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
Does a New Port Authority Bus Terminal Really Cost $11 Billion?
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It hit this morning’s headlines with a thud: Replacing the aged, overburdened Port Authority Bus Terminal will cost up to a staggering $11 billion, according to a plan to be presented to the Port Authority’s board on Thursday. But is that figure based in reality? Advocates are skeptical and wary that the cost is being inflated in […]
Vacca Endorses Move NY Toll Reform as a Fair MTA Funding Fix
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The Move NY toll reform plan, which would create a consistent toll cordon around the Manhattan central business district while dropping toll rates on outer-borough crossings, has received the endorsement of Council Member James Vacca of the Bronx. “We have to improve mass transit to the central city and we have to discourage car use below 60th Street,” […]
Scenes From New York’s Broken Public Process for Street Redesigns
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Even the most modest, common-sense street safety improvements can run into a brick wall at public meetings in New York City. The latest case in point: A DOT plan to improve pedestrian safety on two blocks of an extra-wide, low-traffic section of Lenox Avenue in Harlem, which became the subject of a two-hour Manhattan Community Board 10 committee […]
Bruckner Boulevard Protected Bikeway Clears Bronx CB 2 Committee
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A DOT plan to add pedestrian space and create a two-way protected bikeway along a key half-mile stretch of Bruckner Boulevard received a unanimous thumbs-up from Bronx Community Board 2’s economic development committee Wednesday night [PDF]. “Bruckner Boulevard is a very wide, multi-lane boulevard,” said DOT project manager Kimberly Rancourt. “It has lots of traffic but […]
MTA Refuses to Test Simple Bus Design Fix That Could Save Lives
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Council Member Antonio Reynoso has introduced a resolution calling on the MTA to install rear wheel side guards, which keep pedestrians and cyclists from being crushed beneath the wheels of a bus. The equipment is already used on buses in cities across the country, but the MTA says it’s not interested in installing sideguards on […]
Eyes on the Street: NBC’s Blacklist Gives Green Lane Riders the Blues
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People bicycling east on Grand Street hit this bike lane blockage yesterday afternoon, the first spring-like day of the year, thanks to television drama “The Blacklist.” The crew used the green lane as a staging area for its film shoot, compelling cyclists to detour into the car lane and moving traffic. “Typically we keep bike […]
Industry City Developer Thinks Sunset Park Waterfront Needs More Parking
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A Sunset Park developer wants to use city land for a giant new parking lot, in what’s shaping up to be a test for Council Member Carlos Menchaca and the NYC Economic Development Corporation. Industry City, which has 6 million square feet of industrial, office, and retail space in 16 buildings across more than 30 acres […]
DOT Has a New Plan for Bike Lanes on the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge
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DOT has a plan to add bike lanes to the J. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge, which carries Greenpoint Avenue across Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens [PDF]. The agency has also mapped out new striped bike lanes and markings in Sunnyside and Long Island City [PDF], which would improve access to the bridge. A similar DOT plan for […]
MTA Tests Bike Racks on Bus Across Verrazano
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An anonymously-sourced New York Post story yesterday might leave readers with the impression that new bike racks on the front of Staten Island buses will lead to late trips and a liability nightmare for the MTA. The MTA, however, says it’s still studying the racks — a tried-and-true amenity in every other big American city […]
Levine Stands Up for Riverside Drive Road Diet Under Attack By CB 9
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A plan to calm traffic on a speeding-plagued stretch of Riverside Drive in West Harlem would be gutted if Community Board 9 members get their way, but Council Member Mark Levine, who represents the area, wants DOT to move ahead with the safety plan. “It’s all really sensible stuff that’s been succeeding in other parts […]
United Front of Electeds Join CB 3 to Ask for Protected Bikeway on Chrystie
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A week after Manhattan Community Board 3 unanimously approved a resolution asking for a protected bike lane and pedestrian islands on Chrystie Street, elected officials representing the area — from the city, state, and federal levels — sent a letter to DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione asking her to follow through [PDF]. The letter […]
Hsi-Pei Liao Tells Pete Donohue Why the Right-of-Way Law Matters
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In the skirmish over the Right-of-Way Law, which allows for misdemeanor charges when a driver strikes a pedestrian or cyclist with the right of way, the rationale for enacting the law sometimes gets lost. Last night on NY1, Inside City Hall host Errol Louis interviewed Daily News reporter Pete Donohue, who has taken up the […]