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
Businessman Hopes to Bring Bikes Back to Beijing
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Only 20 years ago, Beijing was one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. Today, rapidly increasing automobile congestion is helping to turn the Chinese capital into one of the most polluted cities on Earth. Air quality is so bad, the Chinese government is initiating special driving restrictions ahead of next year’s Olympic Games […]
Who Are Anti-Pricing Pols Really Looking Out For?
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Responding to some politicians’ claims that congestion pricing is a "regressive tax" that would impact "working stiffs" who must drive to their jobs, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the Pratt Center for Community Development have compiled data, broken down by district, showing that the vast majority of commuters in New York City and surrounding counties […]
Cabbie Mistakes East River Park Bike Path for Highway
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The marker to the south is where the speeding taxi passed the cyclist. The marker to the north is where the cyclist gave up trying to chase after him. A tipster sends along this story from the East River Park bike path… Yesterday around 6:15PM, my friend and I were biking home from work through […]
Traffic Mitigation Commission Public Hearings Announced
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As part of its statutory mandate, the 17-member New York City Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission is conducting a series of public hearings to be held in each borough, on Long Island, and in Westchester County. The purpose of the hearings is to take testimony from the public, and to obtain and review information and proposals […]
Illinois Adopts “Complete Streets” Into Law
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The National Complete Streets Coalition reports on an important victory for the livable streets movement in Illinois. A new law mandates that the principles of complete streets must be incorporated into all new projects and construction, effective immediately. In near-unanimous votes, the Illinois House and Senate have overridden a gubernatorial veto to adopt a statewide […]
The MTA is Testing Battery-Powered Buses
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Here’s a good little item that nearly slipped past us. City Room reported the other day that the MTA is testing new battery-powered buses: The city’s other hybrid buses run like hybrid cars. They run off battery power some of the time and diesel or (in the case of many cars) gas engines at other […]
National Media Noticing the Urban Bicycling Trend
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Apparently unaware of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s assertion that "human-powered vehicles are never going to be the answer," USA Today reports that several large U.S. cities are accelerating their efforts to encourage commuting on two wheels. The article cites New York for the new separated bike lane, and for putting bike racks […]
The World’s Greenest, Most Livable Cities
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Writing in this month’s Reader’s Digest, Matthew Kahn, an environmental economist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment, analyzed data from 141 nations and ranked the planet’s greenest, most livable places. While Northern European nations like Finland, Norway and Sweden fared well, the United States performed poorly in several categories, ranking #107 in Greenhouse gases, #106 […]
A Quiet Velorution is Taking Place
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The Breezer Citizen U-frame town bike. Run an errand in style. Covering Interbike 2007, the largest bicycle trade show in North America, Wired magazine notices an emerging trend: Some people believe that, right now, a quiet revolution is taking place. In cities like London, San Francisco, Boston and New York, the ranks of bicycle riders […]
StreetFilms: LOOKing to Make Cycling Safer in NYC
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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 […]
Fifth Avenue Will Get a New Buffered Bike Lane
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The Department of Transportation announced the installation of a buffered bike lane on Fifth Avenue in this month’s NYCycles, a monthly e-newsletter produced by DOT on cycling issues. In this photo taken yesterday, it is not clear where DOT plans to fit the buffered zone. The apparently temporary lines that were painted on a newly […]
Variable Pricing at MTA Bridges and Tunnels Would Ease Traffic
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Over the past few weeks, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign has been collaborating with environmental economist Charles Komanoff to assess the impact of various value-pricing scenarios on travel patterns at MTA toll facilities, like the Throgs Neck Bridge, at right. From this week’s Mobilizing the Region: A TSTC analysis recommends that the MTA enact variable tolls […]