Transportation Alternatives
Encyclopedia
Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) is a non-profit organization in New York City
which seeks to change New York City's transportation priorities to encourage and increase non-polluting, quiet, city-friendly travel and decrease private car use. They seek a transportation system based on a "Green Transportation Hierarchy
," which gives preference to modes of travel based on their benefits and costs to society. To achieve these goals, T.A. works in five areas: Cycling
, Walking
and Traffic Calming
, Car-Free Parks, Safe Streets
and Sensible Transportation. Promotional activities include large group bicycle rides
.
, Clean Water Act
and the Environmental Protection Agency
. Since its founding, T.A. has helped win numerous improvements for cyclists and pedestrians and has been the leading voice for reducing car use in the city. T.A.'s roots are in cycling in New York City
, and many of its members are everyday cyclists. A bicycle friendly city means changing the overall transportation system
, which, even in New York City
where more people use mass transit than cars, means shifting a paradigm
dominated by the private automobile
.
T.A. also puts on a number of other events, including benefits, member parties, lectures and other events.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
which seeks to change New York City's transportation priorities to encourage and increase non-polluting, quiet, city-friendly travel and decrease private car use. They seek a transportation system based on a "Green Transportation Hierarchy
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
," which gives preference to modes of travel based on their benefits and costs to society. To achieve these goals, T.A. works in five areas: Cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, Walking
Walking
Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
and Traffic Calming
Traffic calming
Traffic calming is intended to slow or reduce motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve the living conditions for residents as well as to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Urban planners and traffic engineers have many strategies for traffic calming...
, Car-Free Parks, Safe Streets
Complete streets
In U.S. urban planning and highway engineering, complete streets are roadways designed and operated to enable safe, attractive, and comfortable access and travel for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transport users of all ages and abilities...
and Sensible Transportation. Promotional activities include large group bicycle rides
Bicycle touring
Bicycle touring is cycling over long distances – prioritizing pleasure and endurance over utility or speed. Touring can range from single day 'supported' rides — e.g., rides to benefit charities — where provisions are available to riders at stops along the route, to multi-day...
.
History
Transportation Alternatives was founded in 1973 during the explosion of environmental consciousness that also produced the Clean Air ActClean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
, Clean Water Act
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
and the Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
. Since its founding, T.A. has helped win numerous improvements for cyclists and pedestrians and has been the leading voice for reducing car use in the city. T.A.'s roots are in cycling in New York City
Cycling in New York City
New York City offers a mix of favorable cycling conditions — dense urban proximities, short distances and relatively flat terrain — along with significant cycling challenges: congested roadways with stop and go traffic, a sometimes unsympathetic regulatory environment, and streets with...
, and many of its members are everyday cyclists. A bicycle friendly city means changing the overall transportation system
Transportation in New York City
The transportation system of New York City is a cooperation of complex systems of infrastructure. New York City, being the largest city in the United States, has a transportation system which includes the largest subway system in the world, measured by track mileage; the world's first mechanically...
, which, even in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where more people use mass transit than cars, means shifting a paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
dominated by the private automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
.
Past successes
Since its creation, Transportation Alternatives has helped achieve goals including:- Pedestrian and bicycling paths on all East River Bridges for the first time in 50 years
- A complete Hudson River Greenway, ten miles of car-free walking and cycling along the Hudson RiverHudson RiverThe Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
- A promise of a Manhattan Waterfront GreenwayManhattan Waterfront GreenwayThe Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a foreshoreway for walking or cycling, long, around the island of Manhattan. The largest portions are operated by the New York City Department of Parks. It is separated from motor traffic, and many sections also separate pedestrians from cyclists...
, a car-free path circling the entirety of Manhattan - Year-round "Summer Hours" in Prospect ParkProspect Park (Brooklyn)Prospect Park is a 585-acre public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn located between Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
plus a further increase in car-free hours in the park - Year round weekday car-free hours in Central ParkCentral ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, plus the reclamation of three motor vehicle entrances as parkland - Legal bike access on New York City subways and NJ Transit, including 24/7 access to the NYC subway
- New Manhattan access to the Brooklyn BridgeBrooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
promenade - Pedestrian safety improvements on Queens BoulevardQueens BoulevardQueens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens connecting communities from Midtown Manhattan to Jamaica...
- Pedestrian improvements in Herald SquareHerald SquareHerald Square is formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue and 34th Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Named for the New York Herald, a now-defunct newspaper formerly headquartered there, it also gives its name to the surrounding area...
and Times SquareTimes SquareTimes Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets... - The Bronx Safe Routes to School: Pedestrian improvements at 38 Bronx schools
- Creation of NYC DOT citywide Safe Schools Program
- 800 speed humpSpeed humpA speed hump is a rounded traffic calming device used to reduce vehicle speed and volume on residential streets. Humps are placed across the road to slow traffic and are often installed in a series of several humps in order to prevent cars from speeding before and after the hump...
s on neighborhood streets - Numerous new bike lanesSegregated cycle facilitiesSegregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
throughout NYC - Bicycle rackBicycle standA bicycle stand,also called a bike rack, is a device to which bicycles may be securely attached. It may be free standing or securely attached to the ground or some stationary object such as a building. Indoor bike racks are commonly used for private bicycle parking, while outdoor bike racks are...
s on city streets throughout NYC - Legal bicycle access to the George Washington BridgeGeorge Washington BridgeThe George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
- Secure bike parking at several midtown garages
- Pedestrian and cyclist access to River Road on the New Jersey PalisadesNew Jersey PalisadesThe Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
- Overturn of the 1987 midtown bicycle ban
- Ramped access to the Brooklyn Bridge bicycle/pedestrian path
Volunteer Support
Transportation Alternatives relies on over 1,000 active volunteers to achieve its goals. While many support T.A.'s bike tours, many more help as part of the organization's 6 active volunteer committees: Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, Manhattan's East Side and the Central Park Committees.Current initiatives
Transportation Alternatives' current campaigns are numerous. They include:- Pedestrian safety: T.A. is pushing for 20 mph zones in various neighborhoods, as well as enforcement of the law against killer drivers.
- Expanding the bicycle network: encouraging the City to continue their expansion of bike lanes, particularly on-street protected bike lanes, which have been shown to reduce injuries of all street users, including motorists. T.A. is also advocating for New York City to implement a robust bike share system, akin to Paris' highly successful Vélib'Vélib'' is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. Launched on 15 July 2007, the system has expanded to encompass over 20,000 bicycles and 1,202 bicycle stations, located across Paris and in some surrounding municipalities...
system. - Improving bicyclist behavior: T.A. has distributed tens of thousands of their "Biking Rules" booklets in English, Spanish and Chinese, and has sponsored a Biking Rules PSA Film Festival, among other initiatives.
- Stabilizing and improving transit: T.A.'s Rider Rebellion campaign aims to ensure stable funding for the MTAMetropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
and to provide a quality experience for NYC's millions of transit riders - Reducing government parking permit abuse: T.A. continues to push for enforcement around the abuse of these permits.
Events
Transportation Alternatives produces a number of bike tours throughout the year, including the Tour de Brooklyn, the Tour de Queens, the NYC Century Bike Tour and the Tour de Bronx (along with the Bronx Borough President's Office). In 2011, T.A.'s new Staten Island Volunteer Committee piloted a Tour de Staten Island. In addition to fundraising, the purpose of these tours is to introduce New Yorkers to bicycling around the city and to give the confidence and inspiration to take up biking as a regular activity.T.A. also puts on a number of other events, including benefits, member parties, lectures and other events.