Streetsblog New York City

New York: A place where space for cars comes at the expense of space for walking, biking, and transit. Photo: Gotham Gazette

I think I’ve figured out why, when it comes to allocating space on New York streets, the Daily News opinion team tends to take a position that’s completely at odds with making the city a better place. The problem is that the Daily News opinion team doesn’t understand how city streets function.

In a piece that ran this weekend, editorial board member Josh Greenman reminds us that people drive motor vehicles to make useful trips, and that New York is already more walkable than Miami. So, now that’s settled.

Greenman sees himself as a sort of mediator between different factions — the bike, the car, and the pedestrian. “New Yorkers can like bikes without having disdain for the automobiles that share the roads,” reads the headline, and after condemning “knee-jerk anti-bicyclism,” he attempts to position himself as the voice of reasonable middle ground by defending driving:

Behind the zero-sum vision of some pro-bicycle advocates is a tacit assertion that in some parts of the city, cars, those corporate tools, have no claim to the road. They must be managed in the way an incurable disease is managed. God forbid anyone in power should try to make life easier for those who dominate the roads.

But framing the discussion around who has a “claim to the road” or how to “make life easier” for any one subset of people on the road isn’t a productive way to analyze streets and transportation policy.

Here’s how Streetsblog evaluates the transportation and planning subjects we write about. (This next part will probably be covering well-worn ground for Streetsblog readers. If it’s too didactic, I apologize. I didn’t know what else to do after reading a column which responds to current transportation policy debates by observing that trucks haul garbage.) The basic question we start from is, “What sort of city do we want to live in?” My answer to that question probably isn’t drastically different than Josh Greenman’s:

• City streets should be safe from traffic violence, so that people of every age can walk without fear of injury or death.
• People should have convenient access to jobs, schools, and other destinations in their daily lives.
• Streets serve a social and economic function as well as a transportation function. We should maximize their potential as public spaces and as generators of economic activity.

Striving to achieve those goals, a few obstacles loom especially large:

Read more…

We are rolling right along with our spring pledge drive. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far — your donations will be converted into Streetsblog posts making the case for more livable streets and Streetfilms videos showing success stories and ideas from cities around the world.

But we need more readers to step up and contribute. Streetsblog and Streetfilms cannot continue to produce the level of content we currently churn out unless we hit our fundraising targets. If you value the media we make and you haven’t given to our spring pledge yet, please donate today.

All donors who contribute $50 or more will be in the running to win a new Dahon folding bike, and everyone who gives between now and Saturday at midnight will also be entered to win one of these handmade messenger bags courtesy of Forest City Portage, a one-man shop operating out of Cleveland, Ohio.

Here’s a look with the flap down, and with the flap up:

More people are reading Streetsblog now than ever before. If our regular readers all pitch in, we’ll be able to make media that supports streets for people, not cars, for a long time to come. Please make a contribution today.

As of 8:15 a.m., the bikes on Howard Street by Streetsblog HQ were available to annual Citi Bike members. All stations will be turned on by 11 a.m. this morning. Photo: Ben Fried

Good morning on this momentous Monday. Shortly, workers with NYC Bike Share are going to turn on 330 or so public bike stations, giving New Yorkers access to a new transit network. At around 11 a.m., those stations should all be ready to release bikes to the 13,000 some-odd annual Citi Bike members who registered by May 17.

If you have a Citi Bike key and plan to use the system today, you’ll need to activate your account first. Here’s where you can do that. If you need help remembering your login, call the Citi Bike customer service line at 855-BIKE-311. Be prepared to wait a bit before you reach someone. My wife called for a login reminder yesterday, was on hold for seven minutes, then spoke to an amiable representative who helped her fill in the blanks.

Also, if you bought a membership by May 17 but have yet to receive your key in the mail, you can go to the south side of Union Square any time before 5 p.m. today to get a fob from NYC Bike Share.

Mayor Bloomberg and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan are holding a press conference in City Hall Park at 11:15 to cut the ribbon on Citi Bike. Stay tuned for our coverage of the event, plus dispatches from around the Citi Bike service area as New Yorkers try out bike-share in our city for the first time.

The Committee will review and discuss public comments on the DOT 4th Avenue safety visioning proposal.

Come join the Mayoral Forum on public health issues in the coummunitties of Harlem and Upper Manhattan presented by The North of 96th Street Public Health Coalition.  NYC mayoral candidates will be speaking to the public about the health issues affecting our communities. Health topics to be addressed include: access to healthy food, health services for seniors, healthy housing policies, mental health services, programs for youth, and opportunities for physical activities and safe spaces.

Join DOT for a overview presentation on the NYC Plaza Program guidelines and application. DOT will outline the steps for taking part in the program and answer questions. Any nonprofit or community group is encouraged to attend.

Have you given to Streetsblog’s spring pledge drive yet? If not, may I suggest that this is the week to do so. In addition to supporting livable streets journalism and putting yourself in the running to win a Dahon folding bike, you could take home a sweet collection of books and zines courtesy of eminent bike-ologist Elly Blue.

If you make a habit of reading Streetsblog and you value the work we do to make the case for transforming our streets, please make a tax-deductible donation so we can keep on doing it.

We’ll send one donor who gives by midnight Friday this Elly Blue library, including Bikenomics, Taking the Lane, and the brand new Bikes in Space: A Feminist Science Fiction Anthology (sample story: “in Elizabeth Buchanan’s classic pulp tale of postapocalyptic Appalachia, a gripping bicycle-truck chase gives a young woman a surprising new hope”).

In summary: Channel your frustrations with the New York Post’s bike-share coverage by making a generous donation to Streetsblog. Thanks for supporting our tabloid fact-checking operation!

Thanks to everyone who’s given to Streetsblog and Streetfilms so far in our spring pledge drive — we’re nearly a quarter of the way to our fundraising goal of $40,000. I can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is for readers to chip in and help us reach our targets. Your contributions keep us going so we can deliver news and commentary about the transition to safer city streets that work for people, not cars. So keep those donations coming!

For the next two days, we have an extra set of goodies to give away to three lucky donors: a commuter pack courtesy of Planet Bike. This bicycle accessory horn-of-plenty includes all of the following:

• SuperFlash taillight and Blaze 1-watt headlight
• K.O.K.O. Rack – tubular aluminum rear rack
• Fenders of your choice
• Protege 5.0 five-function computer
• BRT Strap – LED safety light
• Planet Bike socks
• Courtesy bell, brass
• Blaze 2 watt Micro and Superflash Turbo set
• Planet Bike gloves
• Planet Bike shoe covers
• Snack sack

Give by Thursday at midnight to be eligible for this drawing. And don’t forget that anyone who gives $50 or more at any point during the pledge drive will be entered to a win a new Dahon folding bike.

Thank you for supporting Streetsblog and Streetfilms. If we could give all our donors a free bike, we totally would.

Every December since 2009, I have put together an annual memoriam post for NYC pedestrians and cyclists whose lives were taken by motorists. As Streetsblog readers know, media coverage of traffic crashes is notoriously uneven — there are simply too many to keep up with — so it used to take a couple of days to put this post together.

Last year the task was made a little easier, or as easy as such a job can be. In 2012 we began maintaining a database of fatal crashes. Based on reports filed by Streetsblog and other outlets, we now keep a running record of pedestrian and cyclist deaths. Along with the victims’ identities, inasmuch as they are made public, we categorize each fatality by borough, City Council district, NYPD precinct, and the type of vehicle involved. We note when summonses are issued, and we use the database to follow the relatively few criminal cases that are brought against deadly drivers.

Given the volume of traffic deaths, the random nature of media reportage, and NYPD indifference, we can’t track every pedestrian and cyclist fatality. But we do record most of them. And Streetsblog is the one news source that takes the time to report traffic crashes as an epidemic, rather than one “freak accident” after another.

Streetsblog is the only place you’ll find journalists working the traffic justice beat day in and day out. But without you, we can’t make the case for life-saving traffic tech, push to strengthen the state’s weak traffic code, or hold politicians and law enforcers accountable for the plague of vehicular violence.

Please help Streetsblog continue this vital work by contributing to our spring pledge drive. Our goal is to raise $40,000 by June 1. Remember that everyone who makes a tax-deductible gift of $50 or more (or a monthly gift of $5 or more) will be eligible to win a folding bike, courtesy of Dahon.

Thank you.

– Brad

Council Member Mathieu Eugene has scheduled a traffic calming forum to address speeding, parking and traffic safety on Coney Island Avenue. The forum was originally scheduled to be held in April.