Does anybody in this city buy anything bigger than a bagel?

As it turns out, this incident happened to coincide with a monthly event called Critical Mass, which is a celebration of bicycles and other non-polluting means of transportation, exercising their right to the road. Critical Mass is a movement, not an organization; no two riders participate for the same reasons. Since the crack down during the Republican National Convention of 2004, Critical Mass has been the target of ongoing harassment by the NYPD, who insist that riders are breaking the law by 'parading without a permit'.

If you believe that cycling should be ENCOURAGED, rather than punished, please let Mayor Mike know:
http://www.transalt.org/e-bulletin/2006/Aug/0802.html#parades

In a passive sense, more traffic does mean more economic activity. And, gridlock has the salutory effect of increasing the perceived benefit of mass transit and other alternatives.

A decline in traffic that is not a direct function of actively managed traffic is pretty fair indicator of economic inactivity (and, in context of 9/11, a little eerie).

What's missing is the recognition that an actively managed transportation plan can create the demand for mass transit and alternatives short of gridlock and can prevent gridlock. (See London, England.)

The icing on the cake, is that less gridlock and efficient, affordable, and high-functioning mass transit and alternatives creates a more attractive destination for commerce and other beneficial human interactions.

I know I haven't written anything that everyone reading and posting her doesn't already know. But, it is important to recognize that Bloomberg and Weinshall do speak a species of the truth, only a species that fails to consider the counterintuitive wisdom of managed traffic.

And Marty? He'll be laughed off the city radar. He has charm over there in Brooklyn but nowhere else.

Dartley, the folks up at Columbia's Earth Institute are doing lots of work on urban heat island effects, though, I'm not sure I've ever seen them talk specifically about the one million "ovens" baking our streets.

In your introductory remarks to the traffic relief panel discussion last week at the Museum of the City of New York, you stated that you find a lack of traffic on our city streets to be eerie. I disagree.

When I awake to the sound of birds rather than honking horns and car alarms, it is peaceful. When I can leave my windows open without my apartment being dirtied by black soot particulates from motor vehicle exhaust, it is a relief. When I walk and shop and eat in car-free districts, it is like a mini-vacation. When I can ride my bicycle in my favorite parks without being menaced by cars, it is invigorating. When events like the ING New York City Marathon and Bike New York take over the streets, it is fun.

It is not eerie.

Had you been able to stay for the rest of the panel discussion, you would have heard more viewpoints that differ from your own. Traffic is strangling our city and slowing it down, not the opposite. Please do something about it.

The responses:

One letter from her saying she'd forwarded my concerns to the director of traffic planning and thanking me "for raising some important issues."

One letter from the director, Naim Rasheed, the heart of which said:

In managing the City's transportation system, the Department evaluates many factors including, mobility, access, quality of life and, most importantly, safety. The Department considers these factors in developing policies that maintain and promote economic vitality and growth while improving the quality of life for its citizens. Earlier this month, Mayor Bloomberg announced a six-month pilot program of additional closures of the Drives in Central Park and Prospect Park. This plan provides additional opportunities for recreational use of the park without the presence of motor vehicles.

The Department has recently created a new pedestrian plaza in Downtown Brooklyn by closing Willoughby Street between Adams and Pearl Streets and the Adams Street Service Road at Willoughby Street. The plaza will enhance safety along the heavily trafficked pedestrian corridor. In developing plans such as these, we review potential traffic impacts to ensure the plans do not increase traffic congestion and/or air pollution.

- - -
I guess we should be count ourselves lucky to even have gotten these two (count 'em) car-reducing changes. Somehow I don't think my letter made a difference.

By the way, why do I never hear anyone talk about the second item there? Not only do cars produce greenhouse gases, but as any cyclist who has ridden through standing traffic on a summer day can tell you, they generate a ton of heat, too. That heat energy doesn't just disappear. We have a million ovens running on our streets each day. I never hear climate scientists (or anyone, for that matter) talking about that.

what Iris and Bloomie don't get is that we can have MORE economic activity and growth by minimizing space-hogging auto traffic and maximizing space-saving foot, transit and bike traffic.

Bloomberg and Iris look at a traffic jam and see people coming to the city. You and I look at a traffic jam and think about the people who did not, or cannot, come because of all of that friggin traffic.