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
Meet the New Yorkers Building the Biggest, Brightest Bike Counter Yet
| | 10 Comments
Digital-display bicycle counters, sprouting up first in European cycling capitals like Copenhagen and spreading in recent years to Portland and San Francisco, give a real-time tally of how many cyclists use busy bike routes each day. This year, New York is set to get its own. The Big Apple’s version will — like most things […]
115th Precinct Sting Issued More Moving Violations to Cyclists Than Motorists
| | 16 Comments
While some precincts are ramping up failure-to-yield stings and disavowing jaywalking tickets, not every NYPD outpost has moved beyond the shoot-fish-in-a-barrel approach to traffic enforcement. The latest traffic operation from the precinct covering Jackson Heights, North Corona and East Elmhurst had a familiar target: Bicycle violations were the top category of summons issued. Meanwhile, there’s […]
Brooklyn CB 7 Working for Safer Streets in Sunset Park
| | 7 Comments
Community Board 7 in Brooklyn continues to emerge as a force for safer neighborhood streets. This week, the CB 7 transportation and public safety committees held a joint meeting to address pedestrian safety issues in the district, which encompasses Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace. The board also sent a letter this month to the 72nd […]
Poor NYC Neighborhoods “Less Conducive to Walking” Than They Appear
| | 1 Comment
A fact sheet [PDF] released by the city’s health department today makes the case that New York City’s walkability contributes to the health of residents — but a deeper look into the research shows that not all New Yorkers are benefitting equally from walkable neighborhoods. The brief draws on recent data from two sources: Research […]
Safer, Saner Brooklyn Bridge Entrance on Track for Next Year
| | 30 Comments
After years of planning and advocacy, an effort to improve the dangerous, ugly asphalt expanse on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge is set to take a big step forward tonight. Community Board 2 is meeting to vote on a resolution in support of a plan to expand space for walking and biking, realign car […]
Uptown Electeds Ask Cuomo to Dedicate State Funds to Safer Streets
| | 1 Comment
A group of uptown elected officials, including City Council Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez, sent a letter today to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking him to include dedicated funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects in his executive budget [PDF]. The request echoes a call from street safety advocates and comes as the de Blasio administration must marshal resources […]
In Queens, Parents Push for Safer Streets Near Schools
| | 1 Comment
After 25-year-old Martha Tibillin-Guamug was killed crossing the street in Jackson Heights last week, the 110th Precinct went on the offensive, writing 200 summonses in 72 hours, including dozens for failure to yield to pedestrians. At a traffic safety town hall on Sunday, residents applauded the effort, then asked the police and DOT to do more. The […]
Walking After a Snow Storm Wasn’t Always This Icy and Dicy
| | 30 Comments
After a series of snow storms, this week has been a tough one for walking in New York City. Deep oceans of slush pool at corners where snow and ice block storm drains. Many property owners, including the city government, have failed to shovel their walks as the law requires. Long stretches of sidewalk are bumpy […]
Jan Gehl Joins Advocates to Talk Public Plazas in Low-Income Neighborhoods
| | No Comments
Ask a New Yorker about the city’s plazas, and they’re likely to first think of Times Square. While the city’s marquee pedestrian space gets most of the attention, there are dozens of neighborhood-scale plazas across the city, with dozens more in the works in communities requesting them from DOT. Not all local groups have the […]
How NYPD’s Opaque Crash Investigations Spoil Its Street Safety Message
| | 3 Comments
Last month, the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct devoted two full pages to traffic safety in its inaugural monthly newsletter. In an echo of Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who claimed at the initial Vision Zero press conference that 73 percent of crashes injuring pedestrians are the victim’s fault, it featured an eyebrow-raising statistic that blames […]
These Are NYC’s Most Dangerous Streets. Will de Blasio Fix Them?
| | 7 Comments
The 2013 citywide data on traffic fatalities is out, and a pair of number-crunching reports from street safety advocates confirm what New Yorkers know in their gut: Wide, car-centric streets are the most dangerous places to walk in New York City. Now, the question is whether Mayor Bill de Blasio will use the release of […]
Study: Bike-Share Has Boosted the Share of Female Riders in Manhattan
| | 1 Comment
Bicycling in Manhattan has long been a male-dominated mode of transportation, but a new study says bike-share is helping improve the gender balance in the borough’s bike lanes. Another change since the blue bikes hit the streets last summer: Manhattan bike riders are far more likely to follow the rules of the road. The Hunter […]