Brad Aaron
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.
Recent Posts
How to Stop NYPD From Blocking Bike Lanes
| | 38 Comments
We’re seeing a lot of photos this week of police parked in bike lanes. Fortunately, there is something cyclists can do about it in addition to submitting documentation to Cops in Bike Lanes. Blocking a lane is not merely a sign of disrespect on the the part of NYPD. It’s illegal, and it poses a […]
Eyes on the Street: Keeping Trash Off the Sidewalks in Buenos Aires
| | 28 Comments
Clarence Eckerson has been following our #sidewalkhogs competition while in South America. He sends this photo from Buenos Aires. “Not only have I seen very few cars parked on sidewalks,” writes Clarence, “there are hundreds of spaces in the city where trash pick up is located in the street in what were once parking spaces.” This […]
Eyes on the Street: New Bike Channel on Inwood Hill Park Rail Bridge
| | 14 Comments
Reader Kimberly Kinchen tweeted this photo of a new bike channel on the stairs of the bridge over train tracks that separate Dyckman Fields, on the Hudson River, from the rest of Inwood Hill Park, to the east. “It’s only on the second flight so far,” wrote Kinchen. “I assume they’ll install them on the […]
Who Are NYC’s Worst Sidewalk Hogs? Keep Those Tweets Coming
| | 8 Comments
There’s still time to submit your photos of sidewalk-hogging businesses. Inspired by Clarence Eckerson’s pics of a car dealership that swallowed a new sidewalk extension in Sunnyside, we’re looking for other examples across the city. Readers who tweet the most shameless #sidewalkhogs shots will be rewarded with Streetfilms DVDs. Be sure to include location info […]
Eyes on the Street: Tweet Us Your Pics of Sidewalk-Hogging Businesses
| | 35 Comments
Clarence shot the above photo of a common sight in NYC: car-oriented businesses that illegally commandeer sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to walk around parked cars or pushing people into the street. He writes: I just snapped these photos of a brand new curb extension in Sunnyside, on 37th Street and Queens Boulevard, and a car dealership […]
Serial Unlicensed Driver Gets Misdemeanor Charge in Brooklyn Death
| | 13 Comments
A man with an outstanding charge for driving without a license fatally struck a pedestrian in Brooklyn last December but faces only a second charge of unlicensed driving after taking someone’s life. Two drivers hit Nicole Detweiler as she crossed McGuinness Boulevard at Nassau Avenue in the early evening hours of December 29, 2013. Detweiler, […]
New York State DOT: Thanks, But We’ll Pass on 21st Century Street Designs
| | 28 Comments
It looks like we have our answer as to whether New York State DOT will follow six other states in adopting NACTO standards for safer, multi-modal streets. In March, NYS DOT Deputy Chief Engineer Richard W. Lee wrote NACTO to say that, while it would keep the Urban Street Design Guide on hand, the agency won’t […]
Brewer and Rosenthal Bill Would Allow Folding Bikes in Passenger Elevators
| | 23 Comments
Five years ago next month, the city opened the door for bike commuters — or more accurately, their bikes — with the Bicycle Access Law. That law provided, for the first time, a legal framework for New Yorkers to petition commercial landlords for bike storage space at work. A new City Council bill could improve […]
If Tennessee Can Adopt Livable Street Designs, So Can New York State DOT
| | 11 Comments
States and cities across the country have adopted standards from the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ Urban Street Design Guide, a blueprint for safe, multi-modal streets that made its debut last fall. New York City is among those cities that have incorporated NACTO guidelines, and this month Tennessee became the sixth state to do so. But Matthew […]
Will Curb Extensions and Signs Do the Job at Broadway and Dyckman?
| | 2 Comments
It won’t be long before pedestrians will have shorter crossing distances at Broadway, Dyckman Street, and Riverside Drive in Inwood. Last we checked, work was just getting underway on curb extensions, following the installation of signs prohibiting left turns for motorists approaching the intersection from all directions. As of this afternoon, the southeast curb extension […]
Brooklyn DAs Ignore “Rule of Two” in Death of Pedestrian Maude Savage
| | 10 Comments
An unlicensed motorist who killed a senior in Brooklyn last year has pled guilty to a low-level misdemeanor and could be sentenced to probation and a nominal fine. Though the driver was charged with violating two traffic laws, current and former district attorneys Ken Thompson and Charles Hynes declined to pursue criminal negligence charges under […]
Eyes on the Street: Hudson Street Protected Bike Lane Under Construction
| | 5 Comments
Doug Gordon of Brooklyn Spoke fame tweeted these photos from Hudson Street in the West Village, where DOT is installing a parking-protected bike lane that’s seeing use before the green paint goes down. The upgrade was requested by Community Board 2. As Streetsblog reported in April, it converts the buffered bike lane on Hudson into […]