Streetsblog New York City

Ken Coughlin, occasional Streetsblog contributor, long-time coordinator of Transportation Alternatives' Car-Free Central Park campaign and all-around mensch suffered a heart attack on Saturday. T.A. board member Jeff Prant and executive director Paul Steely White visited Ken at St. Lukes Roosevelt on the Upper West Side on Sunday. They say he's in relatively good spirits and will undergo triple bypass surgery tomorrow.

Over the last ten years or so, Coughlin has personally overseen the collection of more than 100,000 signatures in support of a car-free Central Park. When I spoke with Ken a few weeks ago he was optimistic that we would see a three-month car-free trial in Central Park this summer. But with Memorial Day approaching, there has been no word from DOT, Parks or City Hall as to whether that will be the case.

Here at Streetsblog we're thinking of him, wishing him luck and looking forward to seeing him back out in the park this summer (hopefully not collecting signatures).

Enjoy the new Clarence Eckerson film, "The Sidewalk Nibblers."

"Erosion of cities by automobiles entails so familiar a series of events that they hardly need describing. The erosion proceeds as a kind of nibbling."  –Jane Jacobs

The New York City Department of Transportation and MTA recently announced plans for a big, new subway station with elevators in the middle of Broadway at 96th Street.

While the new station is a great improvement, the plan subtracts 9 feet of sidewalk space on both sides of Broadway. Not an inch of space, however, is taken away from motorists.

The plans were drawn up and have, essentially, been finalized before the community had even had a chance to look at them or discuss them. The DOT and MTA continue to refuse to make the details of their plans public.

"It seems like every time there’s a conflict between cars and pedestrians, the pedestrians lose." — Ken Coughlin