September 23: Vision Zero Cities, Bike Crosstown, Support Team TA at NYC Marathon 🏃
Last chance: Submit comments in support of congestion pricing by midnight! Take a few minutes and tell the MTA you want less traffic, cleaner air, safe streets, and better public transit.
After last week’s double-header of TA events, we’re excited to announce our 2022 Vision Zero Cities Conference. Join us from October 19–21 at the Center for Architecture in Manhattan as we bring together leading industry and policy experts, advocates, and elected officials.
Join us for both virtual and in-person sessions, keynotes, breakouts, deep dives, and field tours — all focused on building safe streets and more livable cities. Don’t miss our keynote address from Ravi Bhalla, Mayor of Hoboken, NJ, whose city has gone four years without a traffic fatality.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1️⃣ Demystifying the Safe Streets Approach. The Vision Zero Network has put together a new presentation on creating a safe system of streets, illustrating different approaches cities have implemented to prevent crashes.
2️⃣ Want to learn more about designing safe streets? TA’s NYC 25x25 vision looks at five different streets in New York City, and how we can reimagine each to provide economic, educational, environmental, and public health benefits.
3️⃣ In the news. Here’s what we’re reading this week:
With congestion pricing comments due today, we crossed the Hudson River yesterday to rally with the Riders Alliance and local organizations from New Jersey to highlight the support for and benefits of congestion pricing in the Garden State. Check out coverage in NJ.com, PIX11, and CBS 880.
Bloomberg looks at the microplastic emissions caused by car tires, and how heavier and faster electric vehicles can exacerbate the problem.
THE CITY speaks with delivery cyclists on the difficulties they face after being injured on the job.
In Vice, an article on Ford’s latest road safety solution: If the car detects cell phone signals from a pedestrian or a bike rider nearby, it will send an alert to the car’s dashboard screen. Here are some other ideas we can try to make streets safe: Design smaller cars, build streets with physical protection for pedestrians and cyclists, and – of course – shift people to not drive at all.
TWO THINGS TO DO
1️⃣ Call for bike lanes from River to River and Around the Park. This week, Manhattan’s Community Board 8 voted 38-3 in favor of adding fully protected crosstown bike lanes east and west of Central Park about every 10 blocks, plus a two-way protected bikeway around the park. Add your name to our Bike Crosstown petition and help bring this project to fruition.
2️⃣ Support TA’s Marathon Team. We’re six weeks away from one of the city’s biggest car-free, pedestrian-friendly events of the year: The New York City Marathon. Help our team reach their fundraising goal by making a donation today.
ONE ACTION TO TAKE NOW
Join an activist committee! We honored our Activists of the Year at the Pedestrian Prom last Thursday, and now’s the perfect time to get involved and start a “new year” with TA. Check out our committees page to learn more about becoming an activist in your neighborhood.
Thanks for reading, and have a good weekend!
Ted and the TA team