Pedestrian safety
Blind Spots in SUVs Still Killing Kids
Growing public awareness of the danger posed to children by the huge blind spots in SUVs has led to likely passage of what is known as the Kids and Cars act in this session of Congress. But it remains unclear whether the now-weakened bill will adequately address rear-visibility issues that have led to the deaths and injuries of hundreds of children in the past few years.
May 24, 2007
The Car Habit Is Tough to Break
"People are addicted to their cars," said John Street, the Mayor of
Philadelphia, at a panel on transport yesterday during the C40 Large
Cities Climate Summit. He was identifying what he saw as the major
challenge for cities striving to make their transport systems more
environmentally sustainable.
May 17, 2007
StreetFilm: Talking Transportation with Bob Kiley
The debate over congestion pricing has been heating up in advance of Mayor Bloomberg's big Earth Day speech tomorrow. What better time to get some talking points on the matter from Bob Kiley, who served as the Commissioner of Transport for London from 2001 to 2006? (Kiley was also chairman and CEO of New York's MTA from 1983 to 1990.)
April 21, 2007
Visions of a Grander Grand Army Plaza
One vision: Grand Army Plaza's fountain and arch connected to Prospect Park.
April 19, 2007
Are Phone Booths on Ninth Avenue a Pedestrian Menace?
As reported in Sunday's City section of the Times (Times Select required), residents of Hell's Kitchen are concerned that the placement of a double phone booth at the corner of 45th St. and Ninth Ave. may have been a contributing factor in two pedestrian fatalities at that intersection.
April 18, 2007
Studies Refute DOT’s Claim That One-Way Avenues Are Safer
Prospect Park West at 8th Street, September 16, 2006, 9:45 am. "Higher vehicle speeds are strongly associated with a greater likelihood
of crashes involving pedestrians as well as more serious pedestrian
injuries." American Journal of Public Health
March 22, 2007
Park Slope says: “One Way? No Way.” CB6 says: “Let’s Study It.”
In the aftermath of last Thursday's CB6 transportation committee meeting on the DOT's proposal to convert Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn to one-way arterials, some observers are noting that the motion that came out of the meeting may not accurately reflect the input of the nearly 700 people who came out to oppose the plan. As Norman Oder points out at Atlantic Yards Report, the language voted on by the committee leaves the DOT plenty of leeway.
March 19, 2007
Report from Atlanta: Don’t Walk This Way
I can't get behind Prevention Magazine's ranking of New York as 39th among the nation's most walkable cities. But after spending three days in Atlanta for a conference recently, I have no problem understanding why it rates 86th.
March 9, 2007