Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Quality of Life

Coming Soon: Ped-Friendly “Urban Umbrellas” for NYC Sidewalks

By Noah Kazis | Jan 21, 2010 | 23 Comments

Image: NYC Department of Buildings Walking through parts of New York can feel like walking through a tunnel. The city’s ubiquitous sidewalk sheds — typically blue scaffolding holding up green plywood to protect pedestrians from construction overhead — corral people into cramped, dark spaces wherever development or building repairs are underway. There are about 6,000 […]

Council Targets Roaming Tour Buses, Old School Buses

By Brad Aaron | Sep 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

Photo: artgyrl/Flickr The City Council will hold hearings on new rules for tour bus operators next Monday. Int. 742 would have companies switch from open-air amplification of tour guides to headphone-based systems in buses with unenclosed upper decks or open windows. Int. 836 would require submission of operating plans, including routes, trip times and frequency, […]

City Council Bill Aims to Quiet Motorcycle Noise

By Brad Aaron | Jun 11, 2009 | 45 Comments

The City Council is considering a bill to keep excessively loud motorcycles from stopping, standing or parking on city streets. Relax guys, you can keep your jackets. Photo: SliceofNYC/Flickr Intro 416-A would require motorcycles in New York to be equipped with EPA-stamped exhaust systems — a federal mandate since 1983, but one that is rarely […]

Wednesday: Public Meeting With NYPD About Upper Manhattan Lawless Driving

By Brad Aaron | Jun 2, 2009 | 5 Comments

Tomorrow night, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will join the Community Board 12 Public Safety Committee and NYPD officials for a public meeting on out-of-control drivers in Inwood and Washington Heights. Motorcycles confiscated by the 34th Precinct in Upper Manhattan. Photo: Manhattan Times Reckless driving isn’t new or unique to Upper Manhattan, of course, but […]

Obama Keeps Roads Out of National Forests — For a Time

By Elana Schor | May 28, 2009 | 2 Comments

Paved roads are a fact of life in most of the country, but should they be permitted in the nation’s protected forest areas? The Obama administration says no, as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack affirmed today in a directive that prohibits road construction in nearly 50 million acres of forest land. Alaska’s Copper River Highway runs […]

Does Your Commute Suck? Tell Us About It.

By Sarah Goodyear | May 15, 2009 | 1 Comment

This morning our friends over at Transportation for America are launching a new site called My Commute Sucks, designed to give people around the country a place to vent their frustration over the nation’s overburdened and inefficient transportation systems. Commuters can share their tales of commuting woe, upload photos and videos, and also take action […]

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