This Week: Transit Town Halls, Finalizing Bike-Share Maps

Transit activism is at the top of this week’s agenda, with elected officials in two boroughs hosting town halls to hear from their straphanging constituents. Congressman Joe Crowley and Council Member Daniel Dromm will meet in Elmhurst, while State Senator Gustavo Rivera will host his town hall in Fordham Heights. Previous transit town halls, hosted by Transportation Alternatives, have taken place in Jamaica, Flushing, and Soundview.

Also, planning for the launch of New York City’s new bike-share system enters a new phase this week, with the first community board seeing a proposal for a final map of station locations. After extensive public outreach, bike-share is starting to become a reality.

  • Tonight: Hear some of New York City’s leading transportation techies talk about their projects, from real-time bus information and the MTA’s plans for a new fare payment system to taxi GPS analysis, in an event at NYU’s Rudin Center. 6:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday: Representative Joe Crowley, City Council Member Daniel Dromm and Transportation Alternatives host a town hall for Elmhurst residents to talk transit. Expected to be on the agenda are the neighborhood’s crowded buses and the possibility of reopening the LIRR station at Broadway and Whitney Avenue. 6:00 p.m.
  • Also Wednesday: After a collaborative planning workshop in March, Manhattan Community Board 3 is ready to get a look at where bike-share stations might actually end up. The board’s transportation committee sees a proposal for a final bike-share map for the area at its monthly meeting. 6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday: State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Transportation Alternatives host a transit town hall for Fordham Heights straphangers. Select Bus Service, which runs through the area and has cut travel times dramatically, will be up for discussion. 6:00 p.m.
  • Friday: Clifford Winston, a transportation economist with the Brookings Institution, gives a speech at Baruch College. He will present public sector reforms to improve the efficiency of U.S. transportation policy, but then argue that privatization would be more effective still. 9:30 a.m.
  • Also Friday: DOT hosts an open house in Queens for interested parties to learn more about the city’s pedestrian plaza program. 3:00 p.m.

Keep an eye on the calendar for updated listings. Got an event we should know about? Drop us a line.

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