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
CB 6 Panel Unanimously Backs Plan to Fill Gap in 1st Ave Protected Bike Lane
| | 28 Comments
DOT is set to fill a key 10-block gap in the First Avenue protected bike lane this summer, but cyclists might have to wait until the fall for the final piece of the missing link. The Manhattan Community Board 6 transportation committee voted 12-0 last night to support the plan [PDF], which replaces sharrows with a dedicated protected […]
Citi Bike Could Expand to 86th Street This Summer
| | 20 Comments
It looks like some parts of Manhattan north of 59th Street could be getting Citi Bike sooner than previously expected. At a town hall hosted by Council Member Helen Rosenthal last week, DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione said Citi Bike would expand to 86th Street by August or September, and to 110th Street “probably in March,” […]
Monday: See DOT’s Plan to Complete the First Avenue Protected Bike Lane
| | 5 Comments
Mark your calendars for early next week, when DOT will be presenting its plan to replace sharrows with a parking protected bike lane on First Avenue, filling a gap between protected bikeways south of 49th Street and north of 59th Street. This 10-block gap in the First Avenue bike lane is a key missing link, and […]
Can New York City Reform Its Dysfunctional Community Board System?
| | 7 Comments
New York City’s 59 community boards often serve as the sole venues where the public can assess and vet street design projects. But they are also structured in a way that inhibits any sort of change, giving de facto veto power over street improvements to a small clique who can serve for life. A bill in the City Council would establish […]
Transit Advocates Ask Cuomo to Ride the Subway Like a Real New Yorker
| | 36 Comments
Transit ridership is soaring, delays are way up, and the MTA has a $14 billion hole in its capital plan. MTA leadership is sounding the alarm, but Albany doesn’t seem to notice. With the clock ticking on the year’s legislative session, transit advocates are asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to hop out of his muscle car and ride […]
GCA Backed Congestion Pricing — Why Not Bridge Toll Reform?
| | 2 Comments
The General Contractors Association of New York, which represents heavy construction contractors, says it wants a funding solution to the $14 billion gap in the MTA’s capital plan — just not the Move NY toll reform plan that’s being shopped around Albany. It’s a shift in tone from the group’s interest when the plan was being developed a few years […]
Trottenberg: DOT Skipped Its Legally-Required Data Report Last Year
| | 2 Comments
DOT is almost six months past due on a report card required by city law that measures whether the city is meeting its goals of reducing car use, improving safety, and shifting trips to walking, bicycling, and transit. Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg says her department is skipping a year and will instead issue a report covering […]
New Families For Safe Streets Campaign Defends Right of Way Law
| | 16 Comments
Families For Safe Streets released videos and posters this morning defending the Right of Way Law, in response to a campaign by Transport Workers Union Local 100, which wants MTA bus drivers exempted from the law. The Right of Way Law, passed unanimously by the City Council and signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio last June, allows for low-level misdemeanor charges against drivers who […]
Does Cuomo Plan to Leave Straphangers Holding the Bag?
| | 3 Comments
There’s been a lot of noise so far this week about toll reform and the MTA funding gap, but the people who can actually do something about it remain conspicuously silent. Chief among them: Governor Andrew Cuomo. Things kicked off on Monday with a dire warning from Robert Foran, the MTA’s chief financial officer. He told board members that […]
De Blasio Administration Backtracks From Cycling Mode Share Goal
| | 64 Comments
It looks like the de Blasio administration has quietly tamped down its promises for increasing how much people bike in New York City. During the 2013 race for mayor, candidate Bill de Blasio issued a policy book that included a goal of 6 percent bicycle mode share for all trips citywide by 2020. That’s a lofty goal, and a difficult […]
Ydanis Rodriguez Bill Would Let NYC’s Press Corps Park for Free
| | 23 Comments
In order to protect a #Transparent government we need to ensure media has the tools it needs to do their duty pic.twitter.com/IfuG6HpcLX — Ydanis Rodriguez (@ydanis) April 28, 2015 City Council Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez thinks the city’s press corps needs a special break: He’s proposing legislation that would exempt drivers with press plates […]
Helen Rosenthal Won’t Say Why She Reappointed Street Safety Foe to CB 7
| | 29 Comments
Members of Families For Safe Streets asked Council Member Helen Rosenthal at a town hall meeting last night why she reappointed street safety foe and longtime Community Board 7 transportation committee co-chair Dan Zweig. But Rosenthal refused to answer questions from Upper West Siders who have lost loved ones to traffic violence. Zweig has spent years stonewalling […]