Stephen Miller
In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation.
From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.
Recent Posts
How City Hall Can Improve NYC’s Public Spaces Instead of Tearing Them Out
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While recent comments from Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton about potentially yanking out the Times Square plazas have caused an uproar, a much deeper and more substantial debate over plazas has been simmering for months. Public space advocates and plaza managers say the city’s rules governing who can do what with plaza space are cumbersome […]
Lentol: Pulaski Bridge Bikeway Construction to Begin September 14
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Construction of the Pulaski Bridge protected bike lane is now set to begin in a matter of days, according to Assembly Member Joe Lentol, and could wrap before the end of the year. DOT had announced last month that drainage design issues would delay the start of construction until next March, but that no longer seems […]
Resolved: Manhattan Community Board 10 Rejects Bradhurst Plaza
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It was loud. It was messy. And in the end, Manhattan Community Board 10 decided against turning a short section of Macombs Place in Harlem into a car-free public space. Supporters of the proposal spent years trying to get CB 10’s backing but came up a few votes short last night. DOT won’t proceed with the project without […]
This Is What Harlem Plaza Supporters Will Be Up Against at CB 10 Tonight
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Neighbors have fought for years to get Manhattan Community Board 10 to support creating a small plaza by Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 150th Street. Tonight that proposal is up for a vote at a general board meeting of CB 10 for the first time. Bradhurst Plaza would convert a short one-way “slip lane” segment of Macombs Place, […]
Citi Bike Arrives on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side
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Citi Bike has begun its expansion to the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Ben Kallos, DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione, DOT Deputy Commissioner for Policy Michael Replogle and Citi Bike General Manager Jules Flynn celebrated the first Citi Bike station on the Upper East Side with a photo-op […]
32nd Street Finally Has Enough Space for Walking. Will It Last?
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New pedestrian zones near Penn Station have given people more breathing room on some of the most crowded streets in the city. Will they stay or will they go after a trial period wraps up in October? At a Community Board 5 committee meeting last night, nearby property owners weighed in on the projects. It […]
MTA: Bike Racks Are Coming to Buses Over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
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As of September 6, New York will no longer be the only major American city without bike racks on its buses. The MTA announced this afternoon that it is launching a one-year pilot of front-mounted bike racks on the S53 and S93 routes, which run across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. “Before this program, our customers had no […]
Banning Bikes From Roosevelt Island Bridge Ramp Won’t Make Biking Safer
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With little car traffic and tree-lined waterfront streets, Roosevelt Island is a low-stress environment for bicycling. The bridge that connects the island to Queens, however, is much less bike-friendly. Claiming that the ramp from the bridge to the island is too dangerous, a residents’ association is weighing whether to call for a total bike ban on the […]
Eyes on the Street: A Smorgasburg of Traffic in Prospect Park [Updated]
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Yesterday, popular food market Smorgasburg launched its first outpost in Prospect Park — and brought a traffic mess into what’s ostensibly a car-free park. The food market, which features 100 vendors at Breeze Hill, used the park entrance at Lincoln Road for vehicle access. Event staff were on hand to direct motorists but were quickly overmatched, says reader […]
How About a Transit System Where No One Has “No Good Options”?
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A lengthy FiveThirtyEight article today by Nate Silver and Reuben Fischer-Baum crunches some data to arrive at two major insights: First, New Yorkers use Uber much like they use taxis, and second, for-hire cars are used primarily by well-off New Yorkers to supplement transit in close-in neighborhoods, not to replace car ownership in the outer boroughs. The best part of the […]
Construction Begins on New 151st Street Bridge to Hudson River Greenway
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The state broke ground this month on a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge linking West Harlem with the Hudson River Greenway. For cyclists, the bridge will provide stair-free access between the greenway and the intersection of 151st Street and Riverside Drive, spanning the Henry Hudson Parkway and the Amtrak line that runs along the Hudson. Right now […]
Turn Times Square Back Into Traffic Hell? Tell Bratton and de Blasio: No Way
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Since Mayor Bill de Blasio won’t rule out the threat of removing the Times Square plazas, first raised by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, it’s time to take action. Two petitions are circulating to urge the mayor not to give Times Square back to cars. One petition organized by the Design Trust for Public Space and backed by the Municipal […]