Last night, "Rock Center with Brian Williams" dipped its toe into the topic of New York City transportation: specifically, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Overall the piece is a fair one, and gives Sadik-Khan plenty of room to answer her critics and lay out her vision for a safer, cleaner, more efficient city. But Brian Williams, who is supposed to be the network's "young," affable anchor, turns into NBC's Steve Cuozzo. Williams tells reporter Harry Smith that he's "drunk the Kool-Aid" when Smith lauds the DOT's efforts, and calls Sadik-Khan "a very powerful woman with an exotic name." Haha, it's mass suicide to support bike lanes! And isn't "Ronald Reagan" exotic compared to "Brian Williams?" more ›

Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Transportation are hoping that a new website will solve one of the biggest headaches facing New York drivers. No, not bicycles but constantly ripped up roads. "We’re going to fix something that has aggravated New Yorkers for years, with good reason," Bloomberg said at a press conference yesterday. "That is, why do our streets get torn up, repaved and then sometimes torn up all over again [after] for another project?" If the new site, the Street Works Manual (accompanying PDF here), works as advertised then companies like ConEd will start syncing up their street construction with other companies and city agencies. And that's not all! more ›

Crossing the street just got a little less treacherous for blind people at 25 intersections in all four boroughs (sorry, Staten Island). New Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) introduced today feature a "distinct clicking sound" at certain intersection to let sight-impaired pedestrians know when the “walk” phase has begun. It's a heavy blow for Good Samaritans, who have been helping blind people cross the road for centuries—already installed at 21 other intersections, the DOT's new Machines are slowly but steadily rendering human kindness obsolete. more ›

If you're chomping at the handlebar to get a taste of some sweet, sweet NYC Bike Share action, you don't have to wait until next summer. The DOT is holding a bike share demonstration today from noon until 4:00 p.m. in DUMBO at the Manhattan Bridge Archway on Water & Adams Streets. Get your questions answered, give the DOT feedback, and take a bike for a spin. It's a perfect day for a ride. more ›

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson are appearing at a press conference this afternoon to announce the details of the city's semi-controversial bike share program, which will provide New Yorkers with 10,000 public bikes at about 600 stations. Nothing's been officially announced yet, but the radical bike lobbyists at Streetsblog hear that the Portland company Alta Bike Share has been chosen to run the program, which will reportedly cost New Yorkers under $100 a year. But if you use a bike for less than a half hour, it's free! more ›

After Judge Bunion dismissed the lawsuit against the Prospect Park West bike lane on Tuesday evening, we wondered if the fat lady had finally sung in the matter, so people could get on with their lives, and the DOT could go back to making the city safer for everyone. But it was not to be so: Jim Walden, the attorney for the two community groups who filed the suit, Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes and Seniors for Safety, issued a "demand" letter stating that the dismissal meant nothing, and the groups will be pressing on to obtain DOT records to prove that the bike lane was indeed part of a "pilot program." more ›

We all laughed when that CBS 2 reporter suggested that terrorists could utilize bike lanes to wreak havoc on innocent bystanders, but today we stand humbled and afraid: two "bicycle bandits" have struck in Greenwich Village. Police say that a pair of thieves on "silver bicycles" approached a 21-year-old man at East 10th Street and University Place around 12:40 a.m. Monday morning, told him they had a gun, and robbed him of his money and other items, DNAinfo reports. We kindly ask DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan for several thousands of gallons of paint thinner, so that we may erase those ghastly bike lanes ourselves on bended knee. more ›

Relations have been strained (to put it mildly) between DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz at least as far back as April 2010, when Marty called her a "zealot" on WNYC. And it doesn't look like those two will be taking a romantic paddle boat ride together in Prospect Park anytime soon, judging by sworn affidavits filed as part of the great Prospect Park West bike lane lawsuit. Markowitz recently swore under oath that a month before he called her a zealot, Sadik-Khan told him the contentious bike lane was just a trial. Now Sadik-Khan has filed her own affidavit essentially calling the Borough President a liar, liar pants on fire. more ›

Is there no rest from the jack booted tyranny of bicycle lanes?! Despite earnest objections from right-leaning columnists and litigious NIMBY scolds, the DOT is steamrolling ahead with a plan to extend bike lanes up First and Second Avenues. Although Community Board 6 voted to approve this section of the project [pdf], which runs from 34th Street to 59th Street, bike lane "zealot" Janette Sadik-Khan has flagrantly disregarded the opinion of the local tabloids, and nothing will stop her from ramming her "traffic calming" initiative down the appreciative throats of community leaders, pedestrians, and cyclists. more ›

Despite repeated requests for comment, Mayoral hopeful Rep. Anthony Weiner has declined to clarify his anti-bike lane remarks quoted in the NY Times over the weekend. (Weiner reportedly told Mayor Bloomberg, "When I become mayor, you know what I’m going to spend my first year doing? I’m going to have a bunch of ribbon-cuttings tearing out your [expletive] bike lanes.") We're guessing Weiner is reviewing his position on bike lanes in order to take a more carefully calibrated position; if so, he may want to check out this sharp Streetsfilm video that explains what the city's new bike lanes actually accomplish: more ›

From the POV of some tabloid columnists, the recent reworking of the city's streets is the DOT's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark—an ill-conceived waste of time and money designed for the tourists—not the poor working man driving their SUVs. And DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan is their Julie Taymor: a myopic power-drunk "psycho" who is simply biking too close to the sun. The Post, in particular, has been withering in their assessment of the innovative commissioner (even calling her "Sadist-Khan), but the Times has also just published a fascinating, in-depth report on Sadik-Khan's polarizing tenure. It's chock full of money quotes, like this one from Councilmember Letitia James, a self-described friend of Sadik-Khan: "Other than Brownstone Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan, she is pretty much despised by my colleagues." more ›

It's been a tough few years for cantankerous NY Post columnist Steve "He Who Yells At Cloud" Cuozzo. So many changes in this town! Particularly near his office, where the DOT turned several blocks of Broadway into pedestrian plazas that Cuozzo did NOT sign off on. Infernal bike lanes have popped up everywhere, cigarette smoking is criminalized, and now the DOT is still threatening big changes to 34th Street. In a new rant entitled "Debacle on 34th St.; DOT's plans to ruin grand blvd," Cuozzo draws a line in the sand: more ›

Today the tabloids lob post-Blizzageddon snowballs at their respective targets; the Daily News at Mayor Bloomberg and the Post at NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. According to the News, Bloomberg has declined to send Sanitation Department reps to perform at the City Council's touring political theater production about his administration's response to last month's blizzard. Instead, the role of Commissioner John Doherty will be played by understudies from Community Affairs, who are supposedly "equipped" to answer questions during the exciting "audience participation" part of the show. Now costar and Council Sanitation Committee Chairwoman Letitia James is "fuming." more ›

In soliciting bids from private companies to create a vast bike share system across the city, the DOT was quick to preemptively address what's likely to be the first criticism: How much is this going to cost taxpayers? Their answer: sharing is free! "The RFP calls for a private company to bear all the cost and responsibilities for the system during an initial five-year period while sharing revenues with the city, and with no taxpayer funds being used for the system’s implementation, upkeep or maintenance," the DOT said in a press release. But that doesn't mean the bike share plan won't have opponents. more ›

With more cyclists and more bike lanes expanding throughout NYC, the DOT says it's time to send a message to bikers that, unlike drivers who park in bike lanes, they're not above the law. With NYPD honcho Ray Kelly at her side yesterday, controversial pro-bike DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said, "We have been friendly to cyclists. Now it’s time for cyclists to be friendlier to the city." Okay, fine, but just don't ask us if you can borrow any money. more ›

Realizing the worst fears of cantankerous Post columnists Steve Cuozzo and Andrea Peyser, the DOT seems to be moving toward a completely car-free stretch of Broadway in midtown. Pedestrians, cyclists, and many merchants have praised NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan for her ambitious reboot of Broadway, which has already banned motor vehicles from seven blocks of Broadway in Times Square and Herald Square, and replaced car lanes with bike lanes all the way down to Union Square. Now come hints that Sadik-Khan's Master Plan may be to banish motorists from Broadway throughout midtown. more ›

As promised, the DOT is moving forward with a plan to install 1,500 countdown clocks at busy intersections in all five boroughs. (Here's a pdf map of the locations.) The crosswalk timers let pedestrians know exactly how much time they have before the next wave of traffic crashes down on them, and the DOT says they "take the guesswork out of" crossing the street. Today Mayor Bloomberg and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced that installation will begin this month. They also released the Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan, which they call the most comprehensive report of its kind in the nation, analyzing more than 7,000 crash records to find ways to improve safety conditions. Among other things, the report found: more ›

Today cycling troubadour David Byrne joined NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and some other bureaucrats to cut the ribbon on the city's first "Pop-up Cafe." Located down on Pearl Street between Broad and some other street that doesn't have a name on Google Maps, the 84-foot-long, 6-foot-wide wooden platform is landscaped with planters, wire railing and furnished with 14 café tables and 50 chairs. Before everyone hyperventilates, please note that it was paid for and installed by two of the restaurants on the block (Fika Espresso and Bombay's restaurant), but it's open to all regardless of whether they make a purchase. more ›

Nothing beats a great pair of NY Post diatribes on the subject of cycling, and that goes double when one of the ranters is columnist Steve "He Who Yells At Cloud" Cuozzo. As you may know, bike lanes and pedestrian plazas have been a boil on Cuozzo's neck for too long, and his latest screed, prompted by complaints about reckless delivery men on the Upper West Side, is bursting with good stuff: more ›

Randy Cohen, who teaches the world how to tell right from wrong with his NY Times Magazine column "The Ethicist" is an avid cyclist, and Streetfilms recently accompanied him as he rode around town holding forth on biking dos and don'ts. Cohen abhors the presence of motor vehicles in the park ("Seeing a car in the park is like seeing someone pelt the Mona Lisa with mud!") and adores NYC DOT chief Janette Sadik-Khan ("She's increased the supply of human happiness in NYC and she's done it while speeding up traffic flow.") But the best part is when he weighs in on the ethics of running red lights: more ›

After concluding an $800,000 pilot program that began back in 2006, the DOT is ready to start installing thousands of countdown clocks at busy intersections in all five boroughs. After analyzing "mountains of data" gathered at 25 intersections equipped with cameras to videotape pedestrians, the DOT determined that the timers are most effective on wide streets. more ›

A certain someone is going to love this: In an interview with WNYC, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz blasted bike-loving Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan as "a zealot." Marty is miffed because of all the damn bike lanes encroaching on car territory, particularly on Prospect Park West, where the DOT has finally decided to move ahead with a bike lane from Grand Army Plaza to Bartel Pritchard Square, despite opposition from motorists. On the eve of last night's final public hearing on the issue, Markowitz wrathfully tore into Khan: more ›

Twelve years ago, a few committed unpaid activists in Brooklyn banded together to push for the creation of a tree-lined cycling and pedestrian route along what was then 14 miles of inhospitable roads between Greenpoint and Sunset Park, along the waterfront. Called the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the grassroots effort has slowly blossomed, and with the proposed bike lane addition to a gnarly stretch of Flushing Avenue, there will be an almost uninterrupted stretch of dedicated bike lanes from Greenpoint to DUMBO. Now the DOT is officially making the entire Greenway dream a top priority. more ›

The number of commuters riding their bikes to work has increased by 26 percent over the past year, according to city statistics. In a "dramatic" uptick, the portion of New Yorkers traveling to work on bikes has doubled since 2002. This spike comes after an increase of 35 percent last year and amidst the Department of Transportation's ambitious — and at time controversial — push to bolster the city's bike lane network. Over the past three years, the city has laid down 200 new miles of cycling routes including loved and loathed paths on Kent Avenue in Brooklyn and Ninth Avenue and Grand Street in Manhattan. more ›

City officials and cycling advocates gathered in The Bronx yesterday to celebrate meeting the goal of adding 200 bike-lane miles in all five boroughs in three years. Dr. Thomas Farley, city health commissioner, was on hand to trumpet the health benefits of cycling; Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe praised the bike lanes connecting the city's parks and waterfronts; and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan declared New York "the bicycling capital of the United States." The bike lane network is now the equivalent length of a bike lane running from New York City to Boston! The 200-mile initiative was launched after a 2006 report [pdf] determined that cyclists were safest in bike lanes and wearing helmets. The project cost $8.8 million, and included installing 6,100 bike racks and 1,000 guide signs. According to the DOT [pdf], there are now 70.9 miles of bike lanes in The Bronx, 138.9 miles in Brooklyn, 90.4 miles in Manhattan, 96.7 miles in Queens, and 27.6 in Staten Island. And besides helping cyclists, they make for great parking spots, too! more ›