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
CB2 Transportation Committee Meeting Tonight
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Item #1 is a presentation from DOT on the reconfiguration of Washington and Greenwich Sts. in the West Village. The proposal reduces the number of travel lanes on both streets to one (which has already been marked, though without a formal CB review) and creates bicycle lanes on both streets. Parking rules would be adjusted […]
StreetFilm: The Street Memorial Project
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Nick Whitaker’s latest effort for StreetFilms is about the Street Memorial Project, a joint effort from Visual Resistance, Transportation Alternatives, and Time’s Up! which was established to honor pedestrians killed on NYC streets. The project is an outgrowth of the Ghost Bike movement. A plaque is usually placed at the site indicating the date of […]
Is Barack Obama the Livable Streets Candidate?
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Barack Obama is a long-time cyclist (Photo: Chicago Tribune) The current crop of Presidential candidates are busy debating the energy crisis, national security, climate change, health care, all of which potentially pose a serious threat to America’s future. We can begin to address all of these issues simultaneously by transforming our cities into more sustainable […]
Sleek Bike Parking Facilities Appear in Queens and Brooklyn
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2008 quickly bring good news for commuters in Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens. Eric Chang of Transportation Alternatives’ Queens Committee snapped these photos of the new covered bike shelter that was just installed at the Vernon Blvd /Jackson Avenue station on the 7 line in Long Island City. The third photo is from […]
NY1 Snap Poll: How to Make NYC Safer For Cyclists?
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A week after two cyclists were killed in midtown, NY1 wants to know, in its very limited multiple choice format, what needs to be done to make New York City safer for cyclists. Your options are: New & improved bike lanes Traffic enforcement Bike safety education Cast your vote in NY1’s "Snap Poll" here.
The Rumble Underfoot at 60th Street
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MTA Deputy Director of Media Relations, Jeremy Soffin, sends this along: As you know, the first tunnel boring machine for the East Side Access project has been chewing its way under Manhattan for almost a month, and we just wanted to provide a short update. The machine has now tunneled approximately 1,350 feet. While the […]
Toronto Cops Pull Over a Pedal-Powered ’86 Buick
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Artist Michel de Broin removed the engine, suspension, transmission and electrical system from his 1986 Buick Regal. He then equipped it with 4 independent pedal and gear mechanisms transforming his old Buick into the "Self Propulsion Car." De Broin’s piece was shown here in New York City back in 2005 at an Exit Art exhibition […]
Houston Street Gets Tree-mendous New Sidewalks
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We’re just catching up to this piece of good news in The Villager last week: With the Houston St. renovation project on the West Side finally nearing completion, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the sidewalks between Sixth Ave. and W. Broadway on the street’s south side have doubled in width. And, in […]
Paris Wins the ITDP Sustainable Transport Award
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The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy has chosen Paris for its 2008 Sustainable Transportation Award. In a letter from the ITDP Board of Directors to Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, the Institute praises the French capitol’s recent transportation policies, most notably the Vélib project: Under your leadership, Paris has implemented a range of innovative mobility […]
The Speed Bump Catapault
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Infuriated by reckless idiots speeding down your neighborhood street? Tired of waiting for city government to do something about it? Then you will probably enjoy this German guy’s homemade traffic-calming system, inspired, perhaps, by the legendary killer bollards of Manchester, England. Are there any German speakers out there who can translate the text at the […]
New Refuge Islands for Bronx Pedestrians & Bus Riders
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Streetsblog reader Ed Ravin sends along a photo of a new pedestrian refuge island that has recently emerged beneath an elevated subway platform in the Bronx. While the new sidewalks make bus riders’ lives a bit easier (and, perhaps, longer-lasting), Ed also has some ideas for additional improvements. He writes: Bus passengers on streets under […]
StreetFilms: Bay Ridge Bus Commuters Talk Congestion Pricing
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StreetFilms joined up with Transportation Alternatives’ Executive Director, Paul Steely White to talk about congestion pricing with express bus commuters in Bay Ridge. Bus riders told White that they’d like to have more buses and a faster commute. One commuter pointed out that virtually every automobile on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway carries just one person. Another […]