Jason Varone
Jason Varone battles the streets everyday during a 9 mile commute on his bicycle from downtown Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. In addition to his efforts on Streetsblog, he is an artist making work related to the environment and technology. Examples of his work can be found at www.varonearts.org.
Recent Posts
Drivers Ed. Campaign to Accompany Portland Bike Boxes
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In an attempt to improve safety at intersections in Portland, Oregon, the Department of Transportation will install the city’s first bike boxes at 14 locations this spring. The city will also launch a marketing campaign, "Get Behind It. The Bike Box: Portland’s New Green Space," intended to educate motorists. As Bikeportland.org reports, large signs will […]
Streetfilm: Barnes Dance!
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Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson filmed the only place that we know of in Manhattan where pedestrians can go out and do the Barnes Dance, also known as the Pedestrian Scramble, at the intersection of 17th Street & Broadway. There you’ll find red lights in all directions for about 17 seconds, allowing pedestrians an exclusive phase in […]
Streetfilm: Transforming NY City Streets
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Streetfilms’ Elizabeth Press was in attendance this week at the New York Historical Society where neighborhood activists, professional planners, and experienced advocates gathered to share their secrets on how New Yorkers can transform the public realm. The event was hosted by NYC Streets Renaissance and was moderated by Streetsblog editor Aaron Naparstek. Panelists included: Christine […]
Badda Bing! NYPD “Taking Care of” New Parking Placards
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A commenter on Uncivilservants.org noticed that Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to reign in parking permit abuse is already being met with some good old-fashioned NYPD blowback: Posted on Fri, Jan 25 2008 at 10:49 PM Found on the Rant: "The new placards are slowly circulating to individual mos and all that has changed is the addition […]
Interstate Access, Plenty of Parking at the “Green” Airport
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During his State of the State address, Governor Spitzer claimed that his administration is "turning Stewart Airport into an economic engine for the Hudson Valley and an environmental model for the world: the very first carbon-negative airport." In this morning’s New York Times, we see the Port Authority, touting SIA as an air congestion reliever […]
Balancing Free Transit and Congestion Pricing
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Ted Kheel and the research team that created the Kheel report (George Haikalis, Charles Komanoff, Brian Ketcham, Carolyn Konheim) invite you to join them at The Carriage House for a light discussion of the report, and a demonstration of an exciting new tool, The Balanced Transportation Analyzer, designed to facilitate policy choices about fares and […]
You Don’t Ride a Bike to a Corporate Office Building
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New York cyclists know that corporate office buildings are often not the friendliest places for bike commuters. Lynette Chang, a.k.a. "The Gal From Down Under," has been recording her attempts to enter Manhattan office towers with her folding bike. In this video she dresses up nicely, folds her bike neatly and tries to visit the […]
Streetfilms: Street Star Christine Berthet
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Today, StreetFilms debuts Street Stars, the first of many planned vignettes for 2008 which will focus on the amazing organizers in our communities who are fighting constructively for livable streets. Hopefully, these Stars will provide a road map for change and inspire others to work to transform their neighborhoods. Their first choice is Christine Berthet, […]
Traffic Calming Animation of the Day: The Chicane
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In the shortest, sweetest Streetfilm ever, a 24-second stop-motion animation, Elizabeth Press perfectly illustrates a chicane which is a sequence of bump-outs that force drivers to slow down and drive a more circuitous route along a straight, wide street. An added side benefit, chicanes also create more sidewalk space to be used for benches, tables, […]
Whoa: NYPD Ticketing Bus Lane Violators
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Streetsblog tipster Colin Poellot sent in this photo and reports that the NYPD was cracking down on cars in the new Broadway bus lane south of Houston Street on Monday. Poellot says there were three to five officers waving over and ticketing drivers over the course of several hours. He did not see any bicyclists […]
StreetFilm: How to Use a Bike Box
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The New York Times doesn’t seem to have noticed, but DOT has been quietly rolling out dozens of bike boxes all over the city. As many cyclists don’t seem to know exactly what bike boxes are or how to use them yet, StreetFilms thought the time was right for this instructional video. Related: How About […]
A Q&A With Ted Kheel, Free Transit Advocate
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Gothamist caught up with Ted Kheel, the 93 year old head of the Nurture New York’s Nature Foundation, which addresses the "fundamental conflict between development and the environment." Kheel will release the findings of his study "The Kheel Plan for Balancing Free Transit and Congestion Pricing in New York City" later this month: Many New […]