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
Q44 Select Bus Service: Bus Lanes for Flushing and Jamaica, Not in Between
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DOT and the MTA have released the plan for Select Bus Service on the Q44 linking Jamaica, Flushing, and the Bronx, which serves 44,000 passengers daily. The areas that need bus lanes most — downtown Jamaica and Flushing — are in line to get them, but not the rest of the route. Earlier this year, nearly a […]
New Report Breaks Down Crashes Involving City Agencies, Except NYPD
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A new report sheds light on the extent to which drivers working for city agencies are involved in traffic collisions [PDF]. But the picture is incomplete: NYPD, the agency involved in the most pedestrian injury claims, is withholding its crash information from the city’s database. Excluding the police department, drivers of city-owned vehicles were involved in eight of the 250 traffic fatalities in New […]
City Council Poised to Require Side Guards on 10,000 Trucks by 2024
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The City Council transportation committee unanimously passed a bill this afternoon that would require side guards, which keep pedestrians and cyclists from being swept beneath a truck’s rear wheels, on approximately 10,000 New York City trucks by 2024. The legislation, likely to pass the full council tomorrow, mandates the add-ons not just for city-owned trucks but also for private trash haulers. The […]
If DOT Can Accelerate Street Repaving, It Can Accelerate Safety Projects
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Mayor Bill de Blasio made a visit yesterday to one of the city’s more car-dependent areas, on Staten Island’s south shore, to tout an additional $242 million in his budget for street repaving. The additional money will bring the city’s repaving plan to a total 1,200 lane-miles through June 2016, a 20 percent boost over previous projections. Well-maintained streets […]
DOT Waffles on Bed-Stuy Ped Safety Project After Resistance From CB 3
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A plan to improve safety at a busy Bedford-Stuyvesant intersection [PDF] may not move forward after members of Brooklyn Community Board 3 opposed it, according to two CB 3 transportation committee members. DOT’s Claudette Workman revealed the news at the CB 3 transportation committee meeting on May 13, said Shawn Onsgard, a public member of the committee. “She just said […]
The Case for Baking Bike Infrastructure Into Vision Zero Projects
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London is surging ahead with big plans for protected bikeways that span the city. By comparison, New York’s bike plans, while moving forward incrementally, feel piecemeal. Has safe cycling infrastructure become an afterthought in the city’s Vision Zero program? The question came up yesterday during a seminar on cycling policy hosted simultaneously in the two cities, organized […]
DOT and MTA Years Behind Schedule on Traffic Signal Tech to Speed Buses
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Bus riders spend a lot of time stopped at red lights, but they don’t have to. A technology called transit signal priority, or TSP, speeds up transit trips by adjusting signal timing so buses hit more green lights and fewer reds. TSP has a proven track record in New York, but on several routes, implementation is years behind schedule. Transit signal priority […]
Participatory Budgeting Will Fund 21 Livable Streets Projects
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The votes are in, and 21 livable streets projects got enough support to be funded in this year’s round of participatory budgeting. All told, 124 projects made the cut and will receive City Council funds [PDF]. In dollar terms, the streets projects will account for $5.1 million of the $32.5 million distributed by council members. During the participatory budgeting process, […]
De Blasio NYCHA Proposal: More Space for People, Less Subsidized Parking
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Mayor de Blasio’s plan to stabilize the finances of the New York City Housing Authority includes higher, but still subsidized, parking fees and a promise to develop a mix of market-rate and affordable housing on under-utilized property, including parking lots. The mayor announced that the city will be developing new housing on NYCHA property. De Blasio took […]
Just in Time for Summer, Two Big Detours on the Hudson River Greenway
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One of New York’s busiest bicycle routes has been interrupted this summer by two detours where the city is asking riders to dismount and walk for blocks. Both work zones cropped up last week without any signage explaining why they were installed or how long they would last. A tipster who asked to remain anonymous reported the detours to Streetsblog, and here are […]
Cabbie Faces Right of Way Charges for Critically Injuring Midtown Pedestrian
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Taxi driver Babul Miah, 29, faces charges under the city’s Right of Way Law after critically injuring a 20-year-old woman who was in the crosswalk at Eighth Avenue and West 57th Street on Saturday at approximately 5:30 p.m. The woman, who was not identified by police, was crossing 57th Street from south to north on the east side […]
The East Bronx Doubles Down on Traffic-Oriented Development
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The East Bronx is on track to get new Metro-North service, but developers are building unwalkable, traffic-generating projects near the stations, fueled by state and city funding for highway ramps and expansions. Unless things change, the new rail service will be marooned in a sea of car-centric sprawl and traffic congestion. The biggest development site, sandwiched between […]