Brooklyn Spoke

Felix Salmon completely nails Sean Sweeney of the SoHo Alliance for saying that A) local communities should get to decide, solely, where bike share racks are placed, and that b) “no stations should be place [sic] in Soho.”

Sweeney, then, is the embodiment of precisely the reason why the DOT can’t outsource rack placement decisions to community organizations: those organizations tend to be dominated by people who are going to be aggressively unhelpful on that front. There’s not a parking space in all of Soho which is so valuable that its street space wouldn’t be better off as a bike rack.

He says that Sweeney’s “perfectly encapsulates the self-defeating nature of anti-bike activists.”  I agree.

From today’s New York Post:

“These terrorists, if they don’t beat us with bombs, they’ll beat us with the traffic,” griped one Audi driver stuck at a checkpoint south of Central Park yesterday. “If I had known Seventh Avenue had this much traffic, I would have bought a Prius.”

Yes, the driver is griping about the amount of gas he’s wasting idling in gridlock, but it does seem obvious to all but car owners: switching from an Audi to a Prius, or even an automobile that runs on happy thoughts, is not likely to change the number of vehicles clogging our city’s streets.

If you really want to stick it to these terrorists, ditch your car altogether.

Can someone please take this excellent illustration by Christopher Brand from Frank Bruni’s love letter to Janette Sadik-Khan and print it on t-shirts, buttons, posters, and bumper stickers (yes, bumper stickers) and distribute them all over New York?

Thanks.

This is an oldie, but I participated in a video project by Mario Aguilar about bike lanes a number of months ago.  A few other radical bike lane lobbyists are featured as well.

Here’s a test: figure out which parts of the quoted text below come from an article in Thursday’s New York Post (“NYC’s a beeping horror”) and which are from a classic Onion story. (“Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others.”)

The Big Apple’s crippling stop-and-go traffic is driving New Yorkers crazy.

Gridlock-choked streets are the No. 1 menace for city commuters — with almost half saying the clogged roads are worse than ever, according to a survey released yesterday.

“With traffic congestion, pollution, and oil shortages all getting worse, now is the time to shift to affordable, efficient public transportation,” APTA director Howard Collier said. “Fortunately, as this report shows, Americans have finally recognized the need for everyone else to do exactly that.”

It’s so bad that more than one-third of city drivers have ditched their driving plans and turned around out of frustration at least once, according to the annual IBM global traffic survey.

That’s up from last year, when only 19 percent of drivers reported abandoning a trip out of aggravation.

The APTA study also noted that of the 98 percent of Americans who drive to work, 94 percent are the sole occupant of their automobile.

“Expanding mass transit isn’t just a good idea, it’s a necessity,” [Lance] Holland said. “My drive to work is unbelievable. I spend more than two hours stuck in 12 lanes of traffic. It’s about time somebody did something to get some of these other cars off the road.”

The drivers’ second-biggest gripe is rude and aggressive fellow motorists.

And the third most annoying issue is not knowing how long it will take to arrive at a destination.

“People need to realize that public transportation isn’t just for some poor sucker to take to work,” Collier said. “He should also be taking it to the shopping mall, the supermarket, and the laundromat.”

However, the city that always beeps is not the worst in the world in terms of difficult commutes, according to the survey of 8,000 motorists.

That dubious distinction goes to Mexico City.

I spotted this Zipcar ad while on the subway this morning.  It’s one of a series from the car sharing company depicting people in situations where a car would definitely come in handy: a band schlepping its gear on the subway, two pals trying to bring a canoe on Boston’s T, and a guy whose girlfriend is in the process of throwing all his stuff out of an apartment window.  This one has its charm, but considering how many people actually manage to bike in suits or “work” clothes — and how many of Zipcar’s customers must also be regular bike commuters — it misses the mark by a bit.  From the Capital Bikeshare program to the streets of Copenhagen to Midtown Manhattan, you’ll find plenty of people biking to work meetings in a jacket and tie, even when it’s hot.  While I don’t have to get too dressed up at my office, on one of the hottest days last summer I biked from Soho to midtown Manhattan wearing a suit and tie in order to attend a fundraising gala.  The combination of my upright bike and a slow pace prevented me from getting too sweaty.

As others have noted, “as long as the bike is right, any clothes will do.”

“I would suggest that walking, biking and transit are about to become the next wave of transportation to shape our urban areas. And that combined, they are a new mode of transportation. Looking at the location and lifestyle preferences of Gen X and Y, as well as the preferences of aging boomers, it seems clear that a distinct advantage is going to go to urban areas that can meet that market demand. However, we are still captive to the notion that these modes are fringe, ‘green’ and non-essential and ‘soft’. A hundred years ago the automobile was considered a rich man’s toy that was unreliable and scared the horses. Change is a constant in transportation.” – Tom Downs, writing at Citiwire.net

…inflatable rats!  Spotted on Prince Street in SoHo.

Add your suggested captions for this picture to the comments below.  I’ll pick a winner and send one lucky and creative person an “I (BIKE) Brooklyn” button.  Contest closes at the end of day Monday.

Good luck and have a great Labor Day weekend, wherever your rides take you!

Bike lanes are on a roll in New York.  First the Brooklyn Paper weighed in on the absurdity of bike lane hate, and now the Villager offers its take with “End the Bike Wars.”

As for the ongoing “bike lanes war,” a judge’s recent rejection of a lawsuit against the Prospect Park West bike lane was a victory for the pro-cycling movement. Anyone who knows Brooklyn knows Prospect Park West doesn’t have a major problem with congestion — unlike, say, Flatbush Ave. with its gridlock.

Another victory of sorts for cycling advocates came in the sad downfall of Congressmember Anthony Weiner, who was expected to be a leading candidate for mayor. Weiner had vowed, if elected, to rip out all the bike lanes.

Meanwhile, construction of the First and Second Aves. bike lanes north of E. 34th St. has ground to a halt, and we wonder if it’s partly due to the anti-bike lane backlash. And Bramhall continues stoking the anti-bike lane hysteria with his juvenile Daily News cartoons, which truly reflect poorly on that paper.

The Villager has some good advice for cyclists, too: “Be nice.”

The after affects of Irene may linger for a few days, complicating commutes throughout New York and limiting subway and bus service in the five boroughs.  While the best option may be to simply stay home and avoid any headaches, that’s not possible for all.  If you find yourself deciding to give bike commuting a try for the first time tomorrow, I’m organizing an informal ride from Park Slope into Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge.

The details:

8:15 AM

Gorilla Coffee, 5th Avenue & Park Place, Park Slope.

And if you’re out riding anyway, be sure to take a lot of pictures.  We’re sure to see huge ridership numbers tomorrow.

Be careful out there!  There may still be debris on many roads and you can bet that automobile traffic will be heavy if subway and bus lines aren’t operating.

The fine print: this ride is completely informal.  Every rider is responsible for his or her safety.  Once we get to the Manhattan side of the Manhattan Bridge, we’ll split up.  (Check the DOT’s bike map for the best route to your office.)  Make sure your bike is in good working order before you leave the house.  New York requires you to have a bell as well as front, back, and side reflectors on your bike.  A helmet is recommended.