Studies & Reports
Streetsblog Basics
London’s Cycling Design Standards: A Model for NYC?
As New York City begins fulfilling its commitment to build 200 miles of new bicycle lanes over the next three years, the question will increasingly arise: What kind of bike lane should go where? Currently, DOT seems not to have any set of guidelines to answer that question. So, take a look at how the City of London does it.
November 13, 2006
Eat More Carbohydrates, Burn More Hydrocarbons
Jacobsen's study has been mentioned in several news stories lately. The Washington Post quotes him as saying:
November 2, 2006
The Bronx is Burning Bicycling
In the aftermath of last weekend's 5,000 rider Tour de Bronx, I thought it might be worth revisiting the the Department of City Planning's August 2006 Bronx Harlem River Bicycle and Pedestrian Study. The study identifies a number of specific ways to carve out space for cyclists and pedestrians and help neighborhoods of the South Bronx get better connected to the Harlem River waterfront. Though it doesn't recommend any ways to actually reduce motor vehicle traffic, there is some good stuff in here. More:
October 26, 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
Traffic’s Human Toll
Transportation Alternatives' new study, Traffic's Human Toll, is getting picked up all over the place (CBS, NBC, Post). The report is an update on the famous Appleyard Study and it found that New Yorkers who live on high traffic streets have a measurably lower quality of life. Not exactly a huge surprise, and yet this is the first time that anyone has ever quantified it. The study is yet another argument in on behalf of an aggressive traffic reduction program for New York City.
October 6, 2006
Tomorrow, Special Event: What is Traffic’s Human Toll?
A special New York City Streets Renaissance Campaign event.
October 4, 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
The Three Big Bicyclist Fatality Clusters
It was noted on the Brian Lehrer show this morning that the City's Bicyclist Fatality and Injury Report (PDF file) identifies three specific locations or "clusters" where bicycle fatalities were unusually common between 1996 and 2005. A "cluster" is defined as "three or more fatalities within 1,000 feet." The three densest clusters were found on the east side of Manhattan north of Midtown, Park Slope in Brooklyn and Hunts Point in the Bronx. From page 11 of the report:
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