Welcome Citibike!

The Bloomberg administration will be remembered for, among other initiatives, a major reallocation of public street space for new and innovative uses. Cars and trucks have been joined by a host of new users, most recently by the long anticipated bike share program. Citibike is a worthy experiment.

The City’s Department of Transportation chased vehicular traffic from portions of Times Square, Herald Square and Madison Square and rededicated the space to movable chairs, tables and … <Read More>


Proposed local laws directed toward DOT’s bike projects

Intros would create formal outreach and reporting requirements for proposed bike lanes and any major transportation project. On September 26, 2011, the City Council’s Transportation Committee held a public hearing to consider three proposed local laws concerning the Department of Transportation’s outreach efforts for proposed bike lanes, and addressing consultation and reporting requirements for major transportation projects.

Intro 412, introduced by Council Member Lewis Fidler in November 2010, would require DOT to notify and request … <Read More>


Prospect Park West bike lane challenge dismissed

Two community groups filed challenge eight months after DOT constructed bike lane. Beginning in April 2009, the Department of Transportation held a series of meetings with Brooklyn Community Board 6 regarding the proposed construction of a bike lane along a portion of Prospect Park West in Park Slope, Brooklyn. DOT planned to reduce the traffic lanes along Prospect Park West from three to two in order to install the two-way bike lane. CB 6 conditionally … <Read More>


More on bike safety

Bike riding in New York City is increasing, but the number of biker deaths and serious injuries remain the same. The City, as noted last month, asserts that bike riding has become relatively safer. There is, however, no data available on less serious injuries or on pedestrian confrontations both physical and those that produce frighteningly close calls. The attractiveness of bike riding makes certain the continued growth in riding. The City, while encouraging this growth, … <Read More>


Bike Safety: Still an illusive City goal

Has bicycle riding become safer in New York City? On July 28, 2011 the New York City Department of Transportation answered “Yes” by presenting statistics that showed that bike riding was 72 percent safer in 2010 than it was 2001. How good are DOT’s statistics?

Despite significant efforts, the absolute number of bicyclist fatalities and severe injuries has hardly moved. In 2000 there were 18 fatalities and 351 severe injuries. In 2010 there was no … <Read More>


Questions Remain as Mayor Adams Advances Partial Plan for ‘Department of Sustainable Delivery’

By Mark Chiusano

The post-Independence Day missive from Mayor Eric Adams had notes of grandeur: the city was announcing a new “Department of Sustainable Delivery.” Funding was on the way. Once again, New York was taking the reins to regulate the nascent gig economy — a timely move, since the field has shaped how New Yorkers shop and experience the city, as companies turned streetscapes into workplaces for tens of thousands of bikers and drivers, <Read More>