblog caught up with Russo on Tuesday, a few hours after the City's big bike safety announcement:
September 14, 2006
U.K. Study Finds Wearing a Bike Helmet May be More Dangerous
We are certainly still going to be wearing our helmets when we ride bikes on New York City streets, but here is an interesting study by Dr. Ian Walker a "traffic psychologist" from Bath University in Great Britain. Walker found that motorists drove more safely and carefully when passing cyclists who were not wearing helmets. These findings are similar to some of the ideas put forward by David Engwicht in his book, "Mental Speed Bumps: The Smarter Way to Tame Traffic," a very interesting read if you haven't already picked it up.
September 14, 2006
New York City’s Opinion-Makers Turn Attention to Traffic
Today's Times Select, a subscriber-only web site, has published a lengthy manifesto on New York City traffic and transportation by Carolyn Curiel. It urges Mayor Bloomberg to listen to the ideas being generated by the Citywide Coalition for Traffic Relief, and suggests that his legacy depends on it. Increasingly, one gets the sense that the groundwork is being laid for the Mayor to come out with a major announcement on this issue. We've re-published the article in-full and below are some choice
excerpts:
September 13, 2006
Ground Control for Commissioner Tom
New York City Department of Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden speaking at today's event in Central Park announcing a major new bicycle safety initiative. Behind him, from left to right, are Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall, and NYPD Chief of Transportation Michael Scagnelli. No Mayor Bloomberg but, hey, three commissioners and a police chief ain't bad.
September 12, 2006
Specific Commitments From the City on Bike Safety
As part of today's big announcement on bike safety improvements, the City is committing to undertaking the following actions. From the City's press release:
September 12, 2006
Highlights from City’s Bike Fatality & Injury Report
One of the most interesting developments to emerge from today's big announcement on bike safety is the idea that bicycling is now being treated by city government as a public health issue. This is from the City's press release:
September 12, 2006
City Announces Major Bike Safety Improvement Initiative
The press conference is underway right now in at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Here are verbatim portions of the City's press release and a response from Transportation Alternatives. Stay tuned for more news and analysis:
September 12, 2006