Streetsblog New York City

Quick, what do a global financial firm and a neighborhood bakery have in common? Bike-friendliness, as you may have guessed. Credit Suisse and Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery were recognized by the city today in the first annual Bike-Friendly Business Competition. Credit Suisse won top honors in the "Commuting Cyclists" category for its sterling indoor bike facilities. Birdbath took the prize for "Working Cyclists" thanks to its use of cargocycles to make deliveries.

The winners were announced at a ceremony held by DOT and Transportation Alternatives. "Employers hold many of the cards when it comes to making New York City a bike-friendly place," said T.A.'s Paul Steely White. "When they support bike commuters or conduct business by bicycle, they make it that much easier for New Yorkers to do the right thing."

A photo of Credit Suisse's marble-walled bike parking room comes after the jump.

When DOT installed a leading pedestrian interval, or LPI, by a Lincoln Tunnel exit on 34th Street last month, nearby residents were thrilled. Cars turning onto 34th from Dyer Avenue -- a tunnel off-ramp -- had long posed a hazard to people in the crosswalk, leading Community Board 4 to request signal timing exclusively for pedestrians. At first DOT declined to take action, but after 300 people signed a petition in favor of the LPI, it was installed in a matter of days. Now pedestrians crossing 34th enjoy a luxurious 17 seconds during which they have the all-clear.

LPIs make pedestrians safer. The most widely cited study [PDF], released in 1999 by Michael King, former director of traffic calming at DOT and currently a principal at planning firm Nelson\Nygaard, found that LPIs reduce collisions between turning vehicles and pedestrians by 28 percent. Implemented throughout the city, LPIs could cut the number of pedestrians hit by cars by more than 500 each year, the report noted.

The new LPI at 34th and Dyer was a welcome improvement, but why the initial hesitation? After all, installing an LPI amounts to little more than flipping a switch, and costs next to nothing. Current DOT practice, however, requires time-consuming studies of individual intersections to determine whether an LPI is warranted. A different option, which Transportation Alternatives is now pushing, would make LPIs the default condition at the intersections where pedestrians face the greatest threat.

It seems elitist "green" types aren't the only ones who think city parks should be reserved for people. A passage from this week's New York Magazine feature "Who Owns Central Park?" reveals that regular Joe business execs recently warned Mayor Bloomberg of the economic consequences of a city so dominated by cars.

Last April, about two dozen executives signed a letter delivered to the mayor’s office arguing that the administration’s car policy is hurting the city’s ability to prevent hedge funds from decamping to Greenwich, or Wall Street jobs’ being shipped overseas. “The talent pool we seek to draw from is increasingly focused upon maintaining personal fitness. They are disproportionately triathletes, marathoners, and the highly fit. Cycling in particular is a key interest, and has become a key business-related networking activity,” the group wrote. “What about the loss of yet another team of financial professionals, formerly based on Wall Street, who decide to move to Connecticut to start a hedge fund, because life is just too difficult in New York City?” 

Though the story focuses on the territorial battles among park users, it reads, "There’s one issue about which runners, cyclists, and dog owners are in full agreement: cars." Says Transportation Alternatives' Paul Steely White: "The anger you see in the park is similar to the ire you see in Park Slope with the double-wide strollers. Our view is, Don’t get mad at the stroller moms. Get mad at the city for providing such limited car-free space.”

Earlier this month, TA was joined by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in calling for a three-month car-free trial for Central Park, based on a study that showed it would reduce cut-through traffic on neighborhood streets. Brooklynites are pushing for a car-free summer in Prospect Park as well. With the city's "Summer Streets" program set to launch this year, keeping cars out of parks seems only logical, but no word as of yet.

Photo: Ed Yourdon/Flickr

A study released today by Transportation Alternatives puts the congestion and waste caused by cheap metered parking in stark terms. The report, "Driven to Excess" [PDF], quantifies just how far Upper West Side drivers go in search of open spots: 366,000 miles a year, or about the distance from Earth to the moon.

The Post picked up the story this morning, making the connection between parking rates and traffic congestion:

"There are literally tens of millions of unnecessary miles driven in New York City every year because we've made such a mess of metered parking," said Paul Steeley [sic] White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.

The major reason, of course, is that street parking in the area is comparatively a bargain - $1.50 an hour compared to $10 to $15 in private garages.

The organization recommended that the city impose graduated parking rates as it has done in Midtown commercial districts, where truckers pay $2 for the first hour, $5 for the second and $9 for the third.

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg signed into law Intro 199, a bill requiring New York City's Department of Transportation to collect and monitor data specifically aimed at helping the city "to reduce automobile traffic and encourage more sustainable means of transportation vital to combating congestion, pollution and improving the City’s long term economic health." The new law could signal a significant change for a city agency that has typically measured its own performance based on how many potholes it fills, street lamps it fixes and how well it keeps motor vehicle traffic flowing through the city's over-burdened street grid. 

"You measure what you care about," said Transportation Alternatives executive director Paul Steely White, an architect of the new legislation. "Traditionally DOT has not cared enough about bus riders, cyclists, and pedestrians. The bill is really seeking to understand more about how much bicycling there is now, how much walking activity, and to look at bus ridership and bus speeds. Armed with this information, DOT can set targets for improving those modes."

City Council Members John Liu and David Yassky bike to City Hall at a press event yesterday (the other 49 took a pass), as Paul Steely White brings up the rear in style.

The weather may not be fully cooperating, but we know Streetsbloggers won't be deterred on National Bike to Work Day. We want to hear those morning bike commute stories. Impromptu bike posses? Helpful TA volunteers? Fresh paint on the bike lane? Something more sinister? Tell us all about it in the comments.

Photo: David Freedlander / AM New York

In contrast -- or, conceivably, as a complement -- to the L.A. Times portrait of city cycling, here's a Streetfilm from Elizabeth Press, shot yesterday at Transportation Alternatives' Bike Month NYC kick-off.

At a press conference held in the new 14th Street plaza, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan talks about present and future street-level improvements, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe sums up progress on greenways, and Health & Mental Hygiene Assistant Commish Jane Beddell promotes biking as part of the solution to the city's obesity problem. TA's Paul Steely White then gives a quick run-down of some of the 200+ Bike Month events.

L-R: DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Transportation Alternatives Director Paul Steely White and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe at this morning's Bike Month NYC event on 9th Avenue.

Benepe with White and Streetsblog Publisher Mark Gorton.

Photos: Will Sherman/Transportation Alternatives 

With spring in the air (kinda) and Bike Month underway, this week's issue of Time Out New York is chock-a-block with city cycling material. A bike insert has maps of four great New York rides (with authors including TA's Paul Steely White, DOT's Dani Simons and Bike Snob NYC), as well as articles on where to buy gear (and what gear to buy) for upcoming events. Dating columnist Julia Allison even gets in on it, cruising for guys through Central Park on a tandem (in pink skirt and platforms). And there's a piece on how city cyclists have been targeted by aggressive drivers since the days of the horse and buggy.

Those who prefer to get around on foot weren't left out: the cover story features seven walking tours.

Photo of Julia Allison: Time Out New York

With more on DOT's Sustainable Streets plan, here's Transportation Alternatives' Paul Steely White on this morning's Brian Lehrer Show. Over the course of the 17 minute clip, White and Lehrer discuss parking policy, bike commuting and Bus Rapid Transit. Don't miss the Streetsblog plug.

Also this morning, Lehrer hosted New York Times reporter John Broder for a segment on the Clinton-Obama gas tax divide.

Let us pray.