Results tagged “irisweinshall”

The new commissioner of the Department of Transportation won the hearts of not just bicyclists but other people who love Central Park the other day: Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan told Streetsblog that she was considering a car-free Central Park trial this summer. (It sounds like transverse traffic will remain.)

As of a little more than a year ago the city had 50 traffic cameras to catch drivers who run red lights. Last summer the state legislature approved doubling the number of cameras. The new cameras were installed in December and they have been busy capturing the license plates of red light runners ever since.

Last night, Streetsblog noticed that the City University of New York had just announced that Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall was appointed Vice Chancellor for Facilities Planning, Construction and Management. A few hours later, there were press releases about Weinshall's resignation from the DOT and the Mayor. The Mayor said:

When I became Mayor, the people of New York were already very fortunate to have an innovative thinker like Iris Weinshall leading the Department of Transportation, and I was fortunate that she agreed to stay on and serve for what has now been an extraordinary seven year tenure. Iris tried new ways to solve problems that had plagued New York City for decades, and she worked with local communities to mitigate dangerous conditions, resulting in the lowest pedestrian fatality rate in recorded history and infrastructure changes and improvements in all five boroughs.

Continue reading "DOT Commisioner Heads Out"

That Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall. Not only does she have to pay her hubby's DC rent (Senator Schumer rents from Representative George Miller), she has to explain to the City Council that they are wrong when thinking traffic is bad. amNew York reports that at a hearing, Commissioner Weinshall said, "You have SUVs, you got these minivans. I think the cars are getting bigger and there is a perception there is more traffic. We think it is still manageable. Remember even as more people are driving more people are taking mass transportation." Lady, bigger cars still make for problems! Didn't you read the Times article about drivers idling outside private schools?

The amNewYork cover story is about dangerous intersections in the city. Queens Boulevard, aka the "Boulevard of Death," has only had four fatalities in the past three years, but there have been a number of pedestrian injuries on Grand Concourse in the Bronx and at Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. Grand Concourse has had 35 pedestrian injuries during the same period, while Eastern Parkway had seven pedestrian deaths in 1999 and 2005, not including many pedestrian injuries.

Yesterday the Department of Transportation installed the first countdown pedestrian signal at the intersection of Coney Island Avenue and Kings Highway. Here's how the city explains the timer:

The pedestrian countdown signals are the same size as the existing pedestrian signal head, but feature a dual display - the traditional "Walking Man" and "Hand" display, and a pedestrian interval countdown display. The countdown feature is programmed to start at the beginning of the "flashing hand" cycle and end when the flashing hand becomes steady. At the five test intersections pedestrians will be given a minimum 15-second countdown before the light changes.

The city hopes people will see the timer and stay on the curb when the countdown is nearing zero. But will they? The NY Times has varying reactions to the timers - some say they'll underestimate their times. Even DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall was skeptical and only okayed the program at the Mayor's insistence. Countdown timers have been in San Francisco since 2001, and the NY Sun says that "a reduction in pedestrian collisions and an increase in compliance with the signals" have been seen in studies there.

"If you get stuck in traffic a little bit this weekend and you see a crew working on the highway or on a street, don't get so angry. It's because these guys are out there doing their jobs." Or so Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall tells the News today.

The Times' N.R. Kleinfeld is excited about the new Staten Island Ferry and, quite frankly, Gothamist thinks everyone should be as well: It's so cool. It will carry 4400 passengers and it's the first ferry the Department of Transportation has bought since 1986 and the first of its size since 1965. Iris Weinshall, DOT commissioner, tells Kleinfeld, "For us, this is very exciting. Ferries are very expensive. You don't buy one every year." The Guy V. Molinari Ferry (yes, named after beloved the Staten Island congressman) cost $40 million, and will be christened in Wisconsin (where it is being built) tomorrow. Per Kleinfeld's suggestion, Gothamist has check out flights to Wisconsin to see the ferry, as the ferry won't be coming to NY until September 2004.