Prospect Park West Bike Lane to Remain

Good news north of Bay Ridge:

A judge on Tuesday dismissed an effort by Brooklyn residents to remove a hotly contested bicycle lane installed by the city on Prospect Park West, in one of the most closely watched controversies over a signature policy of the Bloomberg administration.

The suit, filed in March, had come to encapsulate a moment of unusual civic strife over one of City Hall’s most notable policies. The city and its supporters say bicycle lanes are progressive, healthy additions to streets that reduce traffic accidents and promote more environmentally friendly modes of transport. Opponents have accused the city of neglecting the needs of car drivers and say the lanes can create dangers for pedestrians.

“This decision results in a hands-down victory for communities across the city,” Ms. Sadik-Khan said in a statement on Tuesday that described the plaintiffs as “dead wrong” in their arguments.

Read the full article here.

Governor to Sign Complete Streets Legislation

On August 15th, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced he will sign a law to require state and local transportation agencies to consider "complete streets" designs that will make streets and roadways across the state safe and accessible to all New Yorkers.

"New York's roadways should safely accommodate all pedestrians, motorists and cyclists, and this legislation will help communities across the state achieve this objective," Governor Cuomo said. "Complete Streets designs recognize measures that will make streets safer for New Yorkers of all ages and abilities."

Read the full press release from the Governor's office here.

PlaNYC Update: Transportation Issues and Opportunities

On August 8th, several committees of the American Institute of Architects held a roundtable discussion about the status of transportation in New York City. The discussion was one of a series of ongoing presentations that will culminate in a whitepaper publication later this year.

Since PlaNYC was introduced, it is an open question whether the plan will continue to guide purposeful changes over several decades or evaporate under the political and financial pressures of a future administration. Charted side by side, PlaNYC 2.0 (release earlier in 2011) shows more specificity than the original version in some areas — expanded Select Bus Service in the outer boroughs, East River ferries, Muni-Meters, transit-oriented up-zoning, traffic-management systems, and anti-congestion technologies — but not, overall, a corresponding increase in ambition.

Read more at eOculus.

FDNY Fireboat Greeting

At about 7:45 am this Saturday morning, an FDNY fireboat sailed past Bay Ridge, escorting another ship into New York Harbor. BRBR caught a few photos of the ships.

Since we're just two-wheeled landlubbers, we contacted Tugster's Waterblog who identified this ship as the TS Empire State IV, a SUNY maritime training vessel probably returning from a summer training cruise.

Click any of the images for a larger view.