Kate Hinds

Top stories on TN:
MAP: Most Abandoned Bikes in NYC Won’t Be Removed (link)
NY MTA Upping Service On L Train To Reduce “Sardine Crush” Of Riders (link)
Will Walker’s Wisconsin Win Mean No Milwaukee Streetcar? (link)
London’s Mayor: Bike Share Will Civilize New York (link)
Lawsuit: NYPD Fails to Fully Investigate Cases in Traffic Deaths (PDF) (link)
Report: U.S. Commerce Secretary Unconscious After Double Hit & Run (link)

(photo by Neilfein via flickr)

NJ Transit will now allow bikes on trains at all stations -- but the new policy creates new weekend restrictions. (Star Ledger)

And: NJ Transit is holding public hearings about its plans to cut bus service. (Star Ledger)

Culture clash at General Motors: although the company is in better financial shape, its famously slow bureaucracy lives on -- and is slowing down GM's recovery. (Wall Street Journal)

NYC's DOT issued a request for applications to companies interested in competing for the right to take over the city’s nearly 90,000 parking spaces and 40,000 parking meters. (DNA Info)

The Transportation Security Administration has approved private airport security screeners for Orlando's airport. (The Hill)

The US Commerce Secretary will take a medical leave of absence after suffering a seizure in connection with a succession of traffic accidents in the Los Angeles area. (Washington Post)

Reports of a "yacht explosion" off the coast of NJ were likely a hoax. (Asbury Park Press)

Ground has been broken on Florida's first SunRail station. (WFTV)

MARTA board members say they won't raise fares this fiscal year -- but make no promises for next. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

A proposal requiring commercial truckers to install electronic on-board recorders — a cruder version of the "black boxes" found on commercial jets — is pitting the nation's two major trucking organizations against each other. (USA Today)

Canadian companies increasingly want to be near transit -- and buildings that meet that requirement are seeing their vacancy rates shrink and lease rates rise. (Globe and Mail)

The road to ending distracted driving apparently goes through smartphone apps. (AP via BusinessWeek)

It's hard to be a food truck in New Orleans. (Atlantic Cities)

Apple is bring Siri to cars so drivers can use it "eyes free."  (Jalopnik)

India could be the second country in the world to roll out Boeing's newest jet -- but a dispute between pilots at the state-owned airline will likely mute any Dreamliner celebrations.  (New York Times)

The proposed high-speed train from Las Vegas to Victorville, Calif., has been rechristened XpressWest. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Oil and gas companies are hiring talent from Texas state regulatory agencies. (State Impact)

The 2012 version of NYC's Summer Streets program involves zip lines. (Twitter; photo)

Top stories on TN:
Manhattan On Track To Get Its First Slow Zone (link)
PIC: Korean Subway Ad Makes Train Look Like Beach (link)
New York City Rejects Highway Teardown (link)
CHART: Top Ten Biggest Subway Systems (link)
NPR’s Car Talk Guys Retire – Reruns Continue (link)

Utah TRAX station (photo by Photo Dean via flickr)

The construction process for California's bullet train could create more emissions in an area that already has dirty air and high asthma rates -- and resolving the issues could delay the project and boost costs. (Los Angeles Times)

One study found that when states like Florida repealed helmet laws, there was not only an increase in motorcycle fatalities, but also more organ donations. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

A lawsuit could shed light on how the NYPD investigates pedestrian and bike crashes. (New York Times)

New York's MTA is poised to boost bus-lane enforcement on East Side express bus lanes — but only if the city agrees to share the income with the transit agency. (New York Daily News)

New York City's bike share program will skip one ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood, leading to a "Hasidic hole on the bike-share map." (Wall Street Journal)

NJ Transit's board will vote today on whether to allow bikes on all trains and at all stations — with some limitations. (NJ Transit, The Record)

Utah's transit authority spends more on lobbying in Washington, D.C. than any transit agency in the country -- and it has successfully raked in so much federal funding that state auditors say it could be unable to maintain its expanding light-rail and bus network on ordinary revenue. (AP via Daily Herald)

The downside of found money: the Texas Department of Transportation found an extra $2 billion -- reigniting some lawmakers' old frustration over accounting at TxDOT. (New York Times)

A project labor agreement for New York's new Tappan Zee Bridge is creating a rift with organized labor that threatens to throw the $6 billion project into turmoil. (Crain's New York Business)

New York Senator Charles Schumer: some of my favorite bike rides take place in Queens. (DNA Info)

Battery-powered buses are entering the US transit mainstream. (Scientific American)

Top stories on TN:
Report: Transit Fares High and Rising? Blame Bailed-Out Banks (link)
LaHood: Cellphone Use While Driving A “National Epidemic” (link)
Plans Move Ahead For Houston’s New Commuter Rail Line (link)
Broken Permitting System Forces NYC Food Trucks Into Black Market (link)

New York's High Line (by Gryffindor via Wikimedia Commons)

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) suggested Republicans are trying to delay transportation funding so it won't stimulate the economy before the November election -- a charge Eric Cantor's office called "ridiculous and patently false.” (The Hill)

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) floated the idea of a six-month extension. (Reuters)

New York City’s High Line celebrates its three-year anniversary today -- and Jersey City may be getting an elevated park of its own. (WNYC/NJPR)

North Dakota’s oil boom brings environmental damage along with economic prosperity. (ProPublica)

NYC's Department of Transportation will boot low-cost carrier Megabus from its choice location outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown, ending a controversial experiment. (Crain's New York Business)

London's Underground has begun rolling out free Wi-Fi internet access. (Guardian)

Car tire thefts are on the rise nationally. (New York Times)

The U.S. metropolitan area at greatest risk from hurricane damage -- both in the number of properties affected and the potential value of damage -- is New York City. (Reuters)

Georgetown University and its neighbors have reached agreement on a "groundbreaking campus plan that envisions a more residential campus." (GGW)

Ilya Marritz talks about his investigation into New York City's arcane food truck permitting system on the Brian Lehrer Show. (WNYC)

New York's MTA says the air quality around the Second Avenue Subway construction site is not toxic. (New York Post)

You have to appreciate the New York Post's spin on a video of a Metro-North engineer paying more attention to the paper than to driving the train. "Post is a rail good read – but not here!" (New York Post)

Want to map your own neighborhood? Do-it-yourself Streetview kits have hit the market. (CNET)

Los Angeles Times column: Beverly Hills residents need to get over their subway fear and drop opposition to the new rail line.

Austin's transit system will be adding a hydrogen hybrid bus to its fleet for a year-long test. (Transit Wire)

Video animation: a day in the life of Nice Bikes, the bike sharing system in Minneapolis St.-Paul. (MinnPost)

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (US DOT Photo)

US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has stepped up federal efforts to combat distracted driving, which he says are responsible for ten percent of all traffic fatalities.

The Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving, released Thursday, builds on efforts first piloted in Syracuse and Hartford. It calls for more public awareness, police enforcement, and driver education about the dangers of texting while driving. It also encourages the 11 remaining states that lack anti-texting laws to pass them.

While a recent government survey found that teen seatbelt use is up and drunk driving is down, over half of all high school seniors admitted to texting or emailing while driving.

On his blog, LaHood wrote that deaths from distracted driving are entirely preventable.  "In 2010, at least 3,092 people were killed on our nation's roads in distraction-affected crashes. That's approximately one in every ten fatalities, and we can put an end to it."

The DOT is also funding a $2.4 million pilot program in California and Delaware that will examine whether increased police enforcement coupled with advertising and news coverage can significantly reduce distracted driving.

The blueprint can be downloaded here (pdf).

Top stories on TN:
Political Pressure Kills Labor Provision in Rail-to-Dulles Silver Line (link)
SF Bay Area Transportation Round-Up (link)
A Latina Journalist, a Former Clinton Official, and a Big Political Donor Join Port Authority Board (link)
New York State to Add Hundreds of EV Charging Stations (link)
Airport Authority Vote Clears Way for Dulles Rail Project to Move Forward (link)
The Enterprise, Boldly Going Up the Hudson (link)
NYC’s Livery Plan, And Billions in Budget Funding, Remain in Limbo (link)

The Honda Fit at the 2012 Rose Parade (image courtesy of Honda Fit's Facebook page)

US DOT head Ray LaHood told a Senate panel "we can't tell airlines what fees they can charge." (USA Today)

At 118 miles per gallon, the Honda Fit electric vehicle is the most fuel-efficient in the United States. But getting that mileage isn't cheap - and it isn't always good for the environment. (AP)

The Port Authority will pay former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff's consulting firm over $1.2 million to advise the agency on security. (AP via NJ.com)

The House passed a motion that instructs House conferees to the highway to accept language guaranteeing that each state receives more guaranteed highway money from the federal government. (The Hill)

New Balance will fund a new commuter rail stop at the site of the shoe company's proposed new headquarters outside of Boston. (Boston Globe)

Four in ten passengers on British trains are so confused by the ticket purchasing system that they overpay. (Telegraph)

In a move it says will reduce overtime costs, San Francisco's deficit-plagued Muni has quietly hired 88 part-time drivers to work full-time for the transit agency. (Bay Citizen)

The developers of the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn have delayed construction on a new Long Island Rail Road storage yard -- but both the MTA and Forest City Ratner say the company will meet its 2016 deadline. (Wall Street Journal)

DC's red light cameras reaped a record $55.1 million in 2011, and the city is likely to generate even more fees this year. (Washington Post)

Drivers want voice recognition commands, built-in navigation systems and automated crash notification. What they don't want: to tweet and use Facebook through vehicle operating systems. (Detroit Free Press)

New York Daily News editorial: rising pension and health care costs will entirely consume the MTA's scheduled fare hike.

Already two years behind schedule, the Korean company contracted to build the Boston’s new commuter rail cars promised Wednesday to tell the T within a month when the cars will finally be delivered. (WBUR)

Amsterdam -- in desperate need of more bike parking spaces -- looks to rooftops. (Wired)

Improv Everywhere staged a "car alarm symphony" in a giant parking lot on Staten Island. (YouTube video).

Chevy Volt (Photo: GM)

New York will more than double its electric vehicle charging capacity, installing 325  new stations across the state in high-traffic locations like supermarket parking lots, hotels, train and bus stations, apartment buildings, hospitals, and parking garages. The state has awarded $4.4 million to ten companies and municipalities to install the stations.

Currently the state has approximately 200 EV sites in that offer 400 electrified parking spaces.

In a press release, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said the effort would encourage New Yorkers to make the switch from gas-powered cars -- and provide an economic boost to the state.

Preliminary locations in New York City include an MTA facility in Battery Park, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and dozens of parking garages citywide. Each station will have approximately two to six chargers.

The press release also noted that "transportation makes up about three-fourths of the state’s oil consumption, and nearly 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions."

According to the administration, the charging stations must be installed by April 2013 -- although many will be in place by the end of this year.

The list of projects can be found below.

Access Technology Integration Inc. – Plans to install charging stations with innovative reservation and payment systems at seven locations around the Albany area, including St. Peter’s Hospital, Albany-Rensselaer Train Station, Times Union Center, universities, supermarkets, and other locations. NYSERDA funding: $244,000.

Beam Charging LLC – Company will install a total of 28 charging stations, each one in a separate public parking garage around Manhattan, for the purpose of gathering data to determine how well such charging stations are used. $400,000.

Car Charging Group Inc. – Plans to install charging stations at up to 15 high-traffic locations in New York City, directed toward apartment dwellers who do not have parking at home. Sites would go in parking garages that are used primarily for monthly parking. NYSERDA funding: $200,000.

City of Rochester – Plans to install 24 charging stations at seven highly-visible and busy locations around the city, including municipal parking garages, City Hall, the Port of Rochester and the Rochester Public Market. NYSERDA funding: $228,000.

Coulomb Technologies Inc. – Partnering with National Grid, Coulomb will deploy 81 dual charging stations with Coulomb’s ChargePoint software. The technology will demonstrate a web-based demand response program, a new low-cost installation method and a customized reservation system. NYSERDA funding: $1 million.

EV Connect Inc. – Plans to install EV charging stations at five Marriott hotels around New York State that make use of a unique reservation and payment system. Project would make it possible for overnight visitors to charge their vehicles while staying at a hotel. NYSERDA funding: $250,000.

Golub Corp. (Price Chopper Supermarkets) - Plans to install 12 charging stations at four locations, each equipped with a weather canopy and lighting to make them visible. This is the first phase of an intended statewide rollout. NYSERDA funding: $325,000.

New York Port Authority – Plans to install seven experimental charging stations for fleet vehicles and public use that practice demand-response (aligning charging times with times of low power demands, reducing charging cost and impact during peak demand to the grid). NYSERDA funding: $720,000.

New York Power Authority – Plans to install 124 charging stations at train and bus stations, airports and municipal parking lots. Three sites would be powered in part through on-site solar power. NYSERDA funding: $989,000.

Plugin Stations Online – Plans to install charging stations at three apartment complexes in Albany, Rochester and Buffalo, as well as one at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy. NYSERDA funding: $64,000.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

The space shuttle Enterprise floated by WNYC Wednesday morning en route to its new home at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Despite a construction elevator moving maddeningly to almost obscure the view, we were able to catch a glimpse.

The museum's Enterprise exhibit is scheduled to open to the public this summer.

Can't get enough of the shuttle? Check out photos of its arrival in New York in April here. To see WNYC listener-submitted photos of the shuttle's flyover, go here.

Top stories on TN:
Buoyed by Auto Industry, Swing State Employment Relatively Bright (link)
Senate Moves to Shake up Transportation Conference Amid Hill Sniping (link)
NYC Mayor: Bike Helmets Are Nice, But Separated Bike Lanes Are More Important (link)
News to Us: New York’s MTA #7 Extension to Open Six Months Later Than Originally Planned (link)
Dulles Rail Supporters, Opponents Plead With Loudoun Board (link)
Federal Investigators: Almost Everything Went Wrong in Bronx Bus Crash That Killed 15 (link)

DART rail in Dallas (image courtesy of DART)

The Massachusetts port authority is giving passengers free rides from Logan Airport as part of a 90-day pilot program to reduce vehicle traffic at the airport. (Boston Globe)

Unemployment is falling in auto industry swing states -- and TN's Andrea Bernstein talks about what this could mean for President Obama's reelection efforts on The Takeaway.

NYC is doubling its high-tech program to reduce traffic congestion in Midtown Manhattan. (New York Times)

Parking reform coming to Brooklyn: New York's Department of City Planning has proposed long-awaited zoning changes that will reduce the number of parking spots developers have to build for residential buildings that they are constructing in downtown Brooklyn. (Crain's New York Business, Streetsblog)

Transit recall: voters in the Wisconsin town of Weston overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that will require the village to provide public transportation at least five days per week beginning Jan. 1. (Wausau Daily Herald)

Want to buy a car in Singapore? Prepare to pony up about $67,000 -- and that's just for the permit. (Marketplace, Bloomberg)

The clock is ticking for the Port Authority to turn documents over to the New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee. (Asbury Park Press)

High rider: a Cuban man rides through the streets of Havana on a 13-foot bicycle. "Up there I see the scenery better. I feel relaxed. There's more of a breeze, I breathe it and I feel freer," he says. (AP via Houston Chronicle)

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit clocked its 250 millionth customer. (Mass Transit)

Major car makers in India are fighting a government proposal to raise taxes on vehicles that run on heavily subsidised diesel. (Reuters)

The Volt comes out in a Chevy Ad.   (Buzzfeed)

Bicycle collisions are on the rise in Indiana. (WANE)

A motorcycle-car hybrid wants to be urban transit's next big thing. (Good)

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (third from left) at Montefiore Medical Center (photo by Kathleen Horan/WNYC)

Last week, a spokesman for New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg shot down one politician's call for a mandatory bike helmet law. On Tuesday the mayor did it himself.

Bloomberg was at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx to talk about the dangers of obesity -- and plug his supersize soda ban. In the Q&A afterwards, one reporter asked him whether the city's opposition to a mandatory helmet law is based on studies that show those laws can discourage cycling.

You can read his response, or listen to his comments, below.

Bloomberg: "Well, look, keep in mind that my foundation works on traffic safety and getting helmets to people that ride motorcycles and motor scooters more than bicycles, is something that we're working on and spent a lot of money on around the world. It would be better if everybody wore a helmet. I think in a practical sense a lot of people won't, and they're better off taking a bike than driving or walking in the streets and getting pedestrian accidents (sic). The most important thing we can do is separate bicycles lanes from traffic, and that's one of the things we're really trying to do."

(He was then asked a follow-up question by a different reporter, who referenced the city's upcoming bike share program and asked: "how concerned are you about safety in terms of pedestrians and vehicles? You're going to be adding 10,000 bikes to the street.")

Bloomberg: "It's New York. Ten thousand is a trivial number. Anything is better than what we have now. Keep in mind that traffic deaths are at an all-time low. And we started keeping records -- I think it was back in 1916, rings a bell, something like that -- when the city was much smaller. The bottom line is that since we've had more bicycle lanes and more bicycles -- there's always accidents, and I'm not making light of it -- but total accidents and deaths continues to go down. And bicycles are one of those things that does tend to slow down traffic and separates bicycles...what you shouldn't do is take your bicycle on the sidewalk. What you shouldn't do is go blasting through red lights. What you shouldn't do is ride where you're not supposed to. What you shouldn't do is not pay attention. I saw somebody going by the other day texting on their bicycle. And lots of people I see in the car texting while they're driving. That doesn't take away the need to be intelligent and to do things that make sense and not do those that are dangerous."

The #7 extension construction site as of 5/12 (photo courtesy of MTAPhotos via flickr)

TN read with interest today's New York Post story stating that the the #7 subway extension to Manhattan's far west side won't be open until June 2014 -- six months later than originally planned.

"It's on schedule to begin revenue service in June 2014 and on budget at $2.4 billion," MTA chair Joe Lhota told the New York State Senate Transportation Committee today.

Um. TN, like the Post, was under the impression that service to 11th Avenue and 34th Street was scheduled to open in December 2013 -- but the MTA says the new date is old news.

MTA spokesperson Adam Lisberg noted that the MTA had already publicly released the new opening date at a board meeting in February. Which it did; turn to page 242 of the transit committee meeting report book to see the June '14 date reflected in the official documents.

Lisberg attributed the late opening to "general construction delays and easement issues."

But the MTA's website has conflicting information on the project. While one page has the most recent opening date, it doesn't have the latest project cost -- now $2.4 billion, not $2.1 billion -- although that number can be found on yet another section of the site.

(Note: still other undated information says "customers will be able to take advantage of the new service in December 2013 as scheduled.")

The project's cost increase falls under the "systems and finishes" category. According to Lisberg, the MTA hired one company to dig the tunnel and another company to do the switches, and he says "we were overly optimistic in coordinating how well those companies would work together."

The original opening target for the #7 extension was actually right about now -- it was conceived as the train to the proposed Olympic stadium when New York was bidding for the summer 2012 Olympics.

Top stories on TN:
Topping the Nation in Pedestrian Deaths, Orlando Launches Safety Campaign (link)
What Makes A Recreational Trail “Outstanding?” These Eight Get the Prize (link)
VIDEO: Atop NYC Bridges, Baby Falcons Thrive in Homes with Great Views (link)
DC Metro to Add More Rush Hour Trains, with Updated Map (link)
Vote On Pro-Labor Clause For Silver Line Scheduled For This Week (link)
BREAKING: Public Transportation Ridership Surged in First Quarter, Report Says (link)

New Jersey Turnpike exit (photo by Kate Hinds)

Nearly 80 percent of New Jersey’s transportation program will be paid for with borrowed money next year under proposed legislation that will help the Christie administration plug a revenue gap in the state budget. (The Record)

Contradicting statements from officials at the Port Authority controlled by him and New Jersey governor Chris Christie, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said recent toll hikes were directly linked to the cost of redevelopment at Ground Zero. (Capital NY)

The NTSB will release the results of an investigation into a deadly tour bus crash in the Bronx last year that killed 15 passengers. (AP via Wall Street Journal)

The federal government isn't entirely sold on Detroit's light rail project -- yet. (Detroit Free Press)

The 7 subway line extension to Manhattan's far West Side won’t carry passengers until mid-2014 — six months later than was widely expected — and the new station won’t be entirely finished until the end of 2015. (New York Post)

Sidewalks, bike lanes, and traffic calming measures are a few of the projects on Atlanta's to-do list if a one-percent sales tax passes next month. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

With legal challenges to the California bullet train mounting, Gov. Jerry Brown is circulating draft legislation that would modify the California Environmental Quality Act solely for the project -- and diminish the possibility opponents could stop the train with an environmental lawsuit. (Los Angeles Times)

A Washington Post columnist tries bike commuting, and makes two discoveries: (1) it's a lot harder when you're coming from the suburbs, and (2) "a cyclist is about as welcome on K Street as a federal subpoena." (Washington Post)

Short sharp shock: Chicago decides to close a part of the Red Line for five months, rather than suffer through several years of track construction. (Chicago Tribune)

Big Picture: bicycles around the world. A teeny tiny microbike? A bicycle made out of rakes? A Thai trike built to navigate floods? It's in there. (Boston Globe)

And more pictures: the best subway map tattoos. (Grist)

The space shuttle Enterprise experienced a fender bender while en route to temporary storage space in New Jersey. "The barge driver, possibly unused to hauling gigantic spaceships, rammed part of the Enterprise's wing into a dock." (Jalopnik)

The Atlas of Suburbanisms: a website that uncovers the surprising crossovers between suburbs and cities. (Atlantic Cities)

The transit of Venus is happening today (The Takeaway). "And while, according to NASA, there have been 53 transits since 2000 B.C., this is believed to be the first one with its own Twitter hashtag: #venustransit." (New York Times)

Top stories on TN:
Judge Halts Mayor Bloomberg’s Taxi Plan (link)
Curbs Empty in NY’s Chinatown After Bus Crackdown (link)
Report: NY Gambling Casino Plan Scrapped (link)
Big Decisions Approach for Big Dulles Rail Project (link)
SpaceX Hopes to Fly Supply Mission to ISS this Summer (link)

A Hubway station (photo by effelarr via Flickr)

Boston's bike share program has racked up 250,000 rides -- without a serious accident. (Boston Globe)

A panel of New Jersey lawmakers is giving the Port Authority 30 days to turn over documents pertaining to toll hikes and the ARC tunnel cancellation. If the agency doesn't comply, lawmakers say, they'll invoke subpoena power. (The Record)

Emergency exits on DC's Metro are plagued with problems like locked doors, equipment blocking the exits, collapsed stairs and escape shafts left dark with burned-out lights. (Washington Examiner)

It turns out that New York's MTA already rates subway station cleanliness. (New York Daily News)

The big issue in San Diego's mayoral race: potholes, "which have become as much a symbol of San Diego as Shamu at Sea World or the pandas at the zoo." One candidate's slogan: "Pensions, Potholes and Prosperity." (Los Angeles Times)

The Port Authority’s chief of security has been sacked for holding backroom talks with vendors competing for lucrative PA contracts. (New York Post)

Use of public transit is soaring: transit agencies had record or near-record ridership in the first three months of the year, thanks to high gas prices and the mild winter. (USA Today)

A plane crash in Nigeria killed all 150+ people on board; the extent of casualties on the ground in Lagos is not yet known. (NPR)

A new poll finds a majority of California voters have turned against the state's high-speed rail program. (Sacramento Bee)

The city of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission are investigating last week's flood at Union Station that closed the station and led to parts of the transit line shutting down for more than six hours. (CBC)

While building a highway near East St. Louis, workers found remnants of more than a thousand prehistoric houses -- and the base of an earthen pyramid. (NPR)

GM is asking broadcast networks to reduce their ad rates by as much as 20%. (Wall Street Journal)

The NYPD may boost bike ticketing efforts -- and set up more cycling safety checkpoints around the city -- this summer. (Village Voice)

Top stories on TN:
NYC Deputy Mayor: Bike Lanes, Not Mandatory Helmet Laws, Save Lives (link)
Baucus: Full 5-Year Transportation Re-Authorization Unlikely, For Now (link)
BREAKING: US In Biggest Crackdown in Federal History on Inter-City Buses (link)
Will Walker Walk, or Get Railroaded Out of Madison? (link)
25 Bands Win Approval to Perform in NY Subways (link)

One World Trade Center (photo by Kate Hinds)

The Port Authority will announce a completion date for One World Trade Center in the "days to come." Also coming soon: the second part of an agency audit. (Asbury Park Press)

And: the agency approved a $143 million upgrade of Stewart International Airport, a project aimed at increasing passenger traffic at the facility about 60 miles north of New York City (Star Ledger), as well as a request by Jet Blue to add international flights to its JFK termianl. (AP via Crain's New York)

NYC taxi fares will definitely be going up soon. (WNYC)

New York Governor Cuomo pledged to rid the state of four sets of “rotting and obsolete” trains that have sat unused in a rail yard outside upstate Schenectady since 2004 -- remnants of a failed program to bring faster train service between NYC and Albany. (New York Daily News)

Chicago will spend nearly half a billion dollars to improve its bus fleet. (Chicago Tribune)

Lawmakers -- who normally criticize the TSA for its invasive security techniques -- held a hearing criticizing them for not doing enough to protect surface transportation travelers. (The Hill)

For Amtrak passengers on the Northeast Corridor, "the promise of Wi-Fi has become an infuriating tease." (New York Times)

The first commercial mission to ferry supplies into space ended successfully Thursday when SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule fell to earth on target in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico. (New York Times)

Greyhound didn't take long to try to reclaim a share of the U.S. bus market from newer rivals; the bus company began offering $1 one-way fares to passengers left stranded by Thursday's DOT crackdown. (Bloomberg via SF Gate)

More protected bike lanes are coming to Chicago. (WBEZ)

A different kind of transit story: in what's known as the transit of Venus, that planet will be passing between the earth and the sun next week -- something that won't happen again until 2117. (USA Today)

This week's accident at a DC Metro rail yard that injured one worker is once again raising questions about worker safety on the transit line. (WAMU)

Zambikes: a Zambian-US company is making bicycle frames from locally-grown bamboo. (CNN)

NYC Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson (photo by Fred Mogul/WNYC)

How are oversize sodas and bike helmets alike?

According to a New York City official, they're really not.

New York City Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson -- an avid bicyclist -- was at a press conference Thursday for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on super-sized, sugary sodas. He was asked why the mayor didn't support mandatory bike helmet legislation for all riders (like the bill just introduced into New York's City Council by council member David Greenfield.)

You can listen to Wolfson's explanation below, or read his response.

"First of all, there's no other major city in the country that has a mandatory bike helmet law, and there's a reason why. The thing that actually saves the lives of cyclists is protecting them from drivers, which we have done more in this city than any other city in America. It's why our fatalities are down in this city, accident fatalities are down to an all-time low. So we are making enormous progress in keeping cyclists alive. I understand there is a council person who has promulgated this. He is not a friend of bicyclists. He is against bike lanes. So I'm not going to take -- and this administration is not going to take advice on protecting cyclists from somebody who has consistently been against the things that saves the lives of cyclists. As somebody who bikes to work nearly every day, I can tell you what saves the lives of cyclists. It's separating cyclists from cars. And we've done more of that in this city than any other city in America. We're going to keep doing that, we're going to keep driving down fatalities, we've been successful at it. We're not going to take advice from people who aren't actually on the side of cyclist safety."

_______________________________________

Wolfson also underscored his point by tweeting it at Greenfield.

Top stories on TN:
Park Score Rankings: San Francisco Best City for Parks, See How Your City Fares (link)
Houston City Council Approves Plans for International Terminal at Hobby Airport (link)
The New York City Council Praises Sadik-Khan, Instead of Burying Her (link)
Final Montana Yellowstone River Oil Spill Report To Be Released This Summer (link)

SpaceX's Dragon capsule, after being released from the International Space Station (photo courtesy of NASA)

The Beverly Hills school district is suing Los Angeles County over the route of the $5.6-billion Westside subway extension. (Los Angeles Times)

For a second straight day there was still no air conditioning at New York's Penn Station. (Star-Ledger)

Chicago's transportation commissioner talks about the city's goal to "to eliminate all pedestrian, bicycle, and overall traffic crash fatalities within 10 years" on The Takeaway.

Ridership on Boston's transit system is up for the 15th consecutive month, the longest period of growth in the transit system’s history. (AP via WBUR)

The U.S. Transportation Department conducted its largest safety sweep of the motor-coach industry -- and shut down 26 bus companies as imminent safety hazards, closing dozens of routes out of New York’s Chinatown. (Bloomberg)

Red double-decker buses are back on the road in Baghdad. "They disappeared after the occupation, but it's good to see them back," said one passenger. "It makes it feel like Baghdad is like any other capital." (Reuters)

Could drilling for oil become too costly? (Marketplace)

Essex County approved a "Complete Streets" resolution, making it the first county in New Jersey to adopt Complete Streets as part of its broader transportation and road safety policy. (Nutley Sun)

Chicago's transit agency won't raise fares -- for now. (Chicago Tribune)

The New York State Thruway wants to increase tolls on trucks -- but the state says that money won't be used to pay for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement. (AP via Wall Street Journal)

New York Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a bill allowing people to transfer the time left on their Muni Meter receipts. (New York Times)

States can significantly reduce teen fatalities and collision rates by strengthening existing graduated driver licensing laws. (Washington Post)

SpaceX's Dragon capsule is heading back to Earth after spending a week at the International Space Station, and NASA is live streaming it. (NPR)

Streaming live video by Ustream
New York's MTA has reached a settlement with Sikh and Muslim workers in federal court that allows them to wear their turbans freely -- without the MTA corporate logo -- just as they did before the 9/11 attacks. (DNA Info)

ExxonMobil shareholders voted against a resolution asking the company to explicitly protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees from discrimination. (Miami Herald)

Helmet hair no more: a Swedish company has invented an "invisible" bike helmet airbag that looks like a scarf -- until the moment of impact. (New York Daily News)

In Italy, electric buses wirelessly recharge on the road. (New York Times)

Peregrine falcon chicks are living on a perch near New Jersey's Bayonne Bridge. (Jersey Journal)

NY City Council Member James Vacca during a 2011 hearing (photo by William Alatriste via flickr)

Let's go back in time to December 2010. The city's tabloid editorial pages are just beginning to sink their teeth into the transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, for -- among other things -- her avid support of bike lanes and pedestrian plazas. In Brooklyn, well-connected residents are preparing to sue to remove a bike lane.

On December 9, New York's City Council holds a standing-room-only, overflow-room-inducing, five hour-plus hearing on bikes and bike lanes in New York City. Bronx councilman James Vacca, who chairs the council's Transportation Committee, kicks things off first by warning the crowd to be polite, then sets the stage by pointing out "few issues today prompt more heated discussion than bike policy in New York City."

In the hours that followed, he was proven correct: Sadik-Khan was grilled, interrupted, and accused of ignoring the will of the public, prevaricating, and acting by fiat.

And she was put on the defensive, repeatedly exclaiming "That's what we do!" when yet another council member excoriated her for not soliciting sufficient community input.

At one point, Lewis Fidler, a council member from Brooklyn, told Sadik-Khan her answer was "kind of half true. I don't say that to be snooty. I say it because I think maybe you're not aware."

And then he reeled himself him. "This is not like you've got to be for the cars or you've got to be for the bikes or you've got to be for the buses. It's really not...the cowmen and the farmers can be friends."

The mood at this week's Transportation Committee hearing, held in the same hearing room as the 2010 hearing -- and with many of the same players in attendance -- was markedly different.

Now more New Yorkers are biking. More than two-thirds give the city's bike share program, which is launching in July, a thumbs-up. Traffic fatalities are at record lows.

"I want to first off say thank you to the agency," Fidler started, before launching into an encomium. "Quite frankly I don't always get the answer I like from DOT, but we get a lot of answers from DOT. And they're very responsive, your agency, your Brooklyn office continues to be a very responsive one."

He then waxed on about major construction work going on on the Belt Parkway -- a roadway almost entirely in his council district. "I will say for a project of that size to have gone on, without my getting repeated complaints from constituents -- that says something all by itself, and the work that's been completed looks really good."

Back in 2010, Fidler's questioning of Sadik-Khan was one of that hearing's most contentious exchanges, with the two of them repeatedly interrupting each other. Fidler at that time told Sadik-Khan that her answers were "half true;" he later accused the DOT of failing to solicit community input on bike lanes -- a charge Sadik-Khan repeatedly denied.

On Tuesday, Fidler asked Sadik-Khan to look into repairing a bike lane in his district (a lane under the Parks Department jurisdiction since it's on their land. Sadik-Khan said she'd make sure her office reached out to the Parks Commissioner, Adrian Benepe.)

So maybe the cowmen and the farmers might be friends after all.

(You can listen to the audio from the 12/2010 hearing -- and read the transcript -- here. A video of the 5/29/12 hearing can be found here; the transcript isn't available yet.)

To be fair, Tuesday's hearing was not one in which members of the public could comment (public hearings on the budget will be held next week), and biking wasn't the only topic on the agenda.

But still:

Peter Koo is the Queens councilman who represents Flushing (a neighborhood so heavily trafficked by pedestrians that the DOT said Tuesday that it's slated for a sidewalk expansion project.) At the 2010 hearing, Koo complained that bikes lanes had been implemented at the expense of motorists and pedestrians, and that they were empty. "I hardly see any people using the bike lanes," he said at the time. (Transcript here; Koo's remarks begin on page 39.)

At Tuesday's hearing, Koo had a different complaint. "I find a lot of bicycles chained to the fence, to the trees, light poles, meter poles, everywhere." He wants the NYPD to cut the chains of bikes that are illegally parked. But before that happens, he said, "we have to find a place for them to park."

Letitia James   -- long a bike lane supporter, put the cherry on the Charlotte Russe. "Commissioner, I want to thank you for all the docking stations in my district. I want to thank you for the bike share program. I want to thank you for using my picture, my image, on your website, on the bike -- it's absolutely fabulous. Thank you for the plazas in my district...thank you for all the street renovations...thank you for the bike lanes, thank you for recognizing that we all have to share the space and no one is entitled to a city street."

A few minutes after James spoke, the May 29th hearing ended.

"I do think since that hearing in 2010, many actions my committee has taken, and the legislation that we have passed, has brought New York City DOT to a realization that they could do a better job when it comes to community consultation," Council transportation chair Jimmy Vacca said in a phone interview.  "I think there's been more outreach, there's been more involvement, so I think that the strongly held views that existed in 2010 have somewhat been mitigated by DOT realizing that it's better to work with local neighborhoods where possible and to try to seek areas of consensus."

And is he happy with bike lanes? Yes -- even though he said the ones in his Bronx district weren't heavily used. "I do think in time, though, people will be bicycling more in neighborhoods where they are not bicycling now. And I think the groundwork that we've laid legislatively will make that reality more positive, have a more positive impact on neighborhoods throughout the city."

Vacca said the Bronx bike lanes have been successful in reducing speeding.  "They've had an impact in slowing down vehicular traffic, and that's always a positive thing," he said, adding that that's a persistent issue for his constituents. "In my neighborhood there's not a block party I go to, there's not a civic association I go to, where people are not demanding speed bumps, where they're not demanding police enforcement for ticketing of people who speed in their cars."

Next up for the City Council: reigning in rogue delivery people -- a project they're collaborating with the DOT on. "We cannot have commercial bicyclists driving the wrong way on one-way streets, we cannot have them ignoring red lights, we cannot have them on sidewalks," Vacca said, adding that he's working on legislation to address this. "I think within the next several weeks we should have a consensus bill that will reflect my views as well as the views of the Department of Transportation. We're working together to come up with type of bill, and I think we're making good progress."

Top stories on TN:
No Bike Share on the Upper West Side Until 2013: Sadik-Khan Discusses Biking, Parking — and Bike Parking, in NYC Council Testimony (link)
Snow Greets Travelers: Montana Summer Road Season Kick-off (link)
New York City Parking Rules Now on an Online Map (link)
PHOTOS: Kansas Parade Celebrates Art on Wheels (link)

Montreal's bike share (photo by where is Andrew now? via flickr)

Hong Kong says it needs more land, plans to create 25 new islands and new land for a third runway at the international airport; opponents say the plan is unnecessary, not to mention environmentally unsound. (Guardian)

On today's Brian Lehrer Show: what the possible fare hike will mean for NYC taxi drivers.  (WNYC)

A broken air conditioner sent temperatures in New York's Penn Station into the 90s. (New York Post)

European Union proposals to change the number of hours worked by airline pilots are weaker than current UK regulations and could put passengers at risk, British politicians have warned. (BBC)

The trials and travails of Chinese electric car company BYD. (New York Times)

Bikeshare company BIXI is in financial trouble -- and Montreal has put up millions of dollars to keep operations afloat, while Toronto taxpayers could be on the hook if the company buckles. (National Post)

A former Caltrans official has been named chief executive of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. (Los Angeles Times)

A $122 million deal California officials struck with a company to install electric vehicle charging stations across the state is under legal fire now that a competing firm has sued to block the agreement, claiming it would create a monopoly. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Canadian lawmakers passed legislation forcing an end to a week-long freight rail strike. (Bloomberg)

Drivers love Maryland's new Intercounty Connector, but politicians worry that it's being underused -- and that the money to construct it could have been better spent elsewhere. (Washington Post)

The Democratic Party has lost its nominee in the race for the seat of retiring Transportation and Infrastructure Committee member Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill). (The Hill)

Ferrari is coming out with a hybrid car. Price tag: $850,000. (Marketplace)

Why I drive in NYC: "like prostitution, drugs, and gambling, cars are too useful, too profitable, and too enjoyable to vanish," writes one enthusiast. (New York Magazine)

A Newark (NJ) man survived being electrocuted after falling on the tracks while trying to steal overhead rail wires. (AP via NJ.com)

The wife of Seattle's mayor canceled her subscription to the Seattle Times last year because of a story about her husband's bike being stolen. (Politico)

Indianapolis officials are holding a series of public meetings to improve relations between bicyclists and drivers. (Indianapolis Star)

Sacramento is conducting a three-week experiment with bike corrals. (Sacramento Bee)

A nonprofit group granting wishes to senior citizens fulfilled one African-American woman's dream of dining in a first-class rail car -- something she was denied during Jim Crow. (NPR)

NYC DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, flanked by DOT officials Lori Ardito and Joseph Jarrin (photo by Kate Hinds)

The Upper West Side of Manhattan won't see bike share until June 2013. That's according to New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, in testimony before the New York City Council Tuesday.

The date isn't exactly a surprise -- the city acknowledged at the launch of its Citi Bike program that some neighborhoods won't see bike share until next spring, but the June date puts it at the outer edge of that timeline.

Sadik-Khan also defended the cost of the program, noting that an annual membership in New York gives riders 45 minutes of free riding compared to 30 minutes in London.  And she pointed out that New York's is "a privately operated system" while most other city's bike shares are not.

In other questioning, Queens council member Leroy Comrie wanted to know what Citibank's $47.5 million will be used for.  Sadik-Khan told him "it's going to pay for the purchase of the bikes, the stations, the operator that is going to be servicing the bikes 24/7, rebalancing the bikes, moving them around the city -- so all of that money is going to pay for the operation of that system."  She added that the program will bring about 200 jobs to Brooklyn. "The initial launch site will be in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and then we will be doing the permanent facility (which) will be located at Sunset Park, 53rd and 3rd."

On other subjects, Jimmy Vacca, who chairs the transportation committee, asked the commissioner what was happening with plans to privatize parking meters -- would people be laid off? Would we have dynamic pricing? Sadik-Khan said it's in the very early stages and the city is just putting out feelers by issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ).  "We've agreed to study the possibility of a public/private partnership for our parking program to see if there are opportunities for further improvement," she said, "but I would say that we run the most efficient and effective system in the country; we have  a 99% uptake in terms of operability of our Muni Meters, and so we're thrilled with the performance of our programs to date, but again, we are checking to see...if there are options that could provide other, better service for New Yorkers (but) the benchmark is a high one."

She added that the feedback from the RFQ will determine whether or not the city moves forward with actual procurement. (Side note regarding NYC's parking meter program: 70% of parking meter revenue comes from credit cards.)

Sadik-Khan was also asked about a parking sensor pilot program on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx; she said the city was still in the middle of the pilot and would evaluate it after it was done.

Peter Koo, who represents Flushing, said bikes are chained everywhere in the neighborhood; the commissioner was sympathetic. "We've increased the speed with which we've put bike racks out there," she said. "We have over 13,000 racks out there right now, we continue to do more, but there are some parts of the city where if you stop walking for a second someone is going to chain a bike to you," Sadik-Khan said, saying that she knew the demand for parking was high. "We have to find a place for them to park!" Koo echoed, who added that he'd seen garages offering $8 a day bicycle parking. "It's really expensive! You can take the subway for $5 a day!"

"Well, for $9.95 a day, you can have a bike share bike ," Sadik-Kahn countered.

Following the hearing, reporters asked the commissioner about residential parking permits. Residents of the downtown Brooklyn neighborhood where the Barclays Center is opening this September have been pushing for a residential parking permit program. But it would require state legislation to enact, and Sadik-Khan said even after legislation cleared Albany, it would take nine months to get such a program off the ground.

Sadik-Khan also expressed support for legislation that would hold business owners accountable for delivery cyclists who don't follow traffic laws, and said she's working with the New York City Council to craft it.

The Upper West Side of Manhattan won’t get bike share until June 2013. That’s according to New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, in testimony before the New York City Council Tuesday.

The Monopoly money car (photo by Julie Caine/KALW)

TN's Julie Caine sent us some photos from last week's Art Tougeau parade, held each year in Lawrence, Kansas, as a celebration of "America's fascination with all things wheeled." (Motto: "if it rides, bring it on.")  Let's hope the chickens enjoyed what the website describes as "good, clean fun on wheels."

Mobile chickens (photo by Julie Caine/KALW)

A bicycle made from old tractor parts (photo by Julie Caine/KALW)

(photo by Craig Patterson via Art Tougeau's Facebook page)

Duck bike helmet (photo by Craig Patterson via Art Tougeau's Facebook page)

You can see more pictures from Art Tougeau's 2012 parade on their Facebook page.