Economics

Livable Streets Projects Getting Hung Up in Budget Bureaucracy?

From today's Crain's Insider:

By Aaron Naparstek

4:00 PM EDT on July 23, 2008

From today’s Crain’s Insider:

The city is weighing a new set of street design guidelines that would make installation of pedestrian-friendly elements, like curb extensions, easier. The Department of Transportation has developed a number of new street and traffic plans in Madison Square Park and other places around the city. But each one requires special budgetary approval, and the city wants to streamline the process. By adopting a series of pre-approved templates, the city could implement the designs without getting capital approval.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.