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
NYPD: 1,378 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 13 Killed in Traffic in August
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Thirty-four people died in New York City traffic in August, and 4,846 were injured, according to the latest NYPD crash data report [PDF]. As of the end of August, 103 pedestrians and cyclists have been killed by city motorists this year, and 10,336 injured, compared to 103 deaths and 10,027 injuries for the same period […]
Eyes on the Street: DOT Wayfinding Signage in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens
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Noah Budnick at TA tweeted this shot yesterday of a new pedestrian wayfinding sign at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard, between Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Unlike traditional maps, where north is up, WalkNYC maps are oriented to the direction the viewer is facing. Initial rollout areas include Chinatown, the Garment District, Herald […]
Community Board 1 Endorses Tribeca Bike Routes
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By a vote of 29-4-1, Manhattan Community Board 1 last night endorsed a DOT plan to add bike lanes and sharrows on north-south streets in Tribeca [PDF]. DOT plans a combination of buffered bike lanes and shared lanes on Church Street, West Broadway, Sixth Avenue, and Varick Street. The proposal does not call for any protected […]
The Squandered Potential of Train Station Parking Lots
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Yesterday we noted how MTR Corp. in Hong Kong rakes in cash from commercial properties along its rail lines. Meanwhile, the land right next to many American rail stations — especially commuter rail — is consumed by oceans of parking. And once commuter parking lots fill up, as they inevitably do, transit-oriented development is often eschewed […]
No Charges for Curb-Jumping Driver Who Killed Michael Munoz in Queens
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Another curb-jumping driver has killed a NYC pedestrian, and as usual no charges have been filed by NYPD. Michael Munoz, 42, was selling water on a Whitestone Expressway service road at 20th Avenue, in Queens, when he was struck at around 2:15 p.m. Monday. From WABC: The 78-year-old driver was in a black Toyota Camry […]
In Hong Kong, Making a Mint With Transit-Oriented Malls
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Here’s what’s happening on the Network today. Transit-oriented development: Hong Kong’s MTR Corp. runs one of the most reliable and efficient transit systems in the world, due in large part to income from developments, which it owns — with help from the government — along its train lines. West North took a look at MTR’s 2012 […]
Nisath Hossain, 58, Killed by Hit-and-Run Driver on Queens Boulevard
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For at least the fourth time in eight days, a hit-and-run driver has killed a New York City pedestrian. The latest crash happened Saturday at around 10 p.m., when according to reports Nisath Hossain, 58, was struck on Queens Boulevard at 71st Avenue in Forest Hills. Hossain, who came to the U.S. from Bangladesh in […]
Businesses in Groningen, the Netherlands: More Bike Traffic, Please
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What happens when transportation planners try to accommodate cyclist traffic? If you’re in Groningen, the Netherlands, where over half of all trips are made by bike, you get complaints from business owners — who don’t want cyclists diverted from their street. David Hembrow of A View From the Cycle Path says students are flooding the Zonnelaan bike path […]
Street Improvements Alone Won’t Prevent the Next Curb-Jump Crash
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A child who was struck by a curb-jumping motorist near a Maspeth school last Thursday died two days later. Parents this week vented to Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and DOT about unsafe conditions in the area. No charges have been filed against the driver by NYPD or Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, and after immediately declaring […]
NYPD: “No Evidence of Wrongdoing” in Curb-Jump Crash That Killed Senior
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Two drivers, one of them unlicensed, collided at an intersection in Dyker Heights late Tuesday morning with sufficient force to send a pickup truck through a bus shelter where several people were waiting for the B4. James McCloskey, 71, was killed. NYPD says no one did anything wrong. The crash occurred between 11:30 and 11:40 a.m., […]
Council Member Mark Weprin: Driving on a NYC Sidewalk Should Not Be Legal
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Ride a bike on a sidewalk in New York City and you are subject not only to a traffic ticket, but a criminal summons. Amazingly, there is no commensurate penalty for the curb-jumping motorist, despite the potential to inflict far greater harm, and countless deaths and injuries that occur every year. Unless intoxication is a factor, prosecutions […]
Eyes on the Street: Pedestrian Islands on College Point Boulevard in Flushing
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Clarence took these shots of new pedestrian islands going in on College Point Boulevard in Flushing. “I counted seven or eight between between 33rd and Maple Avenues,” he says. College Point Boulevard, says Clarence, is “always dangerous to cross.” Two pedestrians have been killed and dozens of pedestrians and cyclists injured by motorists on this […]