Stephen Miller
In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation.
From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.
Recent Posts
Unless Albany Acts, NYC Bus Lanes Are About to Get Clogged With Cars
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Five years ago, the state passed a bill allowing the city to install cameras that catch drivers who illegally use bus lanes on six Select Bus Service routes. Unless Albany acts soon, that legislation will expire and the cameras will have to be turned off at the end of this summer. There’s a fix waiting to be voted on […]
Ydanis Rodriguez: “We Should Leave the Right of Way Law As It Is”
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Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez opposes an amendment to the Right of Way Law that would provide a special exemption for bus drivers. “I stand in support of the bill as written,” he told Streetsblog this afternoon. “I think that we should leave the Right of Way Law as it is.” The Transport Workers Union is seeking an […]
Eyes on the Street: Vernon Boulevard Gets Bike Lane Barriers
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Biking in western Queens is getting a welcome upgrade. The two-way bike lane on Vernon Boulevard has not had any type of protection from traffic since it was installed in 2013. The lane was frequently obstructed by drivers who used it as a parking spot. Now, DOT is installing barriers along the bikeway to keep cars out. The project received the most […]
TWU Demands to Be Allowed to Kill People Who Have the Right of Way
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Wadsworth & 181 in Upper Manh: Bus waits to take a left turn as oblivious pedestrian crosses intersection pic.twitter.com/1sdNUEcyZo — TWU Local 100 (@TWULocal100) June 16, 2015 The Transport Workers Union is making a great case for why the Right of Way Law should apply to all drivers. The law made it a misdemeanor for drivers to […]
DOT Drops Buffer From Bronx Bike Lanes Under Vision Zero Safety Plan
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DOT is downgrading buffered bike lanes as part of a street safety project on 1.3 miles of Prospect Avenue in the Bronx, a Vision Zero priority corridor. While the street appears to have enough room for protected bike lanes while maintaining the current motor vehicle lanes, DOT instead opted to narrow the bike lanes, remove the […]
South Bronx Greenway Takes Shape on Food Center Drive
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A decade in the making, the South Bronx Greenway segment along Food Center Drive in Hunts Point is almost complete. The loop, which will provide a protected path along a busy truck route past some of the region’s largest food and beverage distributors, is set to open this fall. First proposed by the city in the 2005 Hunts Point […]
When It Comes to Bike Enforcement, NYPD Can Do Better Than This
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Warm weather means more bicyclists on city streets. It also means more ham-handed attempts by NYPD to improve bike safety, and officers are out in force this week ticketing people on bikes. Instead of ticketing wrong-way cyclists buzzing pedestrians in crosswalks, the police typically camp out and rack up tickets where cyclists break the letter of the law without jeopardizing anyone. […]
CB 7 Committee Asks DOT for Amsterdam Protected Bike Lane “Immediately”
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On Tuesday, the Manhattan Community Board 7 transportation committee unanimously passed a resolution asking DOT to immediately install a protected bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue in the neighborhood. DOT has built out a southbound protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue from 110th Street almost to Columbus Circle over the past five years, but the city has not created a […]
DOT Replaces a Block of the Fifth Avenue Bike Lane With Sharrows
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DOT’s recent design tweaks to Eighth Street have come with an unwelcome change on Fifth Avenue. As the Fifth Avenue bike lane approaches Eighth Street, it now morphs into sharrows that overlap with a turning lane for motorists. The dedicated space for cycling is gone, and the new design is incompatible with the protected bike lane that advocates and […]
DOT’s Linden Boulevard Plan Improves the Basics and Not Much Else
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DOT unveiled its plan to reduce traffic injuries and deaths on Linden Boulevard last night to the Brooklyn Community Board 17 transportation committee. The project will introduce basic elements of pedestrian safety infrastructure, but it won’t significantly alter the design of one of the most dangerous speedways in Brooklyn [PDF]. Five people, including three pedestrians, have been killed on […]
Eyes on the Street: The Case of the Missing Bike Lanes
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The streets have been repaved. Lane striping, crosswalks, and stop bars have been added back. But there’s something missing from two streets in DOT’s bike network: bike lanes. In Williamsburg, Driggs Avenue has been repaved — but you would never know it’s a key bike connection from the Williamsburg Bridge. The street has all its stripes back except […]
MTA Finds Replacement for Flashing Lights on Select Bus Service
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When Select Bus Service launched in 2008, the front of each bus featured two flashing blue lights to help passengers distinguish between SBS and local buses. Years after Staten Island lawmakers exploited a legal technicality, forcing the MTA to shut the lights off, the agency has figured out a solution. The lights are important because they help people determine whether […]