Pimby re: Schaller. Let’s see you give a couple of specific examples of bad methodology by Schaller to back up your assertion. His stuff seems pretty solid and he seems to avoid assertions not backed by data. If you compare a Schaller study to the average EIS/EA done for large projects by the big consulting firms he looks pretty damn good. Those things, which are supposed to be the objective basis of big policy decisions, are typically riddled with problems.

Do not mess with my man Schaller. 

1. Schaller has been offered jobs in city government. He has turned them down.

2. If combing through census data doesn’t qualify as "original research and data gathering," then OK. But most people don’t expect researchers to go out and actually conduct the US Census.

3. Schaller’s ideology, if he has one, seems to be "multi-modalism." Based on reading lots of his work, he seems to believe that New Yorkers should have multiple transportation choices and the more efficient and socially desirable choices — i.e. transit or bicycling — should be more competitive with motoring, especially in the outer boroughs.

4. What’s Phil Habib’s ideology — Money Makinism? Or is he just a pure and righteous engineer in your book?

5. It is a sign of the failing of NYC DOT that Schaller’s research niche even exists. Unfortunately, we have a city transportation agency that refuses even to set meager performance targets no less actually keep track of what is happening on city streets beyond traffic counts and the number of fatalities.

Perhaps they will when his studies either a) are based on original research and data gathering and not just a compilation of other people’s work and b) aren’t so methodologically flawed as to be worthless.

An ideological compatriot does not a smart consultant make…

If you build it, they won’t drive.

However, the really dark strip on the western edge of Sunset Park is interesting. Is there simply no bus or subway service there?

Breezy Point has a low height and brown color: not many workers, but a large portion of them drive to Manhattan. Mid-town Manhattan has high height and light green color: lots of workers, and a small percentage of them drive to Manhattan.

“Height represents the total number of single-passenger drivers and color represents the percentage of commuters who chose to drive alone to workplaces below 96th Street.”