T.A. in the News
Punishing bad drivers, advocates say, is a way to lower the number. Caroline Samponaro, director of Transportation Alternatives, said if a driver causes a crash that kills a cyclist or pedestrian, he or she should face serious consequences.
“Even if you can’t prevent that crash, you can follow up and make sure that another crash like it doesn’t ever happen,” she said. -- "Few Fatal Vehicle-Bike Crashes Lead to Arrest, Data Shows" WNYC, 4/9. The Case for Speed Cameras
New York City's 150 red light enforcement cameras prove that cameras can be more efficient than the NYPD. If we can get the Assembly to act, T.A. expects speed enforcement cameras will follow suit. In the 13 years since New York City installed red light enforcement cameras, more than 4 million violations have been issued. Those 4 million violations came from red light enforcement cameras installed on less than 1 percent of the more than 12,000 intersections with traffic signals in New York City. In 2011, the NYPD summonsed four times as many drivers for having tinted windows as for speeding. Now, a new T.A. poll found that speeding plagues 92 percent of New Yorkers in their own neighborhood. We teamed up with Metro New York to ask tens of thousands of New Yorkers: Do you believe the police are doing enough to curb speeding in your neighborhood? For 92 percent, the answer was no. In respondents' neighborhoods, the NYPD is not responding to the local speeding problem. Answers are still pouring in. If you have a mobile phone, you can add your voice to the mix before the poll closes on Friday: Text SPEED to 30644 to vote. We can’t say whether your local precinct is lacking resources or concern. But we do know this: speeding is a local problem that local police aren’t fixing. So let’s cut resource allocation out of the equation. Speed enforcement cameras have proven to do the NYPD’s job for them. The only obstacle between here and a safer New York City is a few more signers-on in Albany. The First Hero of Public Transit
“The State has raided the MTA and taken hundreds of millions of dollars that is supposedly dedicated transit funding,” echoed through the Senate chamber last week, “as a result, the MTA has gone into a spiraling hole of debt.” An errant transit rider hadn’t broken through security. No activist had taken the floor. For the first time ever, it was a New York State Senator speaking up for working New Yorkers. The senator for the 33rd District, Gustavo Rivera, said the vote they were about to take -- whether or not to let the MTA take on more debt -- would never prevent the fare hike planned for 2013. “If we’re counting, and many of us who use the bus and train in the city on a regular basis are counting, will be the fourth hike since 2007,” he told his follow senators. “The great majority of people in my district rely on mass transit every single day.” Senator Rivera represents working New Yorkers. So Senator Rivera made a correlation: Working New Yorkers need public transit. When public transit is underfunded, it’s money stolen from working New Yorkers. Yesterday, at T.A.’s Transit Town Hall in Elmhurst, Queens, local residents agreed. “The cleanliness of our transit system is a huge problem. Manhattan stations are so much cleaner than here in Queens. Why? We pay the same fare, why are their stations cleaner?" Lydia Liesdek of Elmhurst told the crowd. “If there's going to be another fare hike, I want to know exactly what are they going to improve.” Right now, Senator Rivera is a well-spoken lone wolf, but at T.A. Transit Town Halls around the city, politicians are hearing from the public, and learning they can’t stay quiet on public transit any longer. No one else is on the record yet, but last night in Elmhurst, Representative Joseph Crowley and City Council Member Daniel Dromm heard the case for speaking out, as told by local residents, like 80-year-old Elmhurst resident Inna Elliot. "The Q60 is awful," she explained to her elected officials. "It never comes on time, and when it comes two or three will all bunch up and pass by. It's crowded and slow. I'm retired now so I have time, but for all the working people who have to get to work its terrible." We need more politicians who admit that transit riders put them in office, and that those transit riders’ problems are political problems for politicians to solve. In the New York State Assembly, Governor Cuomo’s office and the New York City Council, there’s an opening for transit champions like Senator Gustavo Rivera. If local elected officials listen to working New Yorkers, he won’t be alone for long.
The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show is the biggest bike show in New York City. With an urban bicycling bent, wall-to-wall commuter bicycles and accessories meant for city riding, it's a must-attend event for T.A. members. Luckily, every T.A. member gets a discount on the cost of admission. T.A. members: Get your discounted tickets to the New Amsterdam Bicycle Show today. Not a T.A. member but desperate for a city bike shopping spree? Get a ticket to the New Amsterdam Bicycle Show and T.A. will give you a complimentary one year T.A. membership. Win a Trip to Amsterdam
The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show will feature Bikelandia, starring the original sardonic bicyclist, Bike Snob NYC. Bikelandia is a brimming schedule of talks, slideshows, panels and films. Everyone from T.A.'s own Director of Bicycle Advocacy, Caroline Samponaro, to Rivendell Bike Works founder Grant Petersen to Hollywood Rides a Bike author Steven Rea will be on hand to present their expert, insider knowledge. The two-day event will feature bicycle-makers, every kind of gear and events that connect your ride to the world of bicycling in New York City. Tickets are now on sale, and for everyone who is not yet a T.A. member, membership to T.A. is free with your entrance to the New Amsterdam Bicycle Show. New Amsterdam Bicycle Show April 28-29, 2012 Skylight Soho 275 Hudson Street Manhattan Buy Tickets Jane Walks
One-third of T.A. advocacy is dedicated to making New York City a better place for walkers. With pedestrian plazas and Play Streets creating space for neighbors to meet and better street design allowing more New Yorkers to walk neighborhood streets, much of T.A. advocacy is inspired by the late author of Death and Life of Great American Cities. To show off all we’ve accomplished in her inspiration, and inspire more New Yorkers to make local streets more livable, we would like to take you on a walk. As part of an international weekend of Jane Jacobs’ events, T.A. and our citywide allies are hosting a series of free walks on neighborhoods streets transformed by T.A. advocacy to reflect Jane Jacobs’ legacy. Join T.A. on May 5th and 6th as we walk New York City streets that Jane Jacobs could have only dreamed. RSVPs are appreciated. Manhattan West Public Space Icons Saturday, May 5, 2012 8:30 - 11 am Broadway and West 47th Street Manhattan Grand Army Plaza Saturday, May 5, 2012 10 - 11:30 am Soldiers and Sailors Arch at Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn Jackson Heights and Elmhurst Saturday, May 5, 2012 11:30 am - 1 pm Queens Boulevard and 55th Avenue Queens New Dorp Saturday, May 5, 2012 11:30 am - 1 pm Rose Avenue and North Railroad Avenue Staten Island Harlem River Park Saturday, May 5, 2012 2:30 - 4 pm East 135th Street and 5th Avenue Manhattan 6th and 1/2 Avenue Saturday, May 5, 2012 4:30 - 5:30 pm 151 West 51st Street Manhattan Prospect Lefferts Gardens Sunday, May 6, 2012 11 am - 1 pm Flatbush Avenue and Ocean Avenue Brooklyn Bike Friendly Business Training
Is there a business you frequent by bike? A daily discount could be in your future, but first you need to convince your favorite businesses to join T.A.’s Bike Friendly Business program. On April 21st, we’re having a training to teach New Yorkers how to recruit new participants to T.A.’s Bike Friendly Business Program. We’ll have free food and drinks, and a lesson in how to bring your most frequented businesses onboard. Bike Friendly Business Training Saturday, April 21, 2012 1 pm T.A.’s Office 127 West 26th Street -- 10th Floor Manhattan RSVP Bike Friendly Restaurant Tour
T.A. has teamed up with the ethical purchasing non-profit Ethikus to host a Bike Friendly Business Ride. The brief bike tour will visit local bike-friendly businesses, community gardens and some of New York City’s best bike lanes. Along the way, enjoy free lemonade and pierogies from Bike Friendly Business Veselka and at the end of the ride, a free barbeque catered by one of Ethikus’ farm-to-table restaurant partners. Bike Friendly Restaurant Tour Saturday, May 5, 2012 1 pm Veselka Bowery 9 East 1st Street Manhattan RSVP Bike Valet Season
The season for T.A. Bicycle Valet has begun. Here’s where we will park your bike for free in April and May:
Slideluck Bikeshow: Call for Submissions
In honor of Bike Month this May, T.A. is sponsoring Slideluck Bikeshow as they point their projector at New York City's bicycling scene. Bicycling-inspired art, custom bicycles, bicycle sculpture or even your helmet cam footage are fair game. After the slideshow, Peloton Magazine will publish one featured piece. Submit your bicycling-inspired images today. Brooklyn Brewery will provide the beer and local restaurants will serve the fare. You can be the entertainment, but only if you submit now. The submission deadline is April 30th. Slideluck Bikeshow Saturday, May 19, 2012 6 pm Hosteling International Flagship 891 Amsterdam Avenue Manhattan Buy Tickets A Discussion on East River Bridge Tolls
Join T.A. Executive Director Paul Steely White for a panel discussion on East River Bridge tolls and road pricing presented by Manhattan Community Board 2 and NYU’s Office of Government and Community Affairs. Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Kate Slevin, the Regional Plan Association’s Hope Cohen and transportation analyst Charles Komanoff will also chime in. Downtown Bridge Traffic: Are Tolls the Answer? Thursday, May 10, 2012 6 - 8 pm Casa Italiana 24 West 12th Street Manhattan Bike Share Test Ride
For the impatient among you, the Department of Transportation is offering an opportunity to take New York City Bike Share for a test ride. Talk to their experts and check out the bikes that will change everything. Bike Share Test Ride Saturday, May 5, 2012 2 - 4 pm Grand Central Library 135 East 46th Street Manhattan We’re Hiring
Every time a New Yorker choses to bicycle, T.A. needs a new staff member to chat them up. T.A. is hiring a pack of personable New Yorkers to patrol the streets this summer and let bicyclists know how to bike polite. Apply today to be a Bike Ambassador, and you can get a tan while you teach New York City bicyclists a thing or two. |
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