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
Why Is There So Much Traffic in NYC? It’s the Free Roads, Stupid
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Since the de Blasio administration attempted to cap for-hire cars this summer, the debate over Manhattan traffic has gotten louder, but not more productive. Uber claimed it definitely wasn’t the problem. Some council members wondered if bike lanes were slowing down cars. Amid all the noise, something important got lost. At a hearing about Manhattan traffic this morning convened by Borough President Gale Brewer, a simple […]
First Avenue Bike Lane Fix on Hold Until Pope and UN Leave Town
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DOT was supposed to start filling the gap in the First Avenue protected bike lane in Midtown this summer, but the agency says it’s waiting until the Pope leaves town and the UN General Assembly adjourns before moving forward. When the First Avenue bike lane was installed in 2011, DOT left a gap of 10 blocks south of […]
Eyes on the Street: Parks Officers Ignore Driver on Greenway [Updated]
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A driver cruised down the Hudson River Greenway Sunday afternoon, passing park enforcement patrol officers who waved him into a parking garage at Pier 40. When Streetsblog reader Shelly Mossey asked why they didn’t ticket him, the officers pleaded ignorance. Mossey was biking south on the Hudson River Greenway, on his way home to Battery Park City […]
Governors Want Feds to Pay for Half of Hudson Tunnel; They’ll Split the Rest
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Governors Chris Christie of New Jersey and Andrew Cuomo of New York sent a letter to President Barack Obama today with an offer: If the federal government picks up half the tab of building a new $20 billion Hudson River rail tunnel, the two states will split the rest [PDF]. It’s a step forward in […]
Watch New Yorkers Using the 33rd Street Plaza With Streetfilms
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Catch it while you can. Before the temporary plaza on 33rd Street at Seventh Avenue closes on October 3, Clarence Eckerson Jr. of Streetfilms stopped by to grab video of New Yorkers enjoying some breathing room in one of Midtown’s most crowded corners. The plaza was installed in July, along with a temporary sidewalk extension on 32nd Street between […]
Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Gabriela Aguilar-Vallinos, 27, on City Island Bridge
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Three people lost their lives in New York City traffic last weekend, including a woman bicycling home from her job in the Bronx. She was killed by a hit-and-run driver who remains on the loose. Gabriela Aguilar-Vallinos, 27, was heading home to Soundview after leaving her job at Sammy’s Shrimp Box on City Island. As she was […]
CB 12 Committee Backs Road Diet, Bike Lanes on St. Nicholas Ave
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A DOT proposal for a road diet and bike lanes St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights got a vote of support last night from the Manhattan Community Board 12 transportation committee. The project could get striped next spring. The bike lanes will connect with newly-installed bike lanes near the High Bridge in Washington Heights, and to a […]
Meet the People Breathing Life Into NYC’s Overlooked Public Spaces
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There are two dueling visions of public space in New York City. On one side, tabloid columnists and the police commissioner believe that any problems encountered in Midtown’s public spaces — whether homeless men or hustling desnudas — should be fixed by replacing space for people with good old-fashioned car traffic. On the other side are residents and […]
Is DOT Setting Up the Amsterdam Avenue Bike Lane to Fail?
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Up until a few years ago, when neighborhood residents approached DOT about redesigning a street for greater safety, they expected to get shot down by the agency’s top engineers. In 2004, one former DOT official summed up the department’s attitude as, “We will do pedestrian safety, but only when it doesn’t come at the expense of the […]
Roosevelt Island Leadership Quashes Proposed Bike Ban on Bridge Ramp
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It looks like bicycles aren’t going to be banned from the Roosevelt Island Bridge helix ramp after all. Last night, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, the state authority that manages the island, held a meeting of its operations advisory committee, reports the Roosevelt Islander blog. Its members came to an agreement that without a viable alternative […]
NYC Has Installed All 140 School Zone Speed Cameras Allowed by Albany
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Just in time for the start of the school year tomorrow, DOT has announced that it has finished installing speed cameras at the 140 school zone locations allowed by Albany. “Our message is, to all drivers in New York, at all times and all places, you should be driving at a safe speed,” Transportation Commissioner Polly […]
Bike Racks Debut on Buses Across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
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New Yorkers are finally getting to try out a multi-modal transportation option that’s old hat to residents of other major American cities — bike racks on buses. Sunday marked the debut of front-mounted bike racks on the S53 and S93 buses across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The MTA purchased 38 bike racks at a cost of $42,000 and installed them on 31 […]