New York Daily News, September 9, 2000:
"The city's new transportation chief [Iris Weinshall] said yesterday she will take office with three things in mind: 'traffic, traffic, traffic.'"
What three things do we hope New York City's next transportation commissioner has in mind as he or she takes office in April 2007?
1. There are other forms of transportation besides cars
2.How to discourage everyone from driving everywhere
3.The streets do not just belong to city employees and other plackard parkers
1. Reform illegal use of parking plackards
2. Introduce permit parking citywide
3. Toll reform (combo of East River, Verrazano, congestion pricing...anything to reduce the onerous burden traffic puts on Manhattan residents)
it's spelled "placards"
Aw gee -- you used up one of your wishes on a spelling flame?
If I had three wishes in a dreamworld...not necessarily what are top three issues...they'd be
1. Telling the Governor, the Mayor and the powers that be that we'd like to see a safer city with more livable streets and car-free areas, and an easier and fair commute for all. But that the DOT needs money and a free hand to make that happen.
2. Speak out publicly that DOT will not do business as usual and tell the people that Federal Guidelines do not have to be adhered to in every community, every problem, every traffic intersection. That innovation and experimentation will be a priority.
3. Appoint Enrique Penalosa to a special position - sort of like Public Advocate for DOT - where every month or so he comes in and points out things that need change immeditaely.
Equitable public infrastructure.
Humans, humans, humans.
1. Implement congestion pricing.
2. Use most of the revenue to maintain and expand public transportation (which includes getting rid of the peeling paint in subway stations, as shown in today's NY Times.)
3. Use the rest of the revenue for pedestrian safety and amenity.
I like TA's list. Here are a few others:
1. View every street as a valuable public space to the local community - a place that people should be encouraged to hang out in and charging fair market value for curbside space
2. Follow the Green Transportation Pyramid in all transportation planning - pedestrian/cyclists first, then mass transit, then necessary commercial delivery trucks and lastly the single occupant vehicle.
3. Create a mini mass transit department within the DOT to come up with innovative new self supporting projects in increasing the transit capacity in certain areas. Maybe also consider regulating small mini-bus taxis to run late at night more frequently
"human health, human safety, human movement"
In that order.
Nothing wrong with "Traffic, traffic, traffic" so long as it's not just not motor-vehicle traffic only.
1. Remove the bureaucratic barrier between the DOT and MTA. Create an alliance to improve bus transportation between the two departments.
2. Stop subsidizing motorists. Eliminate free parking. Put up parking meters and replace parking spots with bike parking. Toll the East River bridges.
3. Change all the avenues to be two-way and ban left turns to calm traffic. You might even consider putting a physically separated bike lane in the middle of the avenue to prevent cyclists from being "right hooked" or being pushed into traffic from double-parked cars.
I don't know if I have three, but one ought to be better measurement tools -- accounting for all uses of public ways.
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