Streetfilms: Idle-Free NYC

Last Tuesday, May 5, in honor of World Asthma Day and Idle-Free NYC Day, clean air advocates gathered at City Hall to mark the passage of Council Member John Liu’s Intro. 631, which limits the amount of time drivers are allowed to idle near schools to one minute. Streetfilms’ Robin Urban Smith files this report, which includes details of an anti-idling curriculum for fourth and seventh graders from Livable Streets Education and Asthma Free School Zone.

In related news, Senator Daniel Squadron has announced a bill calling for a statewide one minute idling restriction for "heavy-duty vehicles." And today there will be a rally in Manhattan to celebrate the adoption of Intro. 631 and to launch the West Side Clean Air Campaign, which, among other goals, aims to ensure that charter buses and car services obey the new law. The rally kicks off with a press conference at 3 p.m. at the P.S. 111 playground on 52nd St. between 9th and 10th Aves.

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Streetfilms: Anti-Idling Laws Clear City Council

By Brad Aaron |
Two laws designed to decrease pollutants and other safety hazards posed by idling vehicles passed the City Council this week. As shown in this Streetfilm by Elizabeth Press, Council Member John Liu’s Intro 631 cuts down the amount of time drivers are allowed to idle near schools from three minutes to one minute. A second […]

Make Queens Boulevard a Complete Street

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Last February, 22-year-old Asif Rahman was hit and killed by a truck while riding his bicycle on Queens Boulevard. Though the infamous "Boulevard of Death" is a lot safer than it used to be, it still produces far too many injuries and fatalities. Asif’s family, Council member Jim Gennaro, and Transportation Alternatives held a press […]

StreetFilms: LOOKing to Make Cycling Safer in NYC

By Jason Varone |
Last week, the LOOK campaign, which aims to prevent collisions between motorists and cyclists by educating the public about bicycle safety, was launched in Union Square. In an unprecedented collaboration, the NYC Bicycle Coalition, the City Departments of Transportation, Health & Police, the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, the Triple AAA, and the Office of […]

StreetFilms: “Something Has to Be Done”

By Sarah Goodyear |
Emergency Pedestrian Safety RallyRunning time: 4 minutes 38 seconds  Here are some highlights from Sunday’s rally for pedestrian safety. In the words of Audrey Anderson, whose 14-year-old son, Andre, was killed by an SUV while he was riding his bike: "Drivers who kill and are not apparently drunk walk away from crash sites as free […]

Streetfilms: Talking Traffic Safety at the Home of Vision Zero

By Brad Aaron |
Clarence Eckerson shot this great interview with Mary Beth Kelly of Families for Safe Streets and Claes Tingvall, director of traffic safety for the Swedish Transport Administration. On Queen Street in Stockholm, a car-free plaza once “choked” with vehicle traffic, and standing within sight of the parliament building where Vision Zero took shape in the […]

Stringer, Squadron, and Silver Call for Safer Chinatown Streets

By Ben Fried |
Will Silver follow through in Albany to make streets safer for his Chinatown constituents? In response to the crash that killed two young children on a Chinatown sidewalk yesterday, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and State Senator Daniel Squadron have released a nine-point plan to improve safety on the neighborhood’s streets. From Stringer’s press release: […]