Brad Aaron
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.
Recent Posts
Dramatic NYC Video Shows Why Plastic Posts Aren’t Enough
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In a matter of months, Department of Design and Construction crews are supposed to start cutting up Queens Boulevard to build out the new bikeway and pedestrian improvements in permanent materials. Before they do, DOT should update its design to fortify the bike lane and protect people from reckless drivers like the one here. In this […]
When We Treat Driving as a Fundamental Right, People Lose Their Lives
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Officials and the media are questioning how Dorothy Bruns, who posed such an obvious and significant threat to public safety, was allowed to drive.
Carnage on New York Bike and Walking Path
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If reports are correct, today's events would be the second time this year someone weaponized a motor vehicle to harm people in areas that are designated for New Yorkers to walk and bike separately from motorized traffic.
Yesterday’s Times Square Toll Was Terrible — But So Is a Typical Day of Traffic Violence
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Given the high-profile location, the number of victims, and recent instances of people using vehicles to kill for ideology, it's understandable that yesterday's crash drew so much attention. But it's important to recognize that as terrible as the Times Square carnage was for a single incident, the same human toll occurs on a daily basis on NYC streets -- it's just dispersed across the city.
Speed Cameras Get Traction in Albany, But Marty Golden Promises to Obstruct
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Members of Families for Safe Streets are in Albany today to talk to state legislators about expanding NYC's automated speed enforcement program. After legislative leaders failed to advance a similar bill last year, this session it appears to have more traction.
NYC Also Struggling with Vision Zero Goals
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Nineteen people died in New York City traffic in October, and 5,065 were injured, according to City Hall’s Vision Zero View crash data map. City Hall reported 132 pedestrians and cyclists killed by city motorists through October of this year, and 12,550 injured, compared to 107 deaths and 11,957 injuries in the same period in […]
What Mister Rogers Can Teach Us About Cities and NIMBYism
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If you spend much time at community meetings, or you’re a Leslie Knope fan, you know that public forums are often where open-mindedness goes to die. Bill Lindeke of Twin City Sidewalks has been thinking about the contrast between urban NIMBYism and the ideals espoused by Fred Rogers, host of the legendary Pittsburgh-based public television […]
Portland’s Bike-Share System Will Be an Interesting One to Watch
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Next week, leaders in Portland will decide whether to move forward with a long-awaited bike-share system. Assuming it proceeds, Portland’s bike-share is going to be an unusual one. Michael Andersen of BikePortland has everything you need to know in a series of posts on the proposed system (check them all out here). He reports that it would launch next summer with 600 bikes […]
Suburban Atlanta Pol: Why Fund Transit When We Can Wait for Robo-Cars?
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Gwinnett County is outpacing the Atlanta region in population growth. People who live there need transit to get to work, so much so that a recent poll found that 63 percent of likely voters were in favor of expanding MARTA service into the county. Gwinnett’s transportation director has asked for funds to restore bus service […]
How the Baltimore Red Line Could Rise Again
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Today on the Network, Gerald Neily at Baltimore InnerSpace has the back story on the ill-fated Red Line, the rail project axed by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Neily writes that the Red Line’s roots date to the 1960s, “when a 1.5 mile swath of West Baltimore was condemned and quickly destroyed for what is now the […]
How Baltimore Could Improve Rail After Larry Hogan’s Red Line Debacle
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Maryland Governor Larry Hogan killed Baltimore’s long-awaited Red Line so he could build a highway to the beach, but sitting on the shelf is another plan to augment rail service in the city. Writing for Greater Greater Washington, Jeff La Noue says the proposal includes three new infill stations on the MARC Penn Line commuter rail: one […]
The Public Funds Sports Teams, But Teams Won’t Fund Transit to Games
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Professional sports stadiums put a strain on transportation networks. While good transit service to games can lessen the traffic burden and help everyone get to sports venues more easily, this often imposes additional costs on transit agencies. Despite all the public subsidies pro sports teams receive, they rarely help pay for this service. It doesn’t have […]