Special Reports
Streetsblog Basics
Newsday Endorses Move NY for 2016, While the Times Misses Its Chance
Two of the region's papers laid out their Albany 2016 agendas in New Year’s weekend editorials. Both led with ethics reform, but the similarities ended there. One paper boldly called on the legislature to "adopt some version of the innovative Move NY tolling-and-congestion pricing plan." The other was silent on transit and traffic, even as it spurred Gov. Andrew Cuomo to "lead on climate change.”
January 4, 2016
4 Things Tony Avella and David Weprin Get Totally Wrong About Toll Reform
No, the past nine years weren't just a dream and you didn't wake up in 2006. State senators David Weprin and Tony Avella, the Queens Civic Congress, and a few other Queens elected officials really did put on a press conference yesterday to guard against the possibility that New York might put a rational price on the East River bridges, cursing the city with less traffic, faster bus service, and the absence of honking.
December 7, 2015
A Flat “Congestion Charge” for Taxis and Uber: Yea or Nay?
Would a new surcharge on taxi and for-hire vehicle trips in Manhattan below 59th Street thin out traffic on congested streets? Not much it won't, according to transportation economist Charles Komanoff, whose traffic analysis has helped shape the Move NY toll reform campaign.
December 4, 2015
The Best and Worst of the New 5-Year Transportation Bill
Smart people are wading through the 1,300-page transportation bill that came out of conference committee earlier this week, and we're starting to get a clearer sense of how it will change federal transportation policy for the next five years.
December 3, 2015
5-Year, $300 Billion “FAST Act” Will Extend Transpo Policy Status Quo to 2020
They've done it. Representatives from the House and Senate have emerged from conference committee with a five-year transportation bill, which is expected to be quickly approved and become first "long-term" bill in more than a decade.
December 2, 2015
When Will DDC Build the Brooklyn Greenway on Flushing Ave and West Street?
It's been more than three years since NYC DOT announced its full implementation plan for the 14-mile Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a series of 23 capital projects that would build out the biking and walking path in high-quality, permanent materials. At the time, DOT said that construction would begin soon on the Flushing Avenue and West Street segments of the greenway, but with 2015 drawing to a close there's still no sign of progress. What gives?
December 1, 2015
It’s Time to Stop Pretending That Roads Pay for Themselves
If nothing else, the current round of federal transportation legislating should end the myth that highways are a uniquely self-sufficient form of infrastructure paid for by "user fees," a.k.a. gas taxes and tolls.
November 25, 2015
Tell Cornell — and Electeds — How You Want to Fix NYC Congestion
Want to tell elected officials what you think should be done about New York City traffic? Here's a way to pool your policy suggestions with other New Yorkers and reach elected officials beyond your district.
November 24, 2015
Just How Bad Is the Final House Transportation Bill?
Nobody was expecting the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to put together a transportation bill that did much for streets and transit in American cities.
November 5, 2015
3 Bright Prospects for a Better Transportation Bill
Yesterday we reported on some of the terrible amendments that might get tacked on to the House transportation bill this week. But there are also some good ideas with bipartisan support among the hundreds of amendments submitted by members of the House.
November 3, 2015