Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

The Jan Gehl product roll-out continues apace. Last week, WNYC. This week, New York Magazine. Word has it Gehl's team will be presenting Department of Transportation brass with some pretty big ideas for street space re-allocation. In the meantime, enjoy another interview with everyone's favorite Danish urban designer:

Can New York really be tamed? I don’t have any vision of taming New York, and I don’t think it shouldbe. I do think there’s an imbalance between the various uses of thestreet that can be adjusted.

You still bike daily. Do you bike when you’re here? Onceit’s reasonably safe, you can ask the senior citizens to bike. I shallbe happy to be the first. My younger colleagues bike a lot here to findout how it is. It’s a matter of age and daring, and a few other things.

Like being crazy? That’s your words.

Is London’s congestion-pricing plan working? Traffichas dropped there by 18 percent. And when London was given the 2012Olympics, suddenly everybody was eager to improve the city very fast.If you can only get an Olympics, everything will be fine.

How can we reduce traffic in midtown? There’s a number of ways, but congestion pricing may be the easiest and most-proven means of doing it quickly.

So you think it’s necessary? Did I say that? I didn’t say that.

With all the bike theft here, could a Copenhagen- or Paris-style bike-sharing system work? Icertainly think so. These bikes would look different and be geared sothat they’d be a little bit awkward to bike long distances on. At firstin Copenhagen people collected them, but after a few years, that wasnot so interesting anymore.

What do you think of the new bike lane on Ninth Avenue? It’s grossly overdone. You can make the whole thing one third the width.

Have you told the city this? Not yet. I will next week.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Don’t Keep Wednesday’s Headlines Hanging

Is President Trump really going to kill congestion pricing? If so, how? And why?

February 12, 2025

This App Makes D.C. One of the Most Accessible Transit Networks In the World

A new app makes it possible for people with visual impairments to navigate the deepest reaches of D.C.'s underground transit network – and it could have benefits for other riders, too.

February 12, 2025

The Missing Ingredients in America’s ‘Minimobility’ Revolution

Cargo trikes, GEMs, bike rickshaws, and other light electric vehicles could help wean America off cars — but a new grant that could help cities encourage their adoption is being paused by the Trump administration.

February 11, 2025

Who Benefits from Trump ‘Birthrate’ Funding Scheme? Wealthier, Whiter Drivers

This prioritization lacks evidence of how it will meet the memo’s stated purpose to “bolster the American economy and benefit the American people.”

February 11, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Man the Barricades

After the deadly New Year's Eve truck attack in New Orleans, how can cities better protect pedestrians from increasingly heavy and powerful vehicles?

February 11, 2025
See all posts