October 27, 2012 by carltonreid

Mayor of New York says roads are not for cars. And cyclists and pedestrians are “more important” than motorists


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Back in July, Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, cut the ribbon on a new 20mph ‘slow zone’ in New York and said:

“Our roads are not here for automobiles. Our roads are here for people to get around.”

At a conference earlier this week Bloomberg went further. He told delegates at the Designing Cities conference – hosted by city Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan – that:

“The streets were there to transport people. They are not for cars…Cyclists and pedestrians and bus riders are as important, if not, I would argue more important, than automobile riders.”

Posted in Road rights. RSS 2.0 feed.
  • http://twitter.com/1dangerouself MarkDangerousElf

    If only that mindset were as widespread — even ‘epidemic’ — as the ubiquitous diseases that keep cropping up year after year, we would have a healthier and more settled society. SELFISHNESS drives car ownership, not independence and mobility.

  • http://twitter.com/Carl_Lazlo_Esq Carl_Lazlo_Esq

    Shame none of the idiots in Government in the UK would say the same.

  • Ian Brett Cooper

    If that’s really what he believes, then why is it that in New York, cyclists are not allowed to choose to use the road where a sub-standard bike lane exists?

    He can talk the talk, but until cyclists are given equal rights to the road, all his talk is just hot air.

  • mountainpost

    I got news for you, Ian Brett Cooper, the world is not a perfect place. You get more with a smile and a little positive reinforcement when changing behavior is the goal. You constantly complain and brag. Doesn’t your bike ever make you happy? Every comment is negative. You are completely humorless and your sad miserable life is your own reward.

    • http://www.facebook.com/RoadsFiTforPeople Martin Cassini

      As a first-timer here, I don’t see Ian Brett Cooper’s post as negative. I too see equality -among ALL road-users – as the solution to most of our problems on the road. It’s absurd that people on foot should defer to drivers, especially in urban settings. If anything it should be the other way round. If we took it in turns, instead of living (and dying) by priority, most of our road safety and congestion problems would vanish in a puff of exhaust smoke. More on the subject at Equality Streets.

  • http://www.stevevance.net/ Steven Vance

    Wow, good for him (and New Yorkers). Bloombito has been talking the talk, ever since he hired Janette Sadik-Khan who quickly got to work crafting new street configurations with visionary designers like Jan Gehl.

  • MarvMart

    WhooHoo

  • jerrymon

    Bloomberg is a leftist idiot. He wants to control your smoking, eating and drinking. I do not trust him and NY is a cesspool.

  • Moe Badderman

    # “more important than motorists”

    He didn’t say “motorists”, he said “automobile riders”. Calling a car-rider a “motorist” is like calling a ‘Net-surfer a “computerist”. Most car-riders know as much about motors as ‘Net-surfers know about computers, which is approximately zero-point-squat.

  • Anonymous

    I also agree with Ian Brett Cooper. Until you actually get out on a bike on the streets of NYC and see just how unbelievably dangerous and laughably inadequate the present bike lanes are, you wouldn’t understand. It’s currently slightly better than having no bike lanes at all, but not by much. Bike lanes only cover about 3% of all city streets. While I agree with the Mayor’s rhetoric, let’s see some REAL and substantial changes.