Jason Varone
Jason Varone battles the streets everyday during a 9 mile commute on his bicycle from downtown Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. In addition to his efforts on Streetsblog, he is an artist making work related to the environment and technology. Examples of his work can be found at www.varonearts.org.
Recent Posts
Paris Set for Invasion of Self-Service Bicycles
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Expatica.com reports: Paris is bracing for a transport revolution later this year with the arrival of more than 20,000 self-service bicycles thanks to a deal between city hall and one of the world’s leading suppliers of urban advertising. A contract signed Monday with JCDecaux gives the French firm access to more than 1,600 hoardings and […]
Holiday Bonus for U.K. Ikea Employees: 9,000 Free Bikes
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The Independent (UK) reports: Ikea, the Swedish retail chain, showed its green credentials yesterday by giving all 9,000 of its UK workers a free bicycle. The store handed out the £139 fold-up bike and offered a 15 per cent subsidy on public transport at its Christmas breakfast.The bicycle is the store’s second high-profile green gesture […]
Hydrogen: Not as Green as it Seems
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BMW’s new hydrogen-powered luxury sedan is about as environmentally-friendly as a diesel truck. Spiegel reports: The new car caters to the pleasing fantasy of customers spoiled by high-horsepower engines: That they can conform to ecological standards without making any sacrifices, burning "clean" fuel to their heart’s content. Advertising images display the Hydrogen 7 against a backdrop […]
New Bike Lanes and Markings for the Lower East Side
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DOT just finished striping new bike lanes and stencils along Grand Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side: The buffered lanes begin at the intersection of Christie and Grand Streets and then, as the streets narrow they morph into non-buffered Class 2 lanes and Class 3 shared-lane markings, as pictured below. The new bike route reaches all […]
New Bike Stencils Completed on the Lower East Side
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As on Brookyn’s Fifth Avenue this weekend, it looks like DOT has finished installing the new Class III bike route stencils on Clinton and Delancey Streets. If you ride this route, let Streetsblog know what you think of these. Related: New "Shared Lane" Bike Route Design Spotted in Manhattan New Bike Markings on the Upper West Side City […]
The Idea of Rising Sea Levels is Sinking In
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Some light reading from the Christian Science Monitor before tomorrow’s rumored Office of Long-Term Planning & Sustainability conference: The city’s Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the city’s freshwater supply and wastewater — 13,000 miles of pipe, total — formed a task force to look at the long-term effects of climate change. Among other things, the DEP […]
Connecting Urban Design and Public Health
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Public-Health advocate Richard Jackson, author of "Urban Sprawl and Public Health: Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities," argues in this month’s Metropolis Magazine that the way we build cities and neighborhoods is a major source of illness. When did you first start to make the connection between the design of our national landscape and […]
Cutting the Carbon and Enjoying the Scenery
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As reported in last week’s New York Times: Eurostar, which runs the high-speed train service linking London to Paris and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel, has started running ads in travel trade publications asserting that a journey produces only one-tenth the carbon dioxide emissions of a comparable flight. Some of the ads include a drawing […]
Eat More Carbohydrates, Burn More Hydrocarbons
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A forthcoming study by Sheldon H. Jacobson at the University of Illinois suggests that Americans’ expanding waistlines have significantly increased the amount of fuel we burn. Americans are now pumping 938 million gallons of fuel more annually than they were in 1960 as a result of extra weight in vehicles. And when gas prices average […]
Immigrant Experience: Transit Pioneers and Cycling Soldiers
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A local Korean newspaper reports: Nothing is more exhilarating, efficient and enjoyable than getting on a bicycle zipping through the crowded streets of New York City, provided the rider does not mind assuming the role of transit pioneer and cycling soldier… there is a daily battle taking place on the streets of New York City […]
Subku
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Irritated subway riders can now turn their frustration into poetry. Vent Your Inspiration calls on riders to compose poems about what they want to improve about the subway system and what they appreciate about the MTA. Contestants have until Monday, November 20 to send in their work. The MTA totally stole this idea. Photo: Graffiti.org