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
Hudson River Park Trust’s Pier 57 Will Add to Car/Bike Greenway Conflicts
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A plan from the Hudson River Park Trust to transform Pier 57 into a retail and food market will add 75 parking spaces and a two-lane driveway to the park between 17th and 14th Streets, creating new points of conflict where people biking on the Hudson River Greenway will have to contend with cars crossing the path. […]
Vacca and Lappin Press DOT, Not NYPD, for Data on Dangerous Intersections
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New Yorkers who pay attention to street safety policy know that NYC DOT has been busy constructing sidewalk extensions, pedestrian islands, and speed humps, while NYPD has lagged behind on traffic enforcement and crash investigations. So it was perplexing to see City Council members James Vacca and Jessica Lappin on the steps of City Hall […]
Taxi Drivers Demand Justice for Mir Hossain, Killed by Speeding Driver
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Early Sunday morning, Mir Hossain, 35, was standing next to his double-parked cab on East 26th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues when a speeding SUV driver rear-ended his taxi, sending him flying to the pavement and killing him. This afternoon, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance held a memorial at the site of the crash, […]
Cuomo Budget: Rising MTA Debt Costs Leave Big Gap for Riders to Cover
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When it comes to Governor Cuomo and the MTA, no news is bad news, and the governor’s 2013 budget contains nothing new for the transit agency’s operating budget. With debt, pension, and health care costs on the rise, the MTA continues to slowly drown in red ink, relying on straphangers to keep it afloat. Although […]
A Smart Growth Wake-Up Call for NIMBY-Plagued Long Island
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Last week, a report from the Long Island Index outlined how rail service can guide economic growth, and it also contained warnings about the slow pace of construction for transit-oriented development in the region. If transit stations are to become focal points for growth, the authors argued, Long Island’s governments need to start taking action. […]
At Pioneering Ped Plaza, Paint and Planters Are Now Curbs and Concrete
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NYC DOT’s plaza program hit a milestone today, when officials cut the ribbon on a block of Willoughby Street reclaimed from car traffic between Pearl and Adams Streets in Downtown Brooklyn. What used to be, essentially, a private parking lot for government placard holders, is now the first plaza program project to make the transition from temporary materials to permanent […]
Safety Fixes Near NYC Schools Reduced Kids’ Traffic Injuries By a Third
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Traffic injuries to school-age kids are down by a third in areas of New York city that received safety improvements like crosswalks and curb extensions as part of DOT’s Safe Routes to School program, according to new research, while kids walking in areas without the enhancements did not see such pronounced safety gains. The study, conducted by Columbia University […]
What Will It Take to Enact the Sandy Commission’s Transportation Proposals?
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Governor Cuomo’s post-Sandy infrastructure commission unveiled its recommendations [PDF] last week, and while it focused heavily on hardening the city’s transportation network against future storms, it also offered glimpses of how infrastructure could be more resilient in the wake of disaster, with Bus Rapid Transit playing a prominent role. In addition to BRT, the report from the […]
Community-Based Plan for Marcus Garvey Park Traffic Calming Gathers Steam
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The streets around Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem are wide and fast, creating barriers between people who live in the neighborhood and important public amenities, including the park itself. Local residents have been working with DOT to calm traffic, coming up with a proposal that extends sidewalk space, shortens crossing distances for pedestrians, and squares […]
Following New York’s Lead, London Plans Protected Bike Lanes
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When it comes to urban transportation policy, Americans often look longingly across the Atlantic. Paris pioneered big-city bike-sharing, London showed New York that congestion pricing works, and Sweden set the goal of eliminating traffic deaths. But here’s a case where New York is leading a peer city overseas. In 2009, London Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled a […]
Cuomo Barely Mentions Transit in 2013 Agenda
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Tuning in to this afternoon’s State of the State address, you could be forgiven for forgetting that New York depends on the nation’s largest transit system — a system burdened by debt and ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, which is in desperate need of leadership from the governor. Between the inside political jokes and grand pronouncements, […]
Leaving Co-Chairs Behind, CB 7 Committee Backs Columbus Avenue Bike Lane
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After deadlocking in December, Manhattan Commmunity Board 7’s transportation committee voted 7-2, with one abstention, to support the extension of the Columbus Avenue protected bike lane before an overwhelmingly supportive crowd last night. The resolution passed without any help from the committee’s co-chairs, Andrew Albert, who abstained, and Dan Zweig, who voted against the resolution. At […]