The New York City Department of Transportation has released a plan to make the streets of the Big Apple more walkable. The plan, World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm by Gehl Architects/Urban Planning Consultants studies the issues surrounding pedestrian traffic and outlines new city policies regarding the function and design of public spaces to better accommodate that traffic in NYC.

The main finding of Gehl, a Danish firm credited with turning Copenhagen into one of the most walkable and bikeable cities on earth, was that - surprise, surprise! - New York City sidewalks are too crowded. The solution? Devote more public space to pedestrian traffic and less to automobile traffic. Given that tearing down privately owned buildings or converting already scarce public park space weren’t viable there wasn’t really anywhere else to turn.

The report and policies fall directly in line with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s vision for a cleaner, greener with less cars. After seeing his Congestion Pricing initiative stonewalled in the New York State legislature, Bloomberg has consistently moved toward cutting down the access of automobile traffic in Manhattan on his own, using measures that do not require State approval such as mandating more bus lanes on Broadway in Lower Manhattan and creating a Pedestrian promenade on the Great White Way south of Times Square. This report represents the further evolution of the Mayor’s vision for a cleaner, greener city that uses less fossil fuels and relies more on people power and public transit.

You can takepart in learning more about this green vision of the future of NYC by checking out the Sustainable Streets Plan.

LINKS:

NY Times: Green Inc.: Taking the Woe Out of Walking in New York City

NY Daily News: International Urban Whiz would ban cars in Times Square

Crains New York: NYC will close two lanes to cars on Broadway

Amid enormous budget shortfalls, New York City is looking to reinstate a commuter tax on those who live in the suburbs but work within the Five Boroughs. The New York City Metropolitan area had a commuter tax in place from 1966 up until 1999 when it was eliminated by Republicans in the New York State government in Albany. Now NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials are back to lobbying Albany to reinstate the tax with a Democratic Governor in place and a new Democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature after sweeping gains on election day.

A commuter tax should not be in place only around New York City but in all of America’s major Metropolitan areas. For too long now, people have moved to the suburbs while retaining well paying jobs in cities, to in essence pool their tax money on schools and local services with other wealthy suburbanites and avoid being grouped in with the less fortunate in their areas who are stuck in the cities. Meanwhile these same people use the city services at least 40 hour a week to go to work, identify themselves as being from the _____ City area, and probably even cheer for the hometown sports teams while not paying dime one for anything that might improve the City they rely on.

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The percentage of adult smokers in the United States has fallen below 20% for the first time on record.  According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control released today the rate of American adult smokers in 2007 was 19.8%, a full percentage point drop from 2006. 

It seems years upon years of full on assault on the once powerful tobacco industry by both the Federal Government and state governments across the country is really having an effect.  Being an ex-smoker myself I am senstive to the arguments of current smokers about the ever encroaching role of government in a habit they feel is a personal choice.  However I can say with near certainty that without the rigorous regulations and taxes imposed by Michael Bloomberg in the City of New York, I would probably not have quit when I did, if at all.  Bearing in mind that most health experts say that the single most beneficial thing an adult can do for their health is to quit smoking, I have to say I’m grateful that the regulations and taxes forced me to quit before it was too late. 

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Last week, Jon told you that Mayor Bloomberg wants to charge a tax on plastic bags in New York City to get people to bring their own bags to the store.  Jon made the very good point that five, six cents…that’s nothing.  It may very well do nothing to stop people from just getting a new bag or five every time they go to the store.

Susan Dominus, writing for The New York Times, says that stores in rural France, where she used to live, charged for bags, but had a better form of behavior modification: shame.

You’d start loading your groceries onto the conveyor belt, and then would have to explain to the clerk that you’d forgotten your bags. She would grimace. For some reason, the bags had to be paid for in a separate transaction. This was slightly more laborious for her, and checkout time at [the store] was a precise, even tense, exercise in speed.

Yes, in France (and some other European countries) it’s as simple as making the idiot who forgot his or her bags feel like the world is ending for all the other shoppers, because of that one person.

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to levy a tax on plastic bags within New York City. “The most beautiful thing” that kinda creepy, kinda deep guy next door from American Beauty ever filmed (watch the clip below) is not going to come for free anymore in the Big Apple, if Hizzona has his way, with Bloomberg proposing adding a 5 cent tax for each bag.

The Mayor says the plan could raise $16 Million in revenue each year while encouraging shoppers to cut down on the number of the plastic bags they use from retail stores and move toward using their own reusable bags for their shopping needs.

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Many months ago, I told you that New York City was working on greening its taxi fleet, which is part of the PlaNYC initiative to get the city more environmentally friendly (I notice, too, that I mentioned Mayor Bloomberg’s term limitation in that post…haha, he changed the law so he could keep being mayor).  Part of the overall plan with the taxis was to make it mandatory that all cabs are hybrids by 2012.  And last week, a federal judge said no dice to that.

The judge, Paul A. Crotty, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, issued an injunction to stop the city from enforcing the rule because, he said in a written order, the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in a key legal argument —that only the federal government has the right, under existing laws, to set fuel efficiency standards. [nytimes.com]

Mayor Bloomberg says he is “disappointed” that “archaic” Washington laws are preventing these measure from going into effect (and, no, those are no sarcastic quotes…I’m quoting a statement).

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New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg today formally announced his support for the extension of term limits from two to three terms. He also made clear his intention to sign a term extending measure should it pass the NYC City Council and to run again for Mayor once it becomes law.

Personally I am against term limits of any kind in a democracy. People have the power to either extend an elected officials tenure or to fire that official come election time. We all know it’s not easy to find good help, particularly on the political level. If people approve of the job an official is doing, they should be able to keep that official.

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a sweeping energy plan last night with a huge focus on renewable energy. The initiative depends heavily on wind power and calls for wind turbines on New York City bridges as well as on many city skyscrapers. Bloomberg also called for wind turbines off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Hizzona also stressed the need for greater energy efficiency.

In a speech presented to the National Clean Energy Summit last night Bloomberg said:

We don’t generate a lot of electricity in New York City, but we can work on using less. And in New York, we’re determined to do what no other city has ever attempted, and that is to keep our energy usage at or near its current level even as our population grows.

The financial information technology billionaire turned Mayor also noted the financial gains waiting to be capitalized on with alternative energy:

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

Sudan Leader Charged with Genocide: What Are the Reactions? by Wendy Cohen

Inconvenient Truth of the Day: Al Gore Speaks on Climate Change by Joshua Tremblay

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Nicole Hughes:

“Farms in the Sky” a Solution to Global Food Crisis?

Wal-Mart Launches Eco-Bling Project

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Andy Kondrat:

NYC To Bring in 300 Hybrid Taxis Per Month

Coolio To Educate Students On Climate Change

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Jon Popham:

Pickens’ Plan for Energy Independence

On “Rent” Closing, the East Village, and Gentrification

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Gina Telaroli:

Batman Morals: Top 5 Lessons from the Capped Crusader’s Films

Emmy Nominations Kick “The Wire” to the Curb

Our very own Nicole Hughes told you a few months back that New York City has been working on greening its taxi fleet, and yesterday Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that greening will happen at an even faster clip.   In fact, the cabs that clog New York’s roadways will be replaced by hybrids at a rate of 300 a month.   Mayor Bloomberg has been working with automakers to increase the supply of hybrids to cabbies, and

Nissan Motor Co has promised the city to supply up to 200 of its Altima hybrids per month, while General Motors will provide 50 Chevrolet Malibu hybrids and Ford Motor Co promised 50 of its Escape hybrids, the mayor said.   That adds up to 90 more cars per month than the Taxi and Limousine Commission had said were needed to meet its goals, which aim to ensure that by 2012, the entire taxi fleet will be all-hybrid or a mix that includes other cars with similar high mile-per-gallon ratings.

This is all part of Bloomberg’s plan to accomplish 127 green initiatives before he becomes term-limited in 2010, as well as part of PlaNYC, which includes not only those 127 initiatives (93% of which have been at least launched), but a plan to make New York City a greener, better city by 2030.

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