Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Traffic

The Feds Aren’t Crowing About the Record Amount of Driving in America

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 26, 2016 | No Comments

Gas is as cheap as ever, and cumulatively, Americans are driving a record amount. Newly released U.S. DOT data shows that through the end of November, Americans drove a cumulative 2.88 trillion miles last year, well above the same period in 2014, indicating that 2015 will set a new national record for driving mileage. Adjusting for population growth, driving […]

Shutting the Midtown Stables Won’t Do Zilch for Manhattan Traffic

By Charles Komanoff | Jan 19, 2016 | 16 Comments

Mayor de Blasio’s newest rationale for his deal to shutter the horse-carriage stables in the West 50s is that it will alleviate traffic congestion in Midtown. At an MLK Day event yesterday in Brooklyn, the mayor told reporters: The value we’re getting here for the people is to address the congestion issue, again when the […]

Inside the City Hall Uber Traffic Study: Where’s the Beef?

By Charles Komanoff | Jan 15, 2016 | 9 Comments

What Gertrude Stein said about Oakland is what must be said about City Hall’s new traffic study: There’s no there there. A research effort that was going to explain how congestion in Manhattan has increased even as vehicle trips to the core have dropped has shrunk to a 12-page report bereft of conclusions supported by evidence. It may be […]

Congress Expected to Level Tax Benefit for Transit and Car Commuters

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 16, 2015 | No Comments

A federal policy that has encouraged Americans to drive to work instead of taking the bus or the train won’t tilt the playing field toward car commuters so much. A bill that extends provisions of the tax code will permanently set the maximum transit commuter tax benefit at the same level car commuters get for parking expenses. Both classes of commuters can now […]

Tell Cornell — and Electeds — How You Want to Fix NYC Congestion

By Brad Aaron | Nov 24, 2015 | 3 Comments

Want to tell elected officials what you think should be done about New York City traffic? Here’s a way to pool your policy suggestions with other New Yorkers and reach elected officials beyond your district. The Cornell eRulemaking Initiative, or CeRI, hosts a moderated forum called “SmartParticipation,” developed to make it easier for people to weigh in on obscure […]

Planning for Less Driving, Not More, Would Lead to Big Savings

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 23, 2015 | No Comments

What if, instead of basing policy around the presumption that people will drive more every year, transportation agencies started making decisions to reduce the volume of driving? And what if they succeed? A new report from the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group quantifies what would happen in that state if driving rates come in one percentage point lower than the state […]

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