IT'S THE ATTACK OF THE TWO WHEELED MONSTERS! As you surely know, an impassioned war debate about bicycles has consumed New Yorkers over the past couple of years. Are they taking over NYC with their ubiquitous lanes and their reckless behavior? Or are they the key to alleviating traffic and turning New York into a sustainable, 21st century city? The incredible cycling boom over the past decade has certainly polarized New Yorkers, as drivers, pedestrians and cyclists cope with the dramatic changes brought by the DOT to our traffic-clogged streets. And in the heart of the debate you'll find Paul Steely White, the Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, a group that has worked closely with the DOT to improve the cycling, pedestrian, and mass transit infrastructure. Yesterday we caught up with White, who had just finished a meeting with City Councilman Eric Ulrich, who plans to introduce legislation requiring all adult cyclists to get licenses and registration. more ›

Trying to walk in certain city neighborhoods is fast becoming an extreme sport. Between the new, bigger newsstands and bus shelters, the perpetually metastasizing newspaper boxes on every corner, the increasing popularity of alfresco dining, the delivery guys on their bikes and – let’s not forget – tourists, wending your way down the sidewalk without reaching for your Taser demands a degree of patience not often found in your average New Yorker. A month after... more ›

Today, all over the city, ordinary parking spaces will be transformed into temporary public "parks." The Trust for Public Land has organized a nationwide Park(ing) Day, and there are a number of these Park(ing) projects all over the city - Open Plans has the details on the NYC locations. more ›

After the Sun mentioned the Mayor's upcoming Earth Day PlaNYC speech may include mention of a congestion tax, even more details about what the speech will include have come out. The NY Times says the Mayor is "expected to advocate more than 100 proposals," from cleaning up polluted sites to making buildings more energy efficient. more ›

The intersection of Third Avenue and Baltic Street, where 4 year old James Jacaricce was hit and killed by a Hummer SUV Tuesday afternoon, had actually been recommended for safety measures four years ago. During Tuesday's incident, both the SUV and the child, who was walking with his aunt, had the light; the SUV was making a right turn from Third to Baltic. more ›

After three biker deaths in three weeks, New York City cyclists are mad as hell-- and they're not going to take it anymore. At least, that's what they said to Mayor Bloomberg at their protest on the city hall steps this morning. Streetsblog has a good report from the scene: more ›

City Council members decided Tuesday to withdraw a bill that would have challenged the mayor's partial removal of cars from Central and Prospect Parks. The trial restriction prohibits vehicular traffic except for during morning and evening rush hours and allows cross-town traffic to continue through Central Park. The restriction was launched Monday and will run for six months. Central Park and Prospect Park list the exact street closing times on their respective sites. more ›

We were reading Transportation Alternatives executive director Paul Steely White's column am New York and found out that this Thursday, there's a vigil ride to honor bike riders who have died in traffic accidents. It starts at 8AM at Fifth Avenue and Warren Street in Brooklyn and ends at City Hall at 9AM, with different groups asking Mayor Bloomberg to convene a task force to examine bicylist safety and past deaths. Some other interesting facts on White's article were that based on the bicyclist fatalities since 1995, an average of one bicyclist is killed every three weeks, and two recent bicyclist deaths (including last week's in Park Slope) have been along the city's "recommended bike routes." While some of the initiatives the alliance of bike groups would like the city to undertake are very idealized (for instance, 15 MPH streets), but you laugh too much, Gothamist thinks if more drivers understand about bicyclists' rights, maybe they'll consider pedestrian rights as well. more ›