Car Free Broadway?!

Wow. Too good to be true. 42nd St to 47th St.

The city plans to close several blocks of Broadway to vehicle traffic through Times Square and Herald Square, an experiment that would turn swaths of the Great White Way into pedestrian malls and continue Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s effort to reduce traffic congestion in Midtown.

Although it seems counterintuitive, officials believe the move will actually improve the overall flow of traffic, because the diagonal path of Broadway tends to disrupt traffic where it intersects with other streets.

Read the whole story in the Times.

Life and Death in New Orleans

Dan Baum has written an excellent book about New Orleans. Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans. Baum was the New Yorker reporter covering the aftermath of the flood.

And it's not just me who says this book is great. The New York Times gave it a great review. You can read an excerpt here.

But what's it got to do with bikes? Well, Dan Baum likes riding them. He's a nice guy, a great writer, and rides a bike. If those aren't good reasons to buy a good book, I don't know what is.

I met Dan while biking in New Orleans. He's even featured and pictured in this very blog (and that was before he got all famous an shit). And yes, at least while in New Orleans, the guy really did dress like a dandy. But who am I to talk? I have a green hat from New Orleans just like that one.

He's speaking at the Barnes & Noble at 82nd and Broadway on Tuesday at 7pm. I'll be there. I'm going to start calling him Dandy Dan. I'm sure he'll love that.

Bicyclist-Assaulting Cop Fired

The cop who assaulted the bicyclist by pushing him over in Times Square during Critical Mass has been canned. The New York Times reports:

A police officer who was videotaped knocking a man off his bicycle and onto the ground during a cycling event in Manhattan last summer has been fired, the Police Department said.

Good. The asshole gives honest police officers a bad image.

Read the whole story here.

Problems in Paris!

The BBC reports:

A popular bicycle rental scheme in Paris that has transformed travel in the city has run into problems just 18 months after its successful launch.

Over half the original fleet of 15,000 specially made bicycles have disappeared, presumed stolen.

They have been used 42 million times since their introduction but vandalism and theft are taking their toll.

The company which runs the scheme, JCDecaux, says it can no longer afford to operate the city-wide network.

The whole story is here.

U.S. Population: Plus One!

Next time you're in my favorite bike store, Bicycle Repairman Corporation at 40-21a 35th Ave in Astoria, please congratulate Andres!

This is a man who, through Guatemala and Mexico with his family in tow, traveled from Columbia to the U.S. via boat, foot, train, bus, and truck. And no, it wasn't easy. And no, it wasn't always, technically, legal.

Finally, on December 28, 2008, after years of fearing deportation (despite being a model resident, paying taxes, and starting a business... you know, the kind the provides jobs), Andres became a U.S. citizen!

It's a shame it's so tough. He need more men like him.

Congratulations, Andres!