It's been a tough four weeks to ride a bike around the Lower East Side: Stanton, Rivington, Suffolk and Norfolk streets were all stripped of their paving, making it rough on riders' bikes and derrieres. One of our commenters even noted, "I have to find a new commute from Greenpoint or else I'll start getting chronic yeast infections from that turbulence." Luckily for ladyparts, the DOT tells us that the resurfacing of Stanton and Rivington will begin tomorrow night, weather permitting. Norfolk & Suffolk will begin on the 21st. more ›

Yesterday, after what felt like years of waiting, the city introduced us to the pricing scheme for its ambitious new bike share program, now dubbed CitiBike after its sponsor (Citibank). And the reaction was mixed. While many—including us! We swear!—are very excited to see the program prosper and bring more cyclists to the streets, its very aggressive pricing had us (and others) worried. Yes, New York's bike share will be the largest in the world but it will also be the most expensive. Well, sometimes. more ›

Good news for those looking to propose on a MegaBus! Despite mounting pressure from the Port Authority and neighbors, the Department of Transportation has decided to let the cheap bus company continue to drop off and pick up customers outside of the PA terminal in Midtown. For now. The company's temporary permit to park outside the terminal was supposed to have expired today. more ›

For the past few months the city has been talking to locals about where they want the share stations to live, and now we are getting closer to finding out where the winner locations will be. Because clearly the city can't put a station in every location that residents have suggested in the city. You wouldn't be able to cross the street! more ›

Whether or not you're out enjoying this fine spring afternoon or in your bedroom praying for sleep may depend on how close you live to "INSANE night drilling" at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. A tipster who lives on Cadman Plaza West tells us that despite their soundproof windows, the jackhammering that begins at midnight and lasts until at least 3 a.m. remains a form of "noise torture" that prevents them from sleeping. What's worse is that the DOT can't start drilling until 11 p.m. at night, when their permit kicks in, and that all noise ordinances are being obeyed. more ›

Thanks to the Department of Transportation, Midtown Manhattan is about to get a new pedestrian thoroughfare. Well, an old one rebranded. So, before you get out your pitchforks and start burning effigies of Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, take a deep breath. The path, which the Observer dubs "6 1/2 Avenue", has long been known to the district's denizens. All the DOT wants to do is make it easier to find and walk. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] On March 5th, we gathered at the base of the Manhattan Bridge to kiss our sweethearts and ring our bells: order was restored and our bikes were back where they belong, on the North Side. But in our recent trips over the bridge we couldn't help but notice that seven path-blocking, construction awnings are still making it tough for cyclists heading in opposite directions to squeeze by, and one large ladder surrounded by cones makes for an interesting obstacle. (See ladder below.) Are these hazardous barnacles here to stay? more ›

The war is over! Or at least the unnerving merge onto Bowery from the Manhattan Bridge, where cyclists have been unceremoniously dumped out for the past eight months due to a detour on the bridge. In July, the DOT rerouted cyclists to the south side of the bridge, which was formerly the pedestrian side. The view of the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset was lovely, but the exit from the bridge onto Bowery was not specifically too good, according to some people. Especially not with police routinely blocking the joke of a bike lane. more ›

As anticipated, last night the DOT revealed forthcoming changes planned for Delancey Street, one of the most dangerous thoroughfares in the city. In five years, 129 people have been hurt in traffic crashes at the intersections of Delancey and Essex and Delancey and Clinton, and three pedestrians have been killed on Delancey in the past year. In response to calls for safety improvements, the DOT presented the plan [pdf] to the local Community Board last night. more ›

In the wake of the death of 12-year-old Dashane Santana, who was struck and killed crossing Delancey Street last Friday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is asking the Department of Transportation to assign crossing guards to the dangerous thoroughfare. "With traffic coming on and off the Williamsburg Bridge and a wide area for pedestrians to cross, there is an urgent need for a more aggressive approach to safety," Silver wrote in a letter to commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan obtained by DNAinfo. "We simply cannot wait for another tragedy to occur." more ›

Dashane Santana, the 12-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a minivan crossing Delancey Street yesterday had dreams of attending Juilliard and becoming an actress. "She was a loving little girl—that was my girl," Santana's mother, Shamika Benjamin told the Post. Benjamin seemed to confirm the accounts of two witnesses who said that Santana was held up in the middle of the street as the traffic light turned green. "She was crossing the street when she dropped her bookbag." Police have not charged the 58-year-old driver of the van, and are deeming the tragedy an accident. more ›

Today in Maddening News Of The New Year, we learn that the much-maligned BQE will continue to be under construction pretty much forever, as it has been for all time. It's not exactly new news, but at least we get some historical context for the headache. more ›

A Staten Island artist/activist spent the morning dressed up as a Christmas tree and wishing commuters a ferry Merry Christmas, in protest against the DOT's ban on holiday decorations in the terminals. Scott LoBaido, whom you may recall from previous stunts such as paying the $10 Verrazano Bridge toll in pennies and trying to hang his own art in protest at the Brooklyn Museum, is upset about the decoration ban, like many other commuters. But instead of just griping about it, the Staten Island Advance reports that he ensconced himself in this impressive-looking tree and went forth to spread holiday cheer. more ›

Staten Island has HAD IT with the War on Religious Holidays That Have Been Secularlized To The Point Of Insipidity. So says the editorial board of the Staten Island Advance, who penned an article entitled "Bureaucratic Cowardice" in response to the DOT's decision to remove Christmas and Hanukkah decorations from the Staten Island ferry terminals. "It’s out of some warped sense of political correctness that the people in charge of places that attract a lot of traffic…seem to live in abject terror of offending a handful of cranks." Who's worse: litigious cranks or cranks on an editorial board? more ›

There's been a bit of an uproar among commuters who use the Staten Island Ferry, which has been stripped of the holiday decorations that formerly livened up the terminals in Manhattan and Staten Island. The DOT has taken away the "holiday" tree and the big electric Hanukkah menorahs, which Rabbi Moshe Katzman has provided every year for decades. DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow issued a statement explaining the new policy, suggesting that the change is mainly about "keeping the passenger terminal clear" to "allow staff and crew to focus on their primary mission: Getting the system’s 65,000 daily commuters where they need to go safely and on schedule." But could there possibly be more than a desire for "clear" terminals at work here? more ›

Following the news of marked improvements for pedestrians and cyclists traveling around Grand Army Plaza, the DOT has announced [pdf] new improvements around Prospect Park's southeast entrance, including closing the East Drive entrance to automobiles. According to the agency, 20 people are injured at this corner every year, and Streetsblog notes that closing the entrance allows for a realigning of the crosswalks, which "should make motorists more aware of people walking across the street." 57% of the crashes between pedestrians and vehicles at Ocean and Parkside between 2005 and 2009 occurred when the pedestrian had the walk signal. more ›

The DOT has released its report on cycling in NYC and determined that the number of people who commute by bicycle has increased 8% over last year. (Read it below) Overall, bike riding has increased 102% compared to 2007 and by 289% compared to 2001, says the DOT, which measures commuter cyclists by counting them at the four East River bridges, the Hudson River Greenway at 50th Street, and the Whitehall ferry terminal. An average of 18,846 cyclists per day was recorded this year, up from 17,491 in 2010. The DOT attributes the increase in large part to Steve Cuozzo the DOT: more ›

Bad news for anyone who commutes on four wheels, ever tries to get out of the city, or lives remotely near the highway: the BQE and the Gowanus expressway won't be getting better anytime soon. The city has just killed plans to revamp and repair major chunks of both expressways, citing, unsurprisingly, a lack of cash. more ›

DOT uses / Money from drunk driver fines / To buy new haikus! Today DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan unveiled the first of 216 safety signs featuring colorful artwork and haikus. The signs will be installed at a dozen high-crash locations near cultural institutions and schools citywide, using state money collected from DWI fines. Haikus for safer streets! We can't wait to hear what cantankerous NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo has to say about this! ("In the good old days / Cars ran poets down like dogs / Wrote rhymes with their blood.") more ›

The Claremont neighborhood of the Bronx has become the first neighborhood in NYC to be transformed into an idyllic "Slow Zone" by the DOT. While the department already has many 20 mph reduced speed zones on streets around schools, the Claremont slow zone is the first to cover a large swath of a neighborhood, with "gateway" signs that clearly indicate the entrance of the slow zone, and 28 new signs marking the 20 mph speed limit in and around the zone. And the zone itself is "self-enforcing," because the quarter-square-mile area comes complete with 14 speed bumps that will force maniac drivers to take it easy. more ›

You'll recall that last month a private bus company was allegedly caught requiring female passengers to sit in the back of a public bus that connects the predominantly Hasidic neighborhoods of South Williamsburg and Borough Park. The company, Private Transportation Corporation, pays the city $20,000 a year to operate the bus route, and while the owner denies any gender segregation, several female reporters with different media outlets found that they were expected to move to the back. And though the company promised the DOT this sort of thing isn't happening, the Hasidic watchdog blog Failed Messiah has obtained a hard copy of their schedule that tells a very different story. more ›