Two Activists and One Senator Could Equal Results for NYC Cyclists
[Creative Commons photo by Paul Kist]
A few folks asked for a followup to the post about Colin Beavan’s run-in with Senator Jeff Klein. After Beavan posted about the Senator almost mowing him down with his black Mercedes, people around the country called Senator Klein’s office to express their outrage. All of that action made a big difference! The Senator set up a meeting with Beavan, and the two men met yesterday along with Paul Steely White from Transportation Alternatives.
Senator Klein started the meeting off with an apology, which No Impact Man declined, saying that “the problem was that poor street design causes such confrontations all the time.” While the Senator did not go on a bike ride with Colin Beavan, it sounds like they had a productive chat about policy that might make some big differences for New York cyclists!
- Senator Klein agreed to consider proposals for the state legislature to institute more red light and speed cameras in New York City. Transportation Alternatives advocates these devises as a way to help prevent reckless driving and make the city a safer place for cyclists and pedestrians.
- Transportation Alternatives and Senator Klein are going to cosign a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation asking for minimization of bureaucratic barriers to speed-bump installation on neighborhood streets.
- Senator Klein expressed interest in revising the New York State driver’s education test. The revisions would include questions about pedestrian and cyclist safety and the laws regarding collision with pedestrians or bikes.
- He is going to examine forms of congestion pricing and other New York City traffic reduction methods, like investment in express bus service to his district from downtown Manhattan.
I noticed that he did not mention any talk about adding more bike lanes as a safety measure, something that Transportation Alternatives advocates on their site. Still, it’s great to see individuals taking action and getting results! I’m interested in seeing where things go from here for cyclists in New York City!
Roads are built with taxes on cars. Tax bicycles at the same rate and then they will have equal rights. Until then, out of my way hippie.
OK, I will admit to being a pretty crunchy hippie.
Can you expound a little on the tax thing? I know that, here in Georgia, a car worth as little as my bike would be exempt fro ad velorum taxes. Is there another tax I’m not thinking of? I did pay sales tax when I bought my bike. What other tax on cars am I missing that cyclists don’t pay?
More bikes equals less wear and tear on the roads and thus more money back in the city’s pocket. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Taxes on cars are usually based on the cars value or some how on how they use or impact the road. I think in NY they’re based on the weight of the vehicle at least partially — as that determines road wear to a degree. Of course there’s also licensing fees — which most cyclists don’t pay.
I think there’s a lot of education that needs to happen on both sides for biking to get equal “rights” (esp here in Atlanta.)