PSA: How Parking Mandates Harm Us
Listen to this group of a dozen speakers tell us how parking mandates directly harm the public and neighbors. It is far and reaching.
Posts from the Cars & Parking Category
Saturday, April 8, 2023
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
See the Crazy Counts of Riders in NYC’s 2nd Ave Bike Lane (And not ONE went the wrong way in 30 minutes!)
I've been meaning to get back to doing some counts of bike and micro-mobility users on some of New York's most popular bike lanes. 2nd Avenue is certainly one of those.
So I set up the camera to record for two half hours in separate locations yesterday and present a condensed video of my results. As usual despite many cranks & drivers stating that bikes barely ever use bike lanes, selective anecdotes are not facts. Every time I've done these during rush hours the results are even better than I expected. In fact during this 30 minute taping from 5-530pm on Monday, April 3rd a very shocking thing emerged I was unprepared for: not one rider in the video rides the wrong way. Not one! I'm a New Yorker of course, and even I admit to seeing a percentage of salmoning (that's going the wrong way in a bike lane) but to witness this result was cool.
I think I have a theory: in NYC the best and most popular bike lanes don't have many wrong-way riders, or very few. Why? They are busy. They are safe. And there are safe options nearby to travel. The pairs on 1st Ave and 2nd Ave are a perfect example. Among NYC's most crowded. At rush hours it's a constant steady stream. You don't want to face dodging a dozen bikes per block. It's dangerous. I actually did a taping near this spot almost in 2021. (See here: https://youtu.be/TMQxPyD36wc) In 21 minutes there were 171 bikes, 323 vehicles and 11 buses. And with bikes only having one lane versus the four for other vehicles (which includes a partial BUS ONLY lane) it proves that the bike lane not only is worth it - but we need to think about making them wider since they are getting real crowded in Manhattan!
You'll have to watch the video to find out, but it's a better count than 2021 and this time proportionally the results were even better for bikes. One note: the "range" for vehicle numbers is due to me having to do a manual count on paper due to the angle of the camera placement. Thus a paper count I got 545 vehicles (and 8 buses) versus later using just the straight video which I could only come up with 525, but the parked cars can shield a few here or there. So let's say I was even massively off and it was 600 - it still proves spatially bikes are a great deal for NYC.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
PSA: What Do All These Places Have That NYC Doesn’t?
This PSA is short and sweet. Find out the answer at the end. What did you guess?
Thursday, March 2, 2023
“Maps Can Be Redrawn”: Open Plans PSA
Last week our first-annual Open Plans Public Space Awards was an inspirational crowd-pleaser attended by many in the transportation world. At the event we also debuted our brand new Open Plans PSA explaining our core mission. We’re calling it “Maps Can Be Redrawn” which features nearly 90 shots of the streets of the city. It was scripted by Open Plans’ Events Associate Eric Parker and voiced by Yael Rizowy.
Thursday, October 27, 2022
SEE the NYC Garbage Pilot (PSA)
Just a short one minute PSA showcasing how badly trash has taken over our sidewalks and one of the new solutions being pursued by NYC. Open Plans' Sara Lind met me in the Financial District to search for some huge garbage piles but since we both wanted to see the debut garbage bins in Union Square so we jumped on Citibikes to see it for ourselves. As you can see it removes lots of clutter from the sidewalk in a nice, handsome manner.
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Paris Bike Ride with Stein van Oosteren
In my fifth Streetfilm from my Paris trip, I was honored to bike ride around with author and Uber-advocate Stein Van Oosteren to see some of Paris’ best bike lanes and hear some of the background on each.
It was quite an epic journey of three hours, finishing just before the temps crested 90 degrees. Please check it out and be in awe of their wide wide bike infrastructure, you will be glad you did. Keep in mind, this was during the height of the summer and a holiday week and many people informed me that the cycling numbers were likely 25% lower than typical since many Parisians had left town.
As for Stein, feel free to check out his book (currently only in French) “Porquoi Pas le Velo?” (Why not the Bicycle?). And here are two more links to find out more about him!
TED TALK:
https://www.ted.com/talks/stein_van_oosteren_replacer_les_velos_dans_la_ville
HIS BOOK:
https://dutchcycling.nl/knowledge/blogs-by-experts/a-book-to-persuade-why-not-the-bicycle/
Friday, July 22, 2022
The Peaceful Pedestrian Plazas of Paris: Lessons for Your City
Continuing our Streetfilms series of looking at Paris, we already present our 3rd (of a half dozen expected) video short.
While in Paris, Streetfilms met up with Open Plans Founder, Mark Gorton, and recorded this impromptu look at the pedestrianized/low traffic streets of Paris after walking for nearly a half hour continuously and only seeing a handful of vehicles.
Mark gives us his evaluations and observations on how so much better the city has become by implementing policies that favor all forms of transportation and modality versus accommodating the car everywhere for every trip and allowing it to dominate the landscape.
And as a reminder: Paris plans to repurpose 50% of its current car parking bays by 2026 for alternate uses.
Friday, December 10, 2021
Bike Boulevards Debut in NYC: Check out Queens’ 39th Avenue!
Earlier this year the NYC DOT announced it would pilot one bike boulevard in each of the five boroughs. Some were actually on the ambitious side and none more so than in Sunnyside, Queens where 39th Avenue (which was designated an open street during 2020 Covid) was converted to a bike boulevard on an integral connection for bike riders for 8 blocks. The innovative treatments (well for NYC) include a diagonal traffic diverter and frequent lane direction changes as well as swaps for wide protected bike lanes at times. Listen to what supporters had to say!
Friday, October 15, 2021
The Uselessness of Gridlock Alert Days
We sent our reporter extraordinaire Zardoz out on NYC's streets for a few hours to check out just how NYC's issuing of a Gridlock Alert Week of traffic armageddon is going.
As always, not good. Utter uselessness. A sock puppet could have predicted this.
Saturday, September 25, 2021
The Uselessness of Gridlock Alert Days
We sent our reporter extraordinaire Zardoz out on NYC's streets for a few hours to check out just how NYC's issuing of a Gridlock Alert Week of traffic armageddon is going.
As always, not good. Utter uselessness. A sock puppet could have predicted this.
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Jersey City’s Quick Build Bike Network
Last year in Jersey City, NJ we followed some of the meetings, rides, and community outreach around the development of their ambitious Bicycle Master Plan.
A few weeks ago we paid a visit to see how well implementation is going and despite the complications of Covid, the installation of parking protected as well as barrier protected lanes is developing at a rapid pace.
Already then have completed 10 miles of a scheduled 46 miles of protected bike lanes that will allow folks in Jersey City to get where they need to go safely.
This summer saw a 205% increase in bike counts along the Grand Street PBL/ road diet. Also installed are (likely) the first protected intersections in New Jersey.
Their bike lanes also feature stencils of riders with ponytails alternating with the standard "male" glyphs of riders.
One amazing thing to see (that we admit we wished we would have documented more of) is the incredible 5 block stretch along Grove Street, which runs in front of City Hall, which now features a two-way parking protected bike lane on one side and restaurant dining in the street on the other. The street resembles what you might see in some of the best cities in Europe for people. It is so quiet. Jersey City is doing big things!
Monday, April 20, 2020
Coronavirus Has Changed Our Streets And We Need To Heed Those Lessons
I live in NYC's Jackson Heights, 11372. Which is currently among the hardest hit zip-codes in the USA for Coronavirus cases and fatalities.
It has been a tough month for many of our neighbors and friends. I get outside for a socially distanced hour every day so I can get footage to show how drastically our streetscape has been altered by the virus — and to make the case that once this is all over, we should never accept how we allocate public space in favor of car drivers rather than the majority of New Yorkers who get around on narrow sidewalks, unprotected bike routes or on buses that are constantly being delayed by people in their own private vehicles.
Under normal circumstances, the world is upside-down — as a result of a minority of NYC car owners, the rest of us are breathing toxic exhaust, getting stuck in their traffic, being killed by their reckless use of steel cages, being terrified just to cross a street, etc. So let's change that. When you see my before-and-after videos, you can see that no one will want to return to the pre-virus status quo. The first step will be to eliminate all unnecessary car trips. Then we can redesign our streets to prioritize long-suffering bus riders, cyclists and pedestrians, who are fighting over crumbs. So many U.S. cities are leading.
It's time for Mayor de Blasio to allow his best city planners take over from do-nothing bureaucrats and allowing the police (most of whom live in the suburbs) to dictate streets policy.
Friday, November 8, 2019
The Smashing Success of NYC’s 14th Street Busway (featuring Zardoz)
Since just about everyone around the world has been asking where is Streetfilms' coverage of the 14th Street Busway, the true answer has basically been: just about everyone else did such a pretty good job documenting (and mostly loving) it, that I really felt this one didn't need my input or care. The world really is changing. And social media - particularly Twitter - really branded it a great change for the city on Day One: for transit users, pedestrians and bicyclists using the corridor.
But then my kid found and starting playing with this sock puppet from over 10 years ago. And, well, Zardoz, our fun and enthusiastic sock puppet correspondent was born.
From 6am thru 10pm only buses, trucks, delivery vehicles and EMS/FDNY are able to use it as a thru route. All others must turn off after only traveling one block. This still allows for drivers and car services to access the entire street, but they need to exit which has led to a vast improvement of bus speeds. But not only that but a more human environment. It can be very quiet at times. You can hear birds sing, people talk to each other. With due care you can easily cross the street almost anywhere on the corridor without fear of being killed.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
The Case for Dedicating the Queensboro Bridge’s South Outer Roadway To Pedestrians: Now!
In the 1990s, cyclists fought hard to finally gain access to the Queensboro Bridge when the city dedicated one of its 10 lanes to shared bike & pedestrian use.
That was acceptable back when few commuters used those modes on the bridge. Now?
More than 5,400 cyclists crossed the Queensboro Bridge daily in 2017, a 35% jump from five years earlier. And easily another thousand or so run or walk.
Advocates want the NYC DOT to convert another lane from car use and make separate biking and walking paths on both sides of the bridge. The DOT is said to be open to the idea, however it would take up to two years to implement. That is too long to wait.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Touring Utrecht’s Disappearing Roadways with BicycleDutch
As you may know I have been editing a monster Streetfilm on Utrecht debuting soon. It will likely be at least ten minutes in length!
But I just hate when really, really good stuff gets left on the cutting room floor and I only get to see it. So a lot of times I release bonus videos or extended shorts of my journeys and I have done many from my Netherlands visit in June.
Usually the extras come after the debut of the initial anchor Streetfilm, but I wanted to get this wonderful personal tour from Mark Wagenbuur out as a sort of teaser. Better known to most as "BicycleDutch" on Youtube, Mark has been a prolific documenter of all things bike and The Netherlands for a very long time. If somehow by now you have never seen his work, you must head over to: bicycledutch.wordpress.com
Anyway, as I was getting to, Mark will probably only be featured for 60-90 seconds in the busy final film, but I wanted to show much of what he talked about road removal and the ideas around keeping drivers out of the city center. So enjoy this!
