The League of American Bicyclists reports on StreetsPAC–a political action committee convened by Steve Vaccaro to represent pedestrians’ and cyclists’ interests.
Imagine you’re a safe-streets advocate living in a dreamscape of an expanding bike-lane network, widespread installation of public plazas and innovative government-sponsored programs aimed at improving street life, from summertime street closures to bike share to virtually on-demand public benches.
Progress has been swift under the committed leadership of a mayor who understands the economic necessity of these programs and amenities to ensure that his city stays competitive — and his Commissioner of Transportation is unapologetically on the cutting edge of contemporary urban design. But dark clouds loom on the horizon. Term limits will soon bring that mayor’s administration to a close, and his would be successors are saying less-than-supportive things about livable streets. That was the scenario that New York City’s bicycle and pedestrian advocacy community faced in the winter of 2012.
Click here for the full report.