Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Welcome to our new StreetFilms feature. Each month we'll be profiling a cyclist we find to be an interesting representative of the bike community.
Our first is Pete Wagner a furniture maker who lives in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn who gave up his car, bought a bike trailer, and uses it to haul tools and deliver his work.
Cyclists of the Month are inspired by the Commuter Profiles in Transportation Alternatives’ Magazine. Got nominations? Send 'em.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
These days it seems nearly every month somebody, somewhere in Portland, Oregon is moving from one house to another using only bike power.
In this re-edited archive from my bikeTV work, you'll meet members of Portland's warm and innovative bike community where dozens of folks regularly donate a few weekend hours with their bike trailers to help fellow cyclists move their belongings to a new abode.
As you'll see, sometimes it requires a little moxie, but the result is fun and environmentally-friendly. Just seeing it will make you want to move. Well, maybe...
Portland's SHIFT website even provides a place to post your move. And as one participant points out as a bonus: they have to help move you in too!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) gathered a gaggle of cyclists on 42nd Street in Manhattan to stage a dramatic visual that shows how much street space is gained if more people rode bicycles or took mass transit instead of driving personal cars.
"Room to Breathe" is borrowed from a poster featuring a dramatic series of photos taken by Portland's Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) in the mid-1990s. There have been numerous permutations over the years in myriad cities, but this is the first we have documented in NYC.
In this StreetFilm, you'll get a little sneak peak into how this event was staged and hear from volunteers and T.A. staff on why spatial efficiency is so important to the livable streets movement. T.A. aims to have the poster available by Summer 2007.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Sometimes we get to have a little fun...
On the morning of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's historic "Manhattan on the Move" transportation conference, our hero Enrique Peñalosa met up with the staff of Transportation Alternatives to ride up to the event.
Look how handsome all those well-dressed advocates are! And who is that with them? Special guest star: David Byrne from The Talking Heads!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Advocates from Transportation Alternatives, The Project for Public Spaces, and The Open Planning Project join "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz and Enrique Penalosa to call for New York City to consider experimenting with some form of physically separated bike lanes in the near future.
Featuring ample footage and photos from over a dozen cities worldwide, this video makes the case that America is woefully behind the curve in protecting its cyclists in big cities.
Though this video is NYC-centric in nature, all lessons and video easily apply to cities across the U.S.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
In Berkeley, Calif. a citywide network of bicycle priority streets called Bicycle Boulevards allow cyclists to navigate safely. They are marked by smart traffic management, bountiful traffic calming, and the aura of livability and putting people first, cars second. Among their most unique trademarks are the purple signage and street stencils larger than a car!
In this trip to Berkeley, StreetFilms' Clarence Eckerson Jr. talks to advocates and users of the boulevards about their history and benefits.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) recently launched a new program to re-introduce older adults to bicycling. Many of the participants haven't ridden a bike in over 50 years. Wow! Smiles and good feelings abound.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Bicycle Boulevards in Portland are a thing of beauty, safety, and tranquility. They are also wonderful streets to live on. Mia Birk, former manager of City of Portland's Bicycle Program (1993-99), and Mark Lear of the Portland Office of Transportation explain a few of the many strategies employed to keep thru traffic off the boulevards and to make the riders using them safe.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The students and faculty of Sunnyside Environmental have an entire curriculum dedicated to bike safety that emphasizes using non-motorized when traveling to school. As early as second grade, the children ride their bicycles to school thanks to neighborhood traffic calming. Students also arrive by foot, skateboard, and scooter. In the morning, it's a fabulous melange of energy watching scores of parents drop off their children by bike!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Portland's Office of Transportation (PDOT) goes the extra mile to accommodate cyclists. Rex Burkholder, the Metro Counsellor and founder of the the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), explains how to operate this bike signal placed at an intersection that is potentially hazardous to cyclists. The light gives riders a dedicated signal which maximizes safety and allows the convenience of having to wait through only one signal pattern.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
We're now less than a week away from our Streetfilms fundraiser and we want YOU to come enjoy a night of celebration and fun. But you'll need to act quickly - we only have about 25 tickets still available starting at $50 apiece.
All the deets you need to know: Tuesday, November 16th at 630 to 9 PM at the Penthouse on 148 Lafayette Street. To purchase tickets and RSVP please click here.
Above we've embedded our Streetfilm from earlier this year featuring Randy Cohen, writer of "The Ethicist" column for The NY Times Magazine. He'll be delivering a special monologue to our crowd that's sure to be funny and enlightening. In addition, there are going to be many movers and shakers in the transportation world on hand - including NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan who will deliver some special words to our audience.
Besides great food, drink and conversation we'll also have lots to do: there will be a Streetfilms/Streetsblog testimonial booth, a peek at two brand new Streetfilms, and a short survey to let us know what you'd like to see next year. We'll also be giving a presentation on our future plans and impart some fun bits of insider information.
Folks, it's imperative we can count on you so we can keep producing the best livable streets films on the planet. With over 3 million Streetfilms plays our continued influence on local & national policy and helping organizations educate their communities lies in the balance. Please help us lock in our mission for 2011 and if you cannot come consider a donation in any amount.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.