Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Car Culture

Fifth Avenue, 1909: So Long Promenade, Hello Motorway

By Ben Fried | Jun 29, 2009 | 14 Comments

Image: New York Times. This image of Fifth Avenue unearthed by the Times’ Jennifer 8. Lee (nice headline!) is a fascinating relic from the dawn of the motoring age. The new geometry pictured here nicked 15 feet of sidewalk from pedestrians to make room for two traffic lanes. In one fell swoop, the balance of […]

Ad Nauseam: Antisocial Thuggery From Pioneer

By Brad Aaron | Jun 19, 2009 | 15 Comments

We’ve published a couple of items lately on how noise from motorcycles and booming car stereo systems continue to diminish quality of life in Inwood and Washington Heights — not that these problems are by any means unique to Upper Manhattan. The Queens-based NoiseOFF website has compiled a fascinating case against the manufacturers of car […]

Randal O’Toole: Taking Liberties With the Facts

By Ryan Avent | Jun 2, 2009 | 56 Comments

The Cato Institute’s Randal O’Toole gets under the skin of many of those interested in building a more rational and green metropolitan geography, but in many ways he’s an ideal opponent. It would be difficult to concoct more transparently foolish arguments than his. The man is an engine of self-parody. Is this spaghetti bowl turning […]

Streetfilms: Meet Veronica Moss, A.U.T.O. Lobbyist

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. | May 27, 2009 | 16 Comments

Ever wonder what folks working for sustainable transportation at the federal level are up against on K Street? For this Streetfilms exclusive, we were granted unfettered access to Veronica Moss, lobbyist for the Automobile Users Trade Organization (AUTO). Veronica gave us a few precious moments inside her SUV to talk about roads, traffic, cyclists, and […]

What Happens to a Closed-Down Auto Plant?

By Elana Schor | May 21, 2009 | 12 Comments

The bankruptcy of Chrysler may sound like good news to critics of American auto culture, but the resulting job losses and plant closures are poised to deal a serious blow to already-struggling midwestern towns. Which is why it’s heartening to see that the Obama administration is working on a plan to help clean up the […]

Senator Takes Hybrid Hummer on a Semi-Wild Ride

By Elana Schor | May 21, 2009 | 4 Comments

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank has a knack for puncturing Capitol Hill’s bubble of obliviousness. His classics include the spotting of Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) leaving an event that protested high gas prices in an 18-miles-per-gallon car — for the one-block trip back to her office. In his latest […]

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