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D.C.’s DOT Director talks “Transportation Freedom”

Meet Gabe Klein who was appointed new director of Washington D.C.'s Department of Transportation (DDOT) in December 2008.  With an interesting background which includes four years working for Zipcar, Mr. Klein was brought in with the idea of looking at the job from a fresh perspective (check out: Potholepalooza!) and innovating solutions to many mobility problems D.C. faces.  Right off the bat, you'll love a lot of what he has to say:

"Cars are a part of our daily life here in D.C. ...but what we want to do is try to equalize the playing field.  Encourage people to walk, to bike, to bike share; or instead of owning a car - car share."

Washington D.C. already has one of the lowest household car-ownership percentages of any major U.S. city, so actively promoting these modes is essential to helping its citizens move about with - as Mr Klein points out - "freedom".

Summer Streets Are Back!

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced this week the return and expansion of the Summer Streets program along with more than 1,500 free events taking place throughout New York City this summer.  The Mayor was joined by the Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, who noted that some 50,000 people enjoyed Summer Streets last year and that these temporary car-free streets were spreading this year to 14 locations across all five boroughs. Among some of the others supporting the Mayor's announcement were Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, Def Jam record label co-founder Russell Simmons and actor Luis Guzmán.

San Francisco Carves a Park from the Midst of Its Pavement

The entire family of San Francisco city agencies responsible for maintaining its streets made an unconventional decision to close a portion of a street to cars and convert the new space into a simple, yet elegant, public plaza. The project combines all the important elements of plaza creation that have been successful in New York City and elsewhere: take space from cars, use simple treatments to convert the space into a pedestrian sanctuary, including movable furniture and leftover granite blocks from city salvage yards, and engage commercial interests around the plaza to help maintain and care for the new public realm.

Though some neighborhood constituents voiced skepticism that the plaza would be empty at best, or filled with miscreants and vagabonds at worst, the plaza's success is hard to dispute. In fact, so many people are using the new space and enjoying the tables and chairs, the businesses around the plaza have contemplated leaving the furniture out later than sunset, which was the initial closing time agreed upon between them and the Castro/Upper Market Community Betterment District. This film takes an in-depth look at the construction of the plaza with some of the agencies responsible for it, and includes some entertaining man-on-the-street interviews.

  • Hudson River Crossings: Improving Bus Capacity

    Over 315,00 bus riders cross the Hudson River each weekday. More than half of these bus riders travel through the Lincoln Tunnel but the exclusive bus lane that only operates during the morning rush hour is at capacity. Is it time to change this?

  • Celebrate Bike Valet!

    Check out the valet bike parking at Celebrate Brooklyn.

  • After School with Livable Streets Education

    Livable Streets Education brings real world issues into the classroom and the classroom out into the real world.

  • Phoenix’s METRO Light Rail Takes Flight

    Everyone knows that Phoenix has a huge sprawl problem. But now transit-oriented development is on the upswing in this Sun Belt metropolis. In December, the Phoenix region opened one of the most ambitious transit projects in recent U.S. history: a 20-mile light rail line with 28 stops serving three cities (Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa). Future [...]

  • Queens Boulevard Bike Pool

    On the second Friday of the month, Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee leads a "bike pool" along Queens Boulevard. By riding together in a group each month, the bike pool works not only to educate drivers that bikes are on the street and to make a statement about the need for a bike lane, but it give the borough's bike commuters a safe, escorted ride home.

  • “Snowy High Line” (2003)

    It was a very cold December day in 2003 - I recall being sick and the wind chill near zero - when I was able to go up on The High Line after a moderate snow storm and shoot some video. And until the recent whoosh of publicity over the grand opening of Phase [...]

  • Tour De Brooklyn 2009

    Transportation Alternatives' 5th Annual Tour de Brooklyn was held yesterday. The 23-mile ride started and finished in Coney Island.  Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz was there to see the ride off. As he spoke, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director, Paul Steely White pedaled to power the microphone. Check out this years video to see footage of [...]

  • Matthew Modine rallies support for “Bicycle For A Day”

    Matthew Modine founder of the advocacy group "Bicycle for a Day" held a fundraising party for this project last night at Solar One, the City’s first solar-powered “Green Energy, Arts, and Education Center.” Modine plan's to recycle New York City's junk bikes and distribute them around the world so more people will be able to [...]

  • The Queensboro Bridge turns 100!

    It's extremely rare you get to cross one of New York City's major bridges by foot using the main roadway, but early Sunday morning that's just what happened as the Queensboro Bridge turned a hardy 100!
    The NYC Bridge Centennial Commission is in the midst of celebrating the completion dates of six major NYC bridges and [...]

  • Block Party NYC

    2008 was the kickoff for BlockParty NYC, a new on-line initiative to promote block parties in the five boroughs. To celebrate block parties where people enjoy their blocks free from the usual hazards of car-filled streets, we created this mini film.

  • Meet Veronica Moss, A.U.T.O. Lobbyist

    Ever wonder what folks working for sustainable transportation at the federal level are up against on K Street? For this Streetfilms exclusive event, we were granted unfettered access to Veronica Moss, lobbyist for Automobile Users Trade Organization (AUTO). Veronica gave us a few precious moments inside her SUV to talk about roads, traffic, [...]

  • Bike Parking Respect in Chicago: McDonald’s Cycle Center

    Chicago's Millennium Park hosts of one of the most incredible amenities for cyclists in the United States: McDonald's Cycle Center. So sit back and take a most excellent tour with Bike And Roll's Josh Squire, who manages the facility through an agreement with the city.
    It's enough to make bike commuters in many cities drool. [...]

  • Brooklyn Students Paint the Pavement

    In what is being called the first ever of its kind in New York City, Livable Streets Education teamed up with Community Roots Charter School and PS 67 and got a helping hand from New York Cares and The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership to paint a magnificent street mural on St. Edwards Street in Fort [...]

  • Commuting with the Commissioner on NYC’s Bike to Work Day

    Between 2007 and 2008 bicycling in NYC leapt an amazing 35%.  And looking at the streets it's easy to see why: bike lanes, racks & other amenities are popping up everywhere; it's practically a renaissance. There are now 185,000 daily riders on the streets.
    Today, NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan was one of them, leading a commuter ride from [...]

  • Hal Grades Your Bike Locking 3: The Final Warning!

    It's Bike Month - which means there are scads of neophytes out there nationwide giving cycling a try.  Oh goody!  But, oh baddy - it also means more improper locking - and we all know there are predators just licking their chops at the thought of stealing all or part of your bike. So we [...]

  • Idle-Free NYC

    Did you know that 25% of all New York City School children are affected by asthma?  May 5th was World Asthma Day and Idle-Free NYC Day, and supporters gathered at City Hall to celebrate new legislation, Intro 631-A, that reduces the time a motor vehicle can idle in a school zone from three minutes to [...]

  • ASCOBIKE: Largest Bicycle Parking Facility in the Americas

    ASCOBIKE is located an hour out of São Paulo on the grounds of the commuter rail station in a city with zero bicycle infrastructure. And yet, ASCOBIKE houses 1700 bikes daily, and offers a series of social, legal and bicycle education services.

  • The Search for the Zozo

    Thanks to a marked improvement for pedestrians and cyclists in public spaces in NYC, Zozo's - purple, pleasant creatures who once roamed NYC's streets before the presence of the automobile but thought now extinct - are making a comeback. Watch our mockumentary as we go in search of the ever-elusive Zozo! Will we find it?

  • Portland: Bike Rush Hour on the Hawthorne Bridge

    The first time you visit Portland, Oregon, the gaggles of cyclists streaming over the Hawthorne Bridge during rush hour is a sight you will never forget. It's something other cities need to see and be inspired by.

  • Trailer: The Search for the Zozo

    The Zozo is coming...
    Our eclectic mockumentary "The Search for the Zozo" is only days away from debuting.  Until then you'll have to do with the charm of this mysterious promo which is all sorts of wonderful and features lots of NYC notables.  Have you seen the Zozo?  Check back in a few days to see if we [...]