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
In Chicago, Parks Funded By Parking Garages
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Mayor Richard Daley has been aggressive in transforming Chicago into a more livable city, cracking down on sociopathic motorists, encouraging traffic-calming, promoting bicycling and paying attention to the nitty gritty environmental impacts of street design. The Chicago Tribune recently reported on the Mayor’s latest effort to fund citywide park-improvements projects using revenues from city-owned parking […]
A French Revolution: This One On Two Wheels, No Guillotine
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On Sunday in Paris, more than 10,000 bicycles became available at 750 self-service docking stations. The bike program, called Vélib (for "vélo," bicycle, and "liberté," freedom) is supposed to double in size by the end of the year. Pierre Aidenbaum, mayor of Paris’s trendy third district, said "For a long time cars were associated with […]
Regional Rail Working Group Meeting
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Regional Rail Working Group A Consortium of Transit Advocacy Organizations A key topic for discussion will be a proposal by several New Jersey rail advocates to extend the #7 subway west under the Hudson River to New Jersey, to Secaucus Transfer. Also, discussion will continue on rail equipment options for thru-running at Penn Station. Agenda […]
T.A. and the Campaign for New York’s Future Rally for Congestion Pricing
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The clock is ticking. If you do one thing to help win a healthier city for this generation and the next, join us on Sunday. Join Transportation Alternatives and the Campaign for New York’s Future this Sunday morning as we rally at City Hall to win the last-minute passage of congestion pricing. With only a […]
Senator Decries Bronx Asthma Crisis Then Rejects Pricing
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It turns out that pollution-related heart and lung problems aren’t just for poor kids in the Bronx anymore. From yesterday’s New York Times: A study that used the mass of data included in the Women’s Health Initiative found that women who lived in communities with relatively high levels of air pollution in the forms of […]
Highlights From This Week’s Mobilizing the Region
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The latest issue of Mobilizing the Region digs in to the arguments of congestion pricing foes. Some highlights: NYC: Debunking the Alternatives Instead of heading to Albany and working out legislation to ensure NYC receives federal aid for transit and congestion pricing, State Assemblymembers’ offered their own "alternatives" to Mayor Bloomberg’s pricing proposal. Policy groups […]
More Meatpacking Plaza Construction Photos
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More shots of the street redesign project underway just north of 14th Street at Ninth Avenue: Photos: Clarence Eckerson, Mike Epstein
Brodsky Attacks Critics of His Congestion Pricing Study
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On the Brian Lehrer show this morning, Assembly Member Richard Brodsky brushed off reports of his parking industry campaign contributions and TA, RPA and Streetsblog’s substantive criticism of his congestion pricing study as a "personal attack." Here’s a transcript: Brian Lehrer: Streetsblog, the website, reported yesterday that over the past five years you have accepted […]
“Green” Transport Consultant Bans Employees from Biking
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Jacobs Babtie, one of the UK’s leading consultants in sustainable transport, is banning its own employees from commuting on bicycles or motorbikes after declaring them too dangerous. On the company website, where there is actually a picure of a young boy signaling a right turn on his bicycle, Jacobs boasts that it has an "impressive […]
New York City Kids Sing Their Support for Congestion Pricing
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Environmental Defense, who are responsible for this excellent report on the health effects of autmobile traffic and these effective billboards, present this video of New York City kids urging lawmakers in Albany to pass congestion pricing. "Sheldon Silver do you care about the quality of our air?"
Push to Declutter England’s Streets
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The British government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space just launched a campaign to "declutter" England’s streets of thousands of signs and barriers, arguing that the rampant signage may actually result in more perilous streets for pedestrians. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) urged local councils and planners to adopt […]