September 2: McGuinness Update, Queens Open Streets, The Problem with Bigger Cars
Tell the MTA you want congestion pricing now. The virtual hearings on congestion pricing have concluded, but you can still submit written comments until September 9. Show your support for better buses, less traffic, and a healthier city. Send in a quick comment today.
Cars have gotten significantly bigger over the past two decades — as you can see in the image above — to the detriment of everyone else on the road. We’ve covered how taller cars can cause more significant injuries to pedestrians, and this week we’re looking at what happens when bigger cars take up extra space.
In 2000, the Toyota Camry, a sedan, was the top-selling car. Today, it’s a Ford F-150. The F-150, 14 inches wider than the Camry, leaves a cyclist with just 40 percent as much space to pass as they would have had in 2000. Less space also increases the risk of being doored or sideswiped.
Our Seven Steps policy platform calls for disincentivizing New Yorkers from owning big cars by charging higher registration fees. A 2021 study also found that congestion pricing could lead to fewer SUVs on the road, so let’s make both of those happen – more space for people, less space for “living rooms on wheels.”
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1️⃣ School starts next week! More than 75 percent of New York City students walk, bike, or take public transit to school. NYC 25x25 calls for redesigning the streets around schools, so that they provide safer, healthier spaces for students on their way to and from class.
2️⃣ Interim McGuinness Boulevard improvements are coming. After P.S. 110 teacher Matthew Jensen was hit and killed by a driver on McGuinness Boulevard last spring, you rallied to #MakeMcGuinnessSafe. Thanks to your advocacy, the DOT has announced they will make interim safety enhancements. This is a good step forward, but they must be just that: interim. We need a full-scale redesign of McGuinness without delay.
3️⃣ In the news. Here’s what we’re reading this week:
The MTA’s first congestion pricing hearing lasted six hours and 42 minutes. Read a recap of the hearing in Curbed, and for some lighter fare, an interview with the very last speaker from that night.
In Streetsblog, a profile on the late Roger Herz, a longtime urban activist and one of the founding members of Transportation Alternatives.
With the US Open underway, read this New York Times piece from 2003 about two-time champ Althea Gibson, who learned how to play paddle tennis on a designated “play street” in Harlem.
Two Things to Do
1️⃣ Support one of Queens' best Open Streets. Our friends on the 31st Avenue Open Street have supported local vendors, brought communities together, and helped reclaim their street every weekend for the past two years. Help us support them by signing their petition to bring it back in 2023!
2️⃣ Watch The Street Project. This newly released documentary from PBS America looks at how our roads became so unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists, and at citizen-led movements to reclaim that road space for people. Watch the full film on YouTube and visit The Street Project’s web site to learn more.
One Action To Take Now
Help make NYC's ferry system more accessible. New York Lawyers for the Public Interest are conducting a survey on accessibility in NYC’s ferry system. Fill out their survey and help with their efforts to make NYC Ferry accessible for all!.
Thanks for reading, and have a good Labor Day weekend!
Ted and the TA team