NYC Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan doesn’t have many friends among the car driving populace. After adding bike lanes all over the city and closing parts of 34th street and Times Square to traffic, everyone from taxi drivers to local politicians have expressed concern.
However, among the cyclists and express bus riders, Khan is their anointed queen. Through her actions, Khan has begun a bicycle renaissance in the city. As a result, the average bike rider has more access and space than ever before.
On the steps of City Hall yesterday morning Khan and the city were honored by members of over a half-dozen transportation activist groups. At the event, a thank you card with the signatures of 1,700 supporters was presented.
Khan was not present.
“I think that all the improvements help move more people across the city,†said bicyclist Timothy Mathews, who rides to work from Brooklyn to Midtown. “It takes me 45 minutes to get to the West side every morning on my bike. I love it; it gets my blood flowing.â€
Those who get stuck in traffic might not be as quick to agree. The same goes for train-riders, who have suffered through increasingly limited service and higher fares. However, city advocacy groups believe Khan has done her job. According to city numbers, traffic fatalities at their lowest since 1910 and over 200,000 bicyclists on the street every day.
“The streets are safer now than at any point in the last 100 years,” said Gene Russianoff, senior attorney for the Straphangers Campaign.
Over the past year, Khan has garnered cult-hero status in the transportation advocacy community. Poised to eliminate as many cars off the streets and promote greener ways of getting around, the city’s travel landscape has changed considerably. Planning yesterday’s event since the summer, Kate Slevin, the executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, believed Khan wasn’t being recognized for her work.
“There is a fear of change,†said Slevin. “But we’re here to say that we like the changes that are in place, and the city is safer for everyone because of them.”
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