Writing New York

Although Mayor Michael Bloomberg finally answered the calls of advocacy groups to relieve the traffic on New York City streets, his proposal given this Sunday, April 22nd on the steps of city hall, has residents sounding their horns.

The Mayor’s plans to ease the congestion, is a part of his PlaNYC 2030 Sustainability Initiative, which includes attempts to improve travel times, achieve the cleanest air of any big city in the U.S., reduce global warming emissions, reach a state of good repair on our transportation systems and put every New Yorker within a safe, ten minute walk of a park, then by 2009 he needs to lessen traffic, make streets and traffic safer for bikers and walkers of all ages and make more efficient use of streets and other public space.

Christine Berthet co-founder of Chekpeds a local organization working to influence traffic in our community, said in a recent email to community residents that, “The Traffic Relief Coalition applauds the City for the great initiatives they propose and hold them accountable if the PlaNYC 2030 agenda doesn’t meet our standards.”

This is not the first time the initiative has been brought to light.  Last year at a speech in Queens the Mayor’s office said, “By 2030, our City will add nearly one million more people. We’ll be relying on infrastructure networks completed nearly a century ago. And we will face an increasingly unpredictable environment.”

“It is time to PLAN again for New York City’s future. It is our city. It is our responsibility. And it is our choice.”

More than 10,000 pedestrians are injured each year on the city’s streets, and 170 were killed in 2006. When Bloomberg stood on his soap box at city hall to profess pedestrian safety, commuter traffic and congestion, I stood on my fire escape on West 44^th street and 9^th avenue near the Lincoln Tunnel where the congestion is unaffected  by Bloomberg’s ambitious speech.  If Bloomberg wants to talk the talk he needs to walk the walk.

Check out the video I shot from my firescape….TBA