Comments on: Today’s Headlines

By: Andy Trafford

Andy Trafford — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:34:26 +0000

From The Post article on bicycle counts:

“Crowded and costlier buses and subways are driving thousands of New Yorkers to bicycle to work, new statistics show.”

Oh, I see. The subway has cost $2 per ride since 2003. The cost of gas has more than doubled since 2003. So it’s the costlier SUBWAY that’s making people ride bikes. How could I have thought otherwise??

Wait, are they talking about sandwiches?

By: Doc Barnett

Doc Barnett — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:22:16 +0000

For a lot of people the question of referendum immutability transcends that of local control. I don’t agree. For one thing, I wasn’t here to vote for or against either of the famous term limit referendums. The idea that a snapshot of New Yorkers, in a constantly changing and growing city, represents “the voice of New Yorkers” for decades on end is ridiculous. I have been here to vote against the Bloomberg administration twice, and now I’d like to vote for it. Fortunately I’m not too worried about the state government having the backbone or the organization to thwart the city on this one. They are good at achieving their stagnant aims by doing nothing, but in this case they would have to stand up and vote for something.

By: Car Free Nation

Car Free Nation — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:48:54 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting Assemblyperson Joan Millman the other day, and she seems to be very keen on pushing through some form of congestion pricing, so maybe she has moved to our side. On the other hand, there she is cosigning the bill to make term limits a referendum, allowing our fate to be decided by legislators with no connection to NYC.

How can we convince our representatives to keep as much local decision making out of the assembly and state senate and with the city council and mayor where it belongs? I’m sick of having our streets controlled by a corrupt Rochester politician who happens to have seniority in the state assembly.

By: Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:06:09 +0000

Oh yeah, and a political note to Bill De Blasio. I’m personally looking for a Public Advocate for NYC who espouses clear Transit Oriented Development positions, supports industrial employment and residential density. The down-zoning,balkanization of city planning and de-industrialization swaps he has been cheer-leading in Brooklyn is not something that will further Transit Oriented Development efforts.

By: Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:00:57 +0000

Yes, Susan, for the most part it is. It is also coupled with privatized National Infrastructure Banks (banking? theres money in that?) and PPPs. Government could accomplish a lot more here with heavy TOD related development programs, eliminating suburban land use planning silos and amalgamating suburban villages into greater Metropolitan areas. More and bigger highways will be a fertility drug from sprawl and more and bigger parking lots. Ending the artificial political economic division between suburb and city instead will refocus development and transportation.

By: Susan Donovan

Susan Donovan — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:10:14 +0000

Is the National Mobility Project just about building roads? It makes me nervous when people talk about accommodating non-radial transportation. Decentralization is the whole problem.

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:05:38 +0000

David Brooks: “Explore all the new ideas that are burgeoning in the transportation world — congestion pricing, smart highways, rescue plans for shrinking Midwestern cities, new rail and airplane technologies. When you look into this sector, you see we are on the cusp of another transportation revolution.”

Let’s hope other Republicans listen.

By: Mike Lydon

Mike Lydon — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:41:01 +0000

The most recent bicycle count data from New York and Portland are very exciting, but more importantly, instructive. They prove what many European cities have known for decades: If you build the infrastructure, the bicyclists will follow.(clearly other socio-economic trends are at play here, too).

I have been engaged in a few list serv battles recently with the John Forester vehicular bicyclist types. These numbers prove their anti-bike lane/infrastructure stance is increasingly irrelevant. In fact, I don’t even know why they keep complaining…Dill’s recent research reveals that Portland has bicycle infrastucture laid down on only 8% of its streets. Does that not mean the vehicular cyclists can claim 92% of the grid as their own?!

Sheesh, give a little for the rest of us…