Complete streets in the Big Apple
Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit based in New York City, is declaring 2013 the "year of the complete street." The group identifies four "critical elements" in the campaign for complete streets in New York City. 1) Bicycle lanes protected by a row of parked cars, planters, bollards, or other barricades. "Streets with protected bike lanes have been shown to have extraordinary benefits, dramatically reducing speeding, crashes, fatalities and the number of bicyclists on the sidewalk." 2) Small public spaces, often created from asphalt. "New York City’s newest pedestrian spaces come in all sizes, and these days, we can tuck a place to take a break into the smallest street corners." 3) Improved bus service. "On 1st and 2nd Avenue, the M15 bus is 20 percent more efficient than it was just two years ago. ... Select Bus Service is a key element of how a complete street makes a street as useful as possible for every user.?" 4) Not one more death. "The most important part of a complete street is the demand that no one is killed by traffic -- a community pledge against dangerous traffic’s carnage called 'Vision Zero.' "
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