Brad Aaron
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.
Recent Posts
DOT, NYPD Open to Bill Allowing Cyclists to Proceed on LPIs
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The City Council transportation committee heard testimony today concerning a package of bike and pedestrian safety bills, including one that would allow cyclists to follow pedestrian signals instead of car signals.
Scores of New Yorkers Turn Out to Reimagine 14th Street
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A capacity crowd of around 80 people gathered at a community center in Chelsea last night to brainstorm the future of 14th Street. The forum was the second 14th Street PeopleWay workshop, hosted by Transportation Alternatives, to help prepare for the crush of people who will need a new way to get around when the L train tube under the […]
De Blasio: Street Safety Advocates Not “Looking at the Facts”
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On Monday Mayor Bill de Blasio managed to dismiss very real concerns about Vision Zero progress and the work street safety advocates are doing to stem the bloodshed and grief caused by traffic violence, all in one sentence. When Politico reporter Laura Nahmias asked about New Yorkers who are holding him to his own administration’s Vision Zero goals, de Blasio […]
De Blasio Says He’s Fully Funding Vision Zero Priority Projects. He Isn’t.
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On his weekly Brian Lehrer show appearance this morning, Mayor de Blasio said the city is fully funding Vision Zero street redesigns. The numbers tell a different story. During the Q&A segment, Families for Safe Streets member Mary Beth Kelly told de Blasio 204 people walking and biking have been killed by drivers on Vision Zero priority […]
Tonight: Parents Call on de Blasio to Increase Funding for Safer Streets
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Prompted by the recent deaths of two children at the hands of reckless drivers, Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets will lead a protest at City Hall this evening to call on Mayor de Blasio to accelerate the pace of life-saving street redesigns. Last Monday, October 24, a motorist in a muscle car hit […]
CB 7 Endorses Year-Round Parks Department Greenway Detour
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Based on scant justification from the Parks Department, yesterday Manhattan Community Board 7 voted in favor of a permanent detour for cyclists along the Hudson River Greenway between 72nd Street and 83rd Street. Amendments to keep the main path accessible to cyclists during off-peak times either failed or were not considered, in part because board chairs Roberta Semer and Klari […]
Manhattan DA Cy Vance Fields Another Challenge to the Right of Way Law
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@CBS @CNN @nypost Car flip 36th and Madison pic.twitter.com/SrEGhjLSwi — Justin Kundrat (@JustinKundrat) February 29, 2016 A livery cab driver who killed a senior in a Manhattan crosswalk last winter is challenging the constitutionality of the Right of Way Law. District Attorney Cy Vance filed a response defending the statute. At around 8:30 on the morning of […]
DOT Can’t Control the Seasons, But de Blasio Can Fund Safer Street Designs
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Today DOT announced a “dusk and darkness” traffic enforcement and education campaign to reduce pedestrian injuries and deaths during fall and winter, when fatal crashes tend to be more frequent. “As the days get shorter and the weather colder, crashes on our streets involving pedestrians increase — and so we are enlisting data-driven strategies to address that upturn,” […]
1,343 NYC Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured in September, and 10 Killed
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Fourteen people died in New York City traffic in September, and 5,288 were injured, according to City Hall’s Vision Zero View crash data map. City Hall reported 115 pedestrians and cyclists killed by city motorists through September of this year, and 11,085 injured, compared to 97 deaths and 10,500 injuries in the same period in […]
Police Use Illegal License Plate Covers to Break Traffic Laws and Cheat Tolls
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After a month with @NYPDONeill on the job, perp cars still getting through @NYPDnews HQ checks with illegal license plate covers.@OIGNYPD pic.twitter.com/g2tRH0sey3 — placard corruption (@placardabuse) October 17, 2016 To gauge what police think about traffic laws and street safety, it’s instructive to observe how they abuse their authority with their personal vehicles. On Twitter, @placardabuse does yeoman’s work […]
Cycling Is Up Across the Board in NYC, But Not Without Disparities
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The number of New Yorkers who regularly ride a bike has risen markedly in recent years, and the trend is especially pronounced among high school students, according to a report published today by the Department of Health [PDF]. While the general upward trend cuts across gender, race, and income levels, the data also show that the […]
Driver Kills Jazmine Marin, 13, Near Ozone Park School; NYPD Blames Victim
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Update: The motorist who killed Marin and injured the second victim was driving an early 1980s Chevrolet El Camino with a racing hood scoop, per a Daily News photo from the scene. A motorist hit two teenagers near a school in Ozone Park this morning, killing a 13-year-old girl and injuring the second victim. Jazmine Marin […]