Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Car Culture

The Onion: Feds Unveil $270 Billion Program for Bad Drivers

By Aaron Naparstek | Mar 14, 2008 | 4 Comments

From the Onion via Planetizen’s Friday Funny: Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters unveiled a new $270 billion federal project Monday to build special lanes for dangerous and careless drivers on most major U.S. highways. "These new lanes are for the millions of drivers who can’t be bothered with speed limits, turn signal use, or not […]

DOT Details Prince Street “Open Sundays” Project

By Brad Aaron | Mar 12, 2008 | 24 Comments

On weekends, 200 vehicles and 4,500 pedestrians per hour make their way down Prince Street, yet the vast majority of the street’s public space is given over to motor vehicle traffic and parking. Community Board 2’s Traffic & Transportation Committee heard specifics last night on a DOT pilot project that would open a segment of […]

Is an NYPD Bike Crackdown Underway?

By Aaron Naparstek | Mar 6, 2008 | 10 Comments

Even before the NYPD identified a hooded cyclist as the this morning’s likely Times Square bomber, two reports of bike commuters being ticketed and harassed by the police have already hit the Streetsblog inbox. Perhaps it’s just that the weather’s getting nicer and more people happen to be out on bikes but at least one […]

Council Members Want “Blatantly Unfair” Toll Credit Corrected

By Brad Aaron | Mar 4, 2008 | 56 Comments

The Post had a short item today, which we’ve linked to a couple of times, reporting that members of the City Council have sent a letter to Mayor Bloomberg asking for changes in the congestion pricing proposal that would raise fees for New Jersey car commuters or have the Port Authority commit more funds to […]

Young Japanese Just Say No to Cars

By Ben Fried | Mar 3, 2008 | 3 Comments

Now for some good news: Car culture is on the wane, at least in Japan. The Wall Street Journal reports that car sales in Japan are down 31 percent since the peak in 1990, and not only because of stagnant population growth. The newest generation of would-be buyers, it turns out, just doesn’t think cars […]

The Definition of Automobile Dependence

By Aaron Naparstek | Feb 27, 2008 | 8 Comments

Working for a failing automaker to make enough money to keep your beat-up, failing mini van rolling through your sprawled-out, failing city. From today’s New York Times story on escalating gasoline prices. For ordinary Americans like Phyllis Berry, a 31-year-old factory worker for General Motors in Cleveland, gasoline costs are starting to hurt. “I used […]

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