Commuting
Who Are Anti-Pricing Pols Really Looking Out For?
Responding to some politicians' claims that congestion pricing is a "regressive tax" that would impact "working stiffs" who must drive to their jobs, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the Pratt Center for Community Development have compiled data, broken down by district, showing that the vast majority of commuters in New York City and surrounding counties would not be affected by a congestion pricing fee. In district after district, the stats show that most people either work somewhere other than the proposed pricing zone or commute to the CBD via transit, carpooling or other means. Fact sheets are available for City Council, State Assembly and Senate, and US Congressional districts.
October 19, 2007
1,200 Pack Town Hall for “How New Yorkers Ride Bikes”
Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson was at Town Hall on Saturday night for the New Yorker Festival's "How New Yorkers Ride Bikes," hosted by former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Clarence wasn't allowed to film the event so he published a nice write-up on StreetFilms. Some excerpts:
October 8, 2007
Bike & Ped Improvements Slated for Manhattan Bridge Approach
DOT plans to build a physically-separated two-way bike lane on this one block stretch of Canal Street at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. The project also includes pedestrian safety fixes.
August 27, 2007
Weiner on the Environment: Big Talk, Small Stick
Where's the beef? Under Rep. Anthony Weiner's plan, vehicles, like the one above, would not be charged a fee to use New York City's most heavily congested streets
August 15, 2007
More on Rep. Patrick McHenry
Grist's Dave Roberts provides some more background on Rep. Patrick McHenry, the North Carolina Republican Congressman who ridiculed bicycling as a "19th century solution" during debate over the "Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007." The House bill, which passed on Aug. 4, included a $20/month tax break for bike commuters:
August 13, 2007
Dying to Get to Work
As New York State sets up a commission to study the costs and benefits of New York City's congestion pricing proposal, a new study by the Clean Air Task Force finds that, for many New Yorkers, the greatest exposure to dangerous and unhealthy air pollution comes during the daily commute. "Although we spend only about six percent of our day commuting to and
from work, it is during that time when we receive over half of our
exposure" to diesel exhaust, researchers found.
July 27, 2007
Mayor Speaks at Times Square Pricing Rally
Supporters of congestion pricing rallied yesterday in Times Square, urging state lawmakers to act by July 16 on Mayor Bloomberg's initiative or risk losing $500 million in federal funds. "The time is now," said the mayor, according to the New York Post. "We cannot walk away from this opportunity."
July 6, 2007
A Rising Bicycle Tide in Mexico City
Back in April, Marcelo Ebrad, the mayor of Mexico City, announced he wanted those who worked in his administration to ride bicycles to work one day a month (at right, Ebrard, center, kicks off the program). Many were shocked at the idea, or simply laughed it off. But this excellent article in the San Diego Union details how the mayor's decree to his employees has meshed with several other initiatives to raise the profile of bicycling as a legitimate form of transportation in the traffic-clogged city:
July 5, 2007
Albany Fiddles Over Congestion Pricing…
... as NASA Scientist James Hansen and six other scientists publish a new global climate change study that concludes, "The Earth today stands in imminent peril and nothing short of a planetary rescue will save it from the environmental cataclysm of dangerous climate change."
June 21, 2007
How Americans Get to Work
According to a new U.S. Census Bureau analysis of data from the American Community Survey, most Americans drive to work -- alone, and public transportation commuters are concentrated in a handful of large cities. From the Bureau's press release:
June 19, 2007