Yesterday afternoon the Dept. of Transportation launched a new and improved web site loaded with features designed to make information more available to the public. Now you can use the DOT’s site not only to watch traffic cams and sign up for e-news updates, but also to request different types of permits, report potholes, file complaints about newsracks, report damaged bicycle racks (and our favorite, request bicycle racks).

Dani Simons, formerly Transportation Alternatives’ Director of Communication, was hired to direct the Department’s e-media initiatives. She points out that the Current Projects page is a really useful tool for New Yorkers who want to know which of their city streets are being transformed. While this part of the site is still a work in progress, soon it will have search functionality and could possibly be used to collect community input on certain projects.

You may notice that several rotating banners hang above the web site. Depending on when you load the page you may see an obvious sign that the times are changing at the DOT: a procession of bicycles without a car in sight.