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Treehugger has been doing a series of posts on different cities, and today, the attention is turned on New York City:
We want to know what are the good, and what are the bad things going on there. What is the general level of eco-consciousness in population? How is it for cyclists? How's public transportation? Suburban sprawl? Air quality? Recycling/composting? As time passes, are things getting better or worse? How are the policymakersThe comments so far are interesting - one Brooklynite notes the good is public transport and food co-ops but the bad as littering, private car usage, and disparity of wealth.
For Gothamist's money, the city does have a great public transport system - but it could be wonderful, with a combination of better management and more government support (or partially privatize it!). NYC can be bike-friendly, but many drivers - and police officers - aren't as aware as they could be. There's a lot great ideas, like congestion pricing, but we wonder if they will happen. And Mayor Bloomberg did bring back recycling, but it's crazy that he removed it in the first place because of budget problems.
Check out some NYC Treehugger TV episodes here.
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Congestion pricing is the worst idea ever -- why let the wealthy drive whenever they want and force the working class and lower to ride their bike in the rain because they can't afford to pay fees to drive?
Bikes are wonderful, but let's be honest... not everyone can (or should) commute by bicycle. It's incredible to me that this city is doing nothing to encourage increased use of scooters! But not a surprise I guess when even the ever-savvy Gothamist invariably forgets to mention them as an option. London has made congestion pricing work by exempting scooters and bikes and providing legal, designated two wheel parking areas. That's resulted in a boom in scooter communting, which is great for big cities.
I agree with you Brouhaha. I've been wondering for years why scooters aren't more popular here.
There's an incredible amount of things that the City could do for bicycling and walking. Most trip are easily within bicycling distance. Encouraging people to continue to pollute, even less, with scooters, really is kinda silly when there are better options around.
Hybrid taxis are a slam dunk. In 5-6 years almost all new cabs will be hybrids. They probably won't be Prius', but Toyota's Camry and Ford's Escape will give the Crown Victoria a run for it's money. The car purchase prices are pretty comparable and they will save a ton of gas.
If NYC had a network of safe buffered protected bike lanes separated from traffic, there would be a huge increase in bike usage. Safety is the main limiting factor, not rain and sweat.
scooters are not popular because people don't want the last sight in their life to be a taxi medallion. Also, congestion pricing is a ridiculous idea. I don't understand why people feel they have the right to inject their ideals into other peoples lives. You don't like it when people tell you you can or cant have abortions, talk about religion, read what you want, say what you want. This is no different. If you think people should drive less, argue the point -- but the final decision should be up to the individual or whats the point of touting how free we are.
Exactly - scooters aren't popular in NYC because everyone knows how people drive here.
Congestion pricing has proved to be very successful in London.
Simon, I agree with you that we should be free to make choices. I wish I was free not to have approximately 35% of my paycheck lifted each week for taxes. But until a tax protest, I'm still forced to give out that money. So I feel free to bitch about how that money is allocated. A portion goes to maintaining the roads and bridges in New York City. I benefit from this maintainance via the goods and services that are brought in and out of the city. Joe Driver also benefits from the movement of goods and services. But Joe Driver benefits even more by choosing to drive the city streets and bridges on a daily basis, contributing to the wear and tear of the infrastructure. Joe Driver's usage of the roads and bridges is much more destructive than my usage - so he should pay more. As personal taxes are not adjusted individually based on this usage, congestion pricing and/or tolls on the East River bridges is the way for Joe Driver to pay for his taking a greater share. And paying up may force him to change his commuting habits to incorporate public transportation or carpooling. Alternately, I'd like to see my tax money used to make many roadways smaller and narrower, and add more pedestrian and bicycling space to city streets and bridges. Less roads for cars will further discourage automobile use. Less auto-beaten roadways to maintain will save money for city, money that can then be used to improve public transportation and develop and maintain more non-auto pathways into and out of the city.
as far as emmissions go, scooters are rarely more eco-friendly than cars if that's the motivation in promoting them. 2-stroke vs 4-stroke makes a world of difference.
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