National Transportation Advocacy
American Passenger Rail Coalition
American Public Transportation Assoc.
Coalition for Appropriate Transportation
Daily rail news clippings from UTU
League of American Bicyclists
National Assoc. of Railroad Passengers
Publictransportation.org

Academia & Smart Growth
Center for an Urban Future
Center for Urban Policy Research
Columbia University Urban Planning
Congress for the New Urbanism
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
Planners Network
Professor Donald Shoup
Professor Vukan R. Vuchic
Regional Plan Association
Rudin Center
Smart Growth Online

Inspiration
Access for All
Asphalt Nation
The Death & Life of Great American Cities
Downtown: It's Rise and Fall: 1880-1950
The Geography of Nowhere
Suburban Nation
Transportation for Livable Cities

NYC Planning & Development
ANHD
Bronx Overall E.D.C.
Dept. of City Planning
Citizen's Housing & Planning Council
Empire State Development Corp.
Enterprise Foundation
GreenHomeNYC
HPD
LISC-New York
Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
NYC Dept. of City Planning
NYC Dept. of Parks & Rec.
NYC Economic Development Corp.
NYC Housing Development Corp.
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
N.Y. Industrial Retention Network
N.Y. Metro Transportation Council
Partnership for New York
Project for Public Spaces
Sustainable South Bronx
United Nations Development Corp.
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone

U.S. Rail Service Providers
Intercity
Amtrak
American Orient Express

Regional
Alaska Railroad
Altamont Commuter Express
CalTrain
The Coaster
Long Island Rail Road
MARC
MBTA Commuter Rail
Metra
Metrolink
Metro-North Railroad
New Jersey Transit
SEPTA
Shore Line East
Sounder
South Shore Line
Syracuse OnTrack
Trinity Railway Express
Tri-Rail
Virginia Railway Express

Web www.startsandfits.com

Members of the authority's board expressed doubts about the feasibility of the $3.8 billion project, known as East Side Access, and suggested that another plan, to build a subway under Second Avenue in Manhattan, was even less likely to be realized. The gloomy predictions came as board members met for the first time since Gov. George E. Pataki agreed to a state budget that provides $21.1 billion for transit infrastructure projects through 2009 — $6.7 billion less than the authority requested in September.

The chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said yesterday that he thought major expansion projects like a Second Avenue subway would be built, though it might take years longer than first projected. "They're not canceled," the chairman, Peter S. Kalikow, said at a meeting where his board unanimously approved a scaled-back capital program for 2005 to 2009. "They're just being stretched out."

Well, it's the last Friday in the month so, once again, I'm temped to ride with the spunky bikers of this months critical mass. Perhaps, the fact that today is a critical mass day has something to do with a wonderful moment I experienced during this mornings' commute.

It was on 2nd Ave. (of course.) You have no idea how different 2nd ave is during the rush hours. It's nothing like at night, the difference is like... well it's like... uh "night and day" (if you will). From 76th St. to the queens midtown tunnel I had the glorious company of 8 other bikers, that's nine of us in all. It was like some kind of "procession." We had the 2nd to leftmost lane. The whole thing. We took up the space of about 1.5 cars.

At first we were scattered all over the avenue. I was down on the 2nd to the rightmost lane where I like to be when I go under the tram. Some crazy messenger on a track bike was in the center riding the dotted line and surfing traffic. Two yuppies in suits held down the leftmost lane while sporting neon leg bands. A delivery dude with a mountain bike on steroids crept and weaved in from the wrong direction on a one-way street around 67th street. Some old Noam-Chomsky-looking dude slid in from the bridge on a hot recumbent. A couple of lean young guys came off the bridge too on racers... with friggin' toe-clips.

At any given moment there is a best lane to be in. Also, riding with other bikes seems to confuse motorists much less so we all just pulled together into the 2nd right most lane.

There was also (get this) a *bike cop* But, he pealed off from the group after just two blocks.

I mean what could he do? Say we decided to have critical mass at 7:30am? I mean, it was pretty clear.. it was traffic. We didn't block anybody. We were all just going to work. We didn't look like we had anything in common. How could that be an illegal bike "procession?"

Well, you should have seen the "procession" all the cars formed too. I mean, they do it every day. Though, it's kinda hard to call it a procession when none of the members are moving forward. Maybe it's really a procession of gas fumes and exhaust. One of the yuppies had a face mask. I thought: "not a bad idea..."

About S&F