On Sunday, the New York Times City section ran a story called "The Bicycle Thief: It's Not Who You Think." It went like this:

On Wednesday, 28-year-old graphic designer Miao Wang rode her bicycle 12 blocks from her apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to the Bedford Avenue L subway station. She locked up, boarded her train and went to work. That evening, she emerged from subway to find that her black Diamondback bicycle was gone.

Ms. Wang's bicycle was one of nine confiscated in the latest police sweep of bikes locked to railings, street signs and parking meters around the subway station. With the ten bike racks on North Seventh Street between Bedford and Driggs Avenues typically full, it has become normal to see scores of bikes chained in thick clumps to other street fixtures on the block.

The challenge, DOT bike program director Andrew Vesselinovitch told the Times, is "balancing the need for bicycle parking on crowded sidewalks that thousands of people walk on each day."

Underlying Vesselinovitch's statement and the city's land use and bike parking policies is the assumption that the only possible place to park bicycles is on the city's sidewalks. The City of Montreal, Quebec does not work under this assumption and this is what bicycle parking looks like there:



As you can see, at this popular cyclist destination, the City of Montreal has dedicated a slice of street space to bike parking. Because of this, fifty people can park their vehicles, their bikes, in a spot that would otherwise accomodate only two or three cars. Instead of forcing a balance between cyclists and pedestrians, both of whom are already fighting over scraps of already narrow sidewalk, Montreal finds the balance between cars and bikes. Free curbside parking spaces are sacred in New York City. Perhaps this is why Vesselinovitch said the balance had to be struck between pedestrians and cyclists. It might just be hard for him to imagine that it could be done any other way in NYC.

Truly, there are lots of creative ways to do bike parking in a crowded city. Take a look at Chicago's new Millennium Park Bike Station:



Considered a crown jewel of Chicago’s 21st century transportation infrastructure, the Bike Station is filled to capacity by daily downtown commuters and tourists most days of the year. In addition to providing secure bike parking it offers lockers, showers and bike repairs. The Calatrava-designed train station in Lower Manhattan is a no-brainer spot for a park'n'ride bike facility like this. So is the new development at the Atlantic Railyards in Brooklyn.

Here is an example of outdoor bike parking I found during a trip to Brussels last year. It doesn't fit a lot of bikes but I thought it was great that they provide cyclists with some roof cover in case of rain. It shows a certain appreciation for the needs of cyclists that you just don't see in New York City very often:



4:48 PM | Link | (5) comments   

Mayor: Anthony Gronowicz
We generally don’t give people a whole lot of credit for prevention. The doctor who saves you from a horrible disease is the bigger hero than the nutritionist or yoga teacher that worked with you for years to prevent the horrible disease in the first place. And while Mayor Michael Bloomberg is receiving (and buying) plenty of credit these days, I think people have forgotten how easily the city could have slipped into fiscal disaster after September 11. He deserves a lot of credit for preventing that from happening. Bloomberg also deserves props, in my book, for banning smoking in bars and restaurants and taking on the heavy-lift project of education reform. I even liked his Sunday parking meter rule that the City Council ignorantly repealed just recently.

Still, I can’t vote for him. The Bloomberg NYPD's crackdowns on peaceful political demonstrators and cyclists, the millions of dollars he has donated to the Republican Party of Bush, Cheney and Pataki, and his lack of initiative on urban environmental issues has made it difficult for me to support him. And while Bloomberg’s spending of more than $63 million of his personal fortune on his campaign isn't illegal, it is, in my opinion, extremely destructive to American Democracy. Sure, this time, the guy spending the big money to buy the office mostly seems to be a mensch and a genuinely good manager. Next time we might not be so lucky.

Though I think Freddy Ferrer is unfairly tarred as a “hack” at every turn (is it really such a crime to have devoted your career to public service and politics?), his campaign has been uninspiring and mired in dysfunctional Democratic politics of the past. He’s given me no reason to vote for him.

While Green Party candidate Anthony Gronowicz isn’t going to win this year, he is the only candidate pushing on some of the most important issues regarding our city and our planet’s future: energy conservation, climate change, organic and locally-grown foods, and modernizing and humanizing New York City’s transportation infrastructure. Sustainability is a kind of preventative healthcare for the planet. That's what Gronowicz is talking about and that's what I get excited about. That's why I'm voting for a Green mayor this time around.

Is a vote for the Green Party just throwing a vote away? I don't think so. If the polls are correct, then Bloomberg is going to win this election by a big margin anyway. I believe that one of the reasons that Ferrer is failing so utterly this year, and why Kerry failed in 2004, is because the Democratic establishment hasn't figured out that there are a lot of voters hungry for leadership on a broad range of progressive environmental issues. If a Green mayoral candidate who didn't even campaign can take even just 5% of the vote, that would send a strong message to the Democratic party about the direction they need to move. Being as how Bloomberg is expected to win in a cakewalk, this is a fine year to use your vote to make a statement.

Public Advocate: Jay Golub
In the last four years Betsy Gotbaum has taken what could be one of the city’s most powerful bully pulpits and has essentially made it disappear. I was really rooting for Norman Siegel but since he lost the Democratic Primary, Golub, the Queens dentist, is the best we’ve got. During the debates he came across as smart, caring and energetic. He could do the job. ABB – Anybody but Betsy.

Brooklyn Borough President: Gloria Mattera
Gloria is fighting to make sure that the communities and neighborhoods of brownstone Brooklyn have a real voice in the development of the Atlantic Yards development project. Marty Markowitz has not. He has allowed a “Community Benefits Agreement” to go forward that utterly ignores and excludes local neighborhood, environmental, and quality of life concerns. Gloria is putting energy into transportation, environment and local business issues, while Marty seems most interested in selling out Brooklyn to the highest corporate bidder no matter what the cost. Gloria says she’s going to transform Borough Hall from “a public relations office for corporate developers” to “a hub of civic participation, with open access for grassroots neighborhood, worker, youth, immigrant and women's organizations.” She’s got my vote.

Ballot Proposal:
Question 2, Rebuild and Renew Transportation Bond Act – Vote Yes!
This may very well be the most important vote you make this year. Complicated, neglected by the media, and tucked away in the lower right corner of New York City’s clunky mechanical ballots, ballot initiatives are often forgotten by downstate voters. As a result, upstate voters often end up deciding these issues for New York City. Don’t let that happen with the Transportation Bond Act.

The bond act authorizes $2.9 billion in state-backed borrowing for transportation. Half of the funds would be dedicated to public transportation in NYC and its suburbs including $450 million for a 2nd Avenue subway, $450 million for an LIRR connector to Grand Central Terminal, $100 million for a rail link from Lower Manhattan to JFK airport, $205 million for new buses, subways and commuter railroad cars, and $161 million for subway improvements. There is also a load of money being poured into New York City’s roads and highways.

Yes, the MTA needs to be reformed and made more accountable. Yes, the MTA should have gotten more money for the Atlantic Yards by conducting a more honest, open bidding process. And yes, living off borrowed money is a bad idea. But if we don’t vote "Yes" on Question 2 tomorrow, $4 billion in federal funds for New York City transportation projects will simply evaporate; subway, bus and train fares will be raised substantially in coming years; and New York City’s public transportation infrastructure will, almost certainly, go into steep and rapid decline.

Vote "Yes" to Rebuild and Renew. Make the 2nd Avenue subway a reality.

12:41 PM | Link | (4) comments