Earthgarage presents an in-depth series on the shortcomings of New York’s transportation sector and how one grassroots organization hopes to fix it
If you are a resident of New York City, or have ever hopped on a plane and stayed in a glamorous hotel in the dense orb of excitement that is Times Square (or something of that nature), you are probably keenly aware of the not-so-glamorous congestion of trucks, taxis, and cars crowding most streets and intersections, especially in Manhattan. New York is the second worst offender for traffic in the United States after LA, and the constant construction and haphazard outcroppings of road blockages from accidents and movie productions certainly do not help. Blaring horns, gridlock, and greenhouse gas spewing, bumper-to-bumper traffic have become so mundane that they have been more or less accepted as a normal part of daily life. Take a few steps underground, and suddenly you are immersed in one of the world’s oldest subway systems, and it’s really starting to seem like it. Unreliable train service, outdated train cars, overcrowding and an unbalanced focus on Manhattan station health over those of the other boroughs, all for a painfully rising price, are also becoming accepted as just the way of life in this juggernaut of a city.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
A grassroots organization aptly named Move NY is going for the 1-2 punch of knocking out heavy congestion of traffic while simultaneously providing much-needed improvements to the train and bus systems that comprise the majority of the city’s transportation. Here is an excerpt from their website:
“Formed in 2010 in response to the growing crisis facing the City’s transportation system — inadequate service, escalating fares and tolls, and a dwindling funding base — Move NY is a growing and diverse coalition of stakeholders representing regional business associations, trade unions, clergy, civic leaders, transportation and environmental advocates, and good governance organizations. Move NY’s mission is to build support for a master transportation plan — developed by traffic guru “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz and the Move NY team — for the New York metropolitan region. ”
As cities progress and mature, they eventually hit a critical point where population density exceeds the infrastructure that supported it in the past, and an overhaul and rethinking of how to maximize flow and profit in the city becomes necessary. New York City is slowly realizing that it’s time for an update.
Over the coming months, Earthgarage will be presenting a series of posts on the current issues facing New York City, the solutions proposed by Move NY, and the nitty-gritty details about how it will (or should) be implemented. For those unconcerned with the local affairs of New York City, this forthcoming information and legislation will be important for you to know as well because similarly large cities will need to consider these problems of heavy density and outdated technology if they are not already actively dealing with them. The population of the world is expected to increasingly concentrate within the perimeters of urban metropolises in the future, so understanding how to most efficiently run a city will provide considerable economic profit, as well as improved social well-being and space for human society to continue to improve and grow.
For more information on the subject, you can check out MoveNY’s website here, and stay tuned for posts from us in the future.
Coming Soon: Post #2 – New York’s Transportation Problem
Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.