Kate Hinds

New York City Council member Brad Lander, flanked by Park Slope residents, on the steps of City Hall earlier this year (photo by Kate Hinds)

Wednesday was the first day of formal court hearings in Brooklyn's Prospect Park West bike lane case (see our coverage here for more information).  And as we reported, the judge adjourned the case for a month to give the group suing the city time to review the documents from a Freedom of Information Law request it made.

We are also looking at those documents. Here's the background:

Soon after Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes/Seniors for Safety (NBBL) filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking the removal of the Prospect Park West bike lane, the group's attorney, Jim Walden, submitted a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request seeking all records AND /emails between New York City Council member Brad Lander and/or his staff and a group of known bike-lane supporters.

In a statement today, Walden said: “We are pleased that Justice Bunyan has given us adequate time to review the FOIL documents  - all 691 pages of them – that Councilmember Lander provided the night before today’s hearing. We are confident that we will find even more evidence that will help our case, given the close relationship between Councilmember Lander, DOT, and bike lane lobbyists."

Lander also provided Transportation Nation with copies of the emails.

It's no secret that the Brooklyn councilman is a longtime supporter of the PPW bike lane. He's filed an amicus brief in support of the New York City Department of Transportation (the agency being sued over the lane's installation), and he held a rally outside a Brooklyn courthouse Wednesday morning, just before the hearing. And an initial read of hundreds of pages of email correspondence between Lander and others, including members of Brooklyn's Community Board 6 and various bike advocates, provides a glimpse into Lander's strategy to advocate for the lane:  facilitate public displays of support for the lane, make the case that Prospect Park West is now safer for everyone, and keep hammering home the message that both the data -- and the majority of Park Slope residents -- support the lane.

Below, some excerpts of the correspondence.

Following a New York Times profile of embattled city DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Lander moved to quickly mobilize support both at the grassroots level and in City Hall.

3/6/11 email from Brad Lander to Aaron Naparstek (founder of Streetsblog and bike lane advocate) and Paul Steely White (executive director of Transportation Alternatives, also a bike lane supporter):

"Yesterday’s article obviously makes it even more imperative that we (a) win the April CB6 vote on PPW by a large margin, and (b) get the pedestrian islands poured quickly. So we’re planning to treat the next 5 weeks like a mini-political campaign. Looking forward to working with you guys on this. I'm sharing this separately with a very small number of other mutual friends. Please keep it within this very tight circle, and be mindful of what it will look like in court. : - )"

3/7/11 email from Brad Lander to Howard Wolfson (NYC deputy mayor):

"There is very strong majority support for the PPW bike lane in Park Slope….We did an online survey (CM Levin*, CB6, and me), to which over 3,000 people responded. 70% of Park Slopers (including PPW residents, who were evenly split) favor keeping the lane. The calls, letters, emails, hearing & rally turnout, comments on the street, facebook pages, etc all run strongly (about 2 to 1) in favor of the lane. I know this may be different than in other neighborhoods around the city; but, well, it is Park Slope...Assuming that the Community Board votes in favor next month, I'm asking City Hall support DOT (and the community board, and the councilman, and majority sentiment in the neighborhood) on this one."

*NYC Council member Stephen Levin

When the bike lane isn’t plowed, no one is happy – not even bike lane opponents.

1/23/11 email from Aaron Naparstek to Brad Lander:

“I’ve been asking around trying to figure out who is responsible for the PPW bike lane not being plowed for the second time in the last few weeks. I assumed it was Steisel* talking to some old friends in Sanitation. Tupper** – very off the record – says Marty*** has insisted that the PPW bike lane be the last street in Brooklyn that gets plowed and, for some reason, Sanitation is complying. Apparently not even Norman is happy with this. Tupper first asked Steisel if the lack of plowing was his doing. He said that the lack of plowing has actually made it harder for him to access his car and he doesn’t like it either.”

*Norman Steisel, former Deputy Mayor, former Sanitation Commissioner and member of Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes

** probably Tupper Thomas, the former head of the Prospect Park Alliance

*** Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President

Even if a few parking spaces are returned, the bike lane still probably won’t please the borough president:

2/7/11 email from Brad Lander to David Woloch (deputy commissioner of external affairs for the NYC Department of Transportation):

“I’m waiting for a response from Carlo* on whether Boro Hall will take part in my ‘let’s find a few parking space’ exercise. I was clear with him that the goal is to have it included in the CB6 resolution in favor of pouring concrete, but that Marty would of course be free to fulminate against the lanes until the end of time (or his term, whichever comes first).”

* probably Carlo Scissura, Marty Markowitz's chief of staff

About that survey: bike lane opponents were concerned about who would participate.

10/18/10 email from Lois Carswell (member of Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes) to Craig Hammerman (district manager of Brooklyn's Community Board 6); cc: Brad Lander

“But the larger concern is that anyone, anywhere can participate and receive consideration. The bike lobby is extremely well financed and organized. At the push of a button they can elicit hundreds if not thousands of responses from people who have never – and will never – cross the Brooklyn Bridge. This is something that is basically impossible to check. It is one thing to say that park users who do not like in Park Slope deserve to be heard, but to allow well organized bikers from anywhere in the city who have no intention of ever casting their eyes on Prospect Park West to influence the survey’s outcome is just plain wrong. None of these people have to live with the dangerous, congested conditions and the defacement of a magnificent boulevard that installation of the bike lane has caused. Responses of Park Slope residents—especially those in the Prospect Park West corridor—should be heavily weighted. The others should be heavily discounted, even though they might support the overarching agenda of a bureaucracy which does not have to live with the consequences of its actions.”

Sometimes Lander wanted to keep the more vocal bike lane supporters out of the spotlight:

3/8/11 email from Brad Lander to Aaron Naparstek and Paul Steely White (leading up to a press conference on the steps of City Hall):

“Can I make a somewhat sensitive request: For today, I think, it would be better to minimize the ‘radical bike extremists’ part of this story…so while it would indeed be great to have a few people at the presser, I’d like to keep the speaking to Park Slope leaders who have not already been tagged in this light…and I also think it makes sense (though I recognize this will read like a megalomaniac politician) to try to have people who reach out to TA*, Aaron, Streetsblog instead talk to me, Michael Cairl**, etc. (Sorry! I hope you know this is for the cause.”)

* Transportation Alternatives

** Michael Cairl is the president of the Park Slope Civic Council

Lander felt that opponents weren't just reacting to the bike lanes.

12/12/10 email from Brad Lander to Aaron Naparstek:

“On the one hand, there is a strong outer borough populist strain, which is what I think is strongest in the opposition, and lumps bikes, Bloomberg, Park Slope/UWS*, congestion pricing all in one big lump. SO it doesn’t help us much with this crowd that there is support in Park Slope for PPW. (And this is why I think it is hard to make Marty feel any pain on this: for him, culturally, this is an extension of the Atlantic Yards debate.)”

* Upper West Side of Manhattan

1/22/11 email from Brad Lander to Aaron Naparstek:

“Backlash is definitely more organic than that. Jimmy Oddo & Eric Ulrich & Lew Fidler & Dov Hikind & Jimmy Vacca* are all acting on their own here, none influenced by PPW. I think CQ** is very unlikely to get involved. It’s not only the physical manifestation of Bloomberg (though it is very much that), but it also links the things they hate about Bloomberg with the things they hate about Park/Slope/Upper West Side/liberals.”

* all are members of the New York City Council

** Christine Quinn, the Council speaker

It's not easy being one of the only elected officials who vocally supports the bike lane.

Despite his position as a bike lane standard bearer, at one point Lander seemed to be a bit piqued when he felt Transportation Alternatives had misrepresented his position on the bike lane as being lukewarm -- as shown in this 7/15/10 email from Brad Lander to Paul Steely White:

"We're very glad to get the pro-bike calls on the bike lanes, so that we will be able to report accurately that the calls are running strongly  in favor of the bike lanes. But I wouldn't mind also getting a bit of credit  with the TA crowd for being the only elected official who's been willing to stand up in support of this. Yes, I've tried to cover my flank a bit by asking for the data from the study period, and have tried to engage the NIMFY's* in an open spirit...but in every communication I've been straightforward about my support...so I certainly have not been winning any love from them! And as the only elected official I know of who's been willing to clearly express support...I'm taking plenty of their fire."

* Not In My Front Yard

And remember: other eyes may be reading.

3/9/11 email from Brad Lander to Eric McClure (founder of Park Slope Neighbors and a bike lane supporter),  Aaron Naparstek, Benjamin Fried (editor of Streetsblog), Paul Steely White, Michael Freedman-Schnapp and Rachel Goodman (latter two are staffers in Lander's office):

"One thing it made us fairly certain of: this email chain will be subpoenaed!"

3/11/11 email from Brad Lander to Paul Steely White:

"I'm optimistic, but not taking anything for granted. I've been talking with CB6 (and transportation committee members, and will keep doing so, over the next week until the committee vote, and over the next month until the CB6 vote...NBBL may, of course, also reach out to CB6 members, but I think all are very clear that the 'alternative' is no 'compromise' but in fact the elimination of the bike lane. We are working with CB6 on the 'find a few more parking spots' plan, which I think (rightly) has a much better chance of being seen as an appropriate additional modification to address some of the PPW resident concerns....

PS: Hello Jim Walden!”

DC Metro bus (photo by Kathy Doucette/Flickr)

Metro drivers in D.C. are concerned about their safety. (WAMU)

Now that the Prius is facing stiff competition from other hybrids, Toyota is trying to figure out how to stay ahead of the pack. (NPR)

NYC's outer-borough taxi plan may need some serious tweaking to pass the state Senate. (WNYC)

Atlanta's transit system, MARTA, raises fares substantially; the cost of a monthly pass has risen over 80% in two years. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Lawmakers held hearings on rail and transit security, and admitted rail will never be as secure as air travel. (The Hill)

Swedish automaker Saab, beset by financial problems, may not last much longer. (Marketplace)

Transit riders in Corpus Christi, Texas, will soon be able to pay via a magnetic fare card, and their buses will have internet connection. (AP via Houston Chronicle)

Kings County Supreme Court, where the Prospect Park West bike lane case is being heard (photo by Kate Hinds)

Today was the first day of formal court proceedings in the lawsuit seeking to remove Brooklyn's contentious Prospect Park West bike lane -- and it will be the last for a month.

The courtroom, on the fourth floor of the Kings County Supreme Court in downtown Brooklyn, was standing room only. After the case was called, half a dozen attorneys approached the bar -- two for the plaintiff, two for City Council Member Brad Lander, who filed an amicus brief in support of the bike lane, and two on behalf of New York City. They all spoke quietly to Justice Bert Bunyan, who interjected questions from time to time.

Most of the conversation was inaudible -- and after about ten minutes, it was over when the judge adjourned the case. The next court date in the case is July 20th.

Jim Walden, the attorney suing the city on behalf of Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes/Seniors for Safety, had asked for additional time to review documents given to him that morning by City Council member Brad Lander. Walden requested Lander's emails with the city DOT and bike lane advocates under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) , and he said this morning he had been given 671 documents.

Lander, a longtime bike lane supporter, held a pro-bike lane rally on the steps of the courthouse before today's proceedings. He was not in the courtroom.

Afterward, in a courthouse hallway, Walden said: "the city is hiding something and they do not want us to find it. And we're not going to give up until we do."

Walden contends the city is withholding all the documents related to a study on the safety of the lane. The city, as well as Council Member Brad Lander, maintains that the bike lane was requested through Park Slope's community board, that the process of considering and installing it was transparent, that the lane has made the street safer for everyone, and that city's Department of Transportation had a "rational basis" for installing the bike lane and that the agency always said the lane was permanent and never considered a trial. But all of that is beside the point, the city says, because the lawsuit was filed too late.

This case was filed under Article 78 proceedings, which has a four-month statute of limitations. The bike lane was installed in June 2010; the lawsuit seeking the lane's removal was filed eight months later.

Walden isn't convinced.

"Somebody had the bright idea to say crashes went down 16 percent when they really went up," he said. " Someone had the bright idea to say injuries went down 21 percent when they really went up. ... someone made that decision, and they're holding back the documents and keeping them secret. That is fundamentally inconsistent with the city's obligations."

Last month, city attorney Mark Muschenheim told Transportation Nation "we've already provided much of what they wanted through FOIL." A spokesman for the city DOT also said today that they've already produced "thousands" of documents.

When asked why he had FOILed Lander's emails, Walden said:  "We believe clearly, given his own public statements, that the DOT told him in no uncertain terms it was a trial program, it was a trial bike lane. The city is now claiming that it was never a trial. It's the great bait-and-switch from the City of New York. They called it a trial so people wouldn't sue right away, they said they were going to conduct a study. Now in their papers they say the study never mattered. No matter what the study said, we were going to have a final decision to have the bike lane. So a thousand people could die, apparently, (and) according to the city's paper, that wouldn't matter. So we certainly hope the documents -- I can't say they'll put the lie to the city's position, because it's already clear that it's based on lies, but it will further buttress the notion that the city's playing games in the litigation."

Mark Muschenheim, the attorney who is arguing the case on behalf of the city, said in an emailed statement:  "The petitioners have been unable to refute the key legal issues in the case. Their lawsuit was brought after the statute of limitations had expired. Even if it weren’t filed too late, the bike path was clearly a reasonable and rational response by the city to community concerns, the sole legal standard for this case. In addition to enhancing Brooklyn's bike lane network, the installation of the bike path successfully addressed excessive speeding on Prospect Park West, as well as the high numbers of cyclists riding on the Prospect Park West sidewalks. The plan was revised several times with the input of the local community -- and it was, from the beginning, a permanent project to address these concerns."

The city also included in its email an affidavit from Joshua Benson, the director of the NYC DOT's bicycle and pedestrian programs. In it Benson said he attended an April 2010 Community Board 6 meeting and that "I distinctly recall one of the representatives stating that the PPW Project would be a trial project, and I immediately corrected this publicly by stating that the PPW Project was not a trial project, but that after its installation it would be monitored with adjustments made as deemed appropriate. In fact, I do not recall anyone at DOT stating that the PPW Project was a trial or pilot project, unlike other DOT projects that are so identified."

On his way to the elevator, Walden asked a city attorney if Lander was going to be in court on July 20th -- "because if he's not, I want to know because we're going to subpoena him. "

Electric vehicle charging (photo by Birmingham News Room/Flickr)

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece says New York City's bike war is over. "Look all around you. The bikes have won, and it's not a terrible thing."

AAA is launching fast-charging trucks to juice up stranded electric vehicles. (Los Angeles Times)

Another departure at San Francisco's Muni leaves a leadership vacuum. (San Francisco Examiner)

San Francisco taxi drivers protest regulation and credit card charges. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Transportation Alternatives and the New York Daily News took a bogus parking placard (complete with the seal of Bulgaria) on a test drive to see if their car would get tickets. It didn't. (NY Daily News)

The NRDC threatened two railroad companies with a pollution lawsuit. (AP)

One Canadian columnist says it's time to charge the real cost of parking. (Toronto Star)

A number of Boston bus operators were hired despite checkered driving records that include multiple suspensions, numerous moving violations and repeated accidents in which they were found to be at fault. (Boston Herald)

The VP of the US High Speed Rail Association is on board with Congressman Mica's Northeast Corridor privatization plan. (The Hill)

Some airlines are switching from paper to iPads in the cockpit to cut down on weight -- and therefore fuel costs. (Good)

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a probe into whether companies, refineries, and/or traders have manipulated crude oil markets. (Wall Street Journal)

A group representing thousands of New York City taxi drivers threw its support behind legislation that would allow livery cabs to pick up street hails  -- despite its intention to attend a protest of the plan Monday. (WNYC)

Chinese companies are building a 'superhighway' -- a road that's 16 lanes across in some places -- in Kenya. (NPR)

Highway in Kenya (photo by PercyGermany/Flickr)

Can biofuels making flying clean and cheap? (Good)

Rhode Island's transit agency head says he has to cut bus service 10% because of an expected budget deficit. (Boston Globe)

The United Arab Emirates decided to build the world's most sustainable city...then the financial crisis hit. Whither the Masdar pod-cars? (Marketplace)

Paris to New York in 90 minutes? Paris to Tokyo in three hours? That's the promise of an experimental jet unveiled at the Paris Air Show. (NPR)

The Takeaway follows up on Saudi women agitating for their right to drive.

An intercity bus in New York City's Chinatown (photo by Kate Hinds)

Following a series of deadly intercity bus crashes which have killed 25 people since the start of the year, New York Senator Charles Schumer has proposed an idea that will be familiar to many New Yorkers: letter grades.

In a letter to US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the Senator wrote that his idea was inspired by NYC Department of Health grades that are prominently displayed in New York City's restaurants. "This simple grading system provides customers with the information they need when choosing where to eat and a similar scheme could be used to bring more transparency to the intercity bus industry."

The idea is that the DOT and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (which regulates the tour bus industry) develop a ratings system that assigns letter grades to operators. Companies would then be required to display the information at both the point of purchase, as well as on the bus. "If bus companies have a poor safety record, passengers should know about it before they purchase a ticket," Schumer said in a written statement.

The FMCSA currently maintains an online safety database, but Schumer said it is "difficult to navigate and the rating system is not easy to understand."

In recent weeks the DOT and the FMCSA have been criticized for not moving fast enough to shut down tour bus operators with dozens of safety violations. Last week Anne Ferro, the head of the FMCSA, told Congress that shutting down unsafe bus companies was a cumbersome process and that her agency needed "stronger authority" to better regulate the industry.

LaHood has not yet commented on the Senator's idea. His office says he'll respond to Schumer "directly."

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Legislation introduced in Albany over the weekend would allow New York City residents in the outer boroughs and Upper Manhattan to legally hail a livery cab.

Currently the "street hail" is the sole legal purview of yellow cabs.

The bill would authorize the sale of 30,000 "hail privilege permits" to livery cab operators and permit the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission to sell up to 1,500 new yellow cab medallions at $1,500 each.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has wanted to extend on-street cab pickups to the outer boroughs for some time now, but his earlier plan met with strong resistance from yellow cab drivers and the New York City Council. Yellow cab operators --some of whom paid six figures to purchase a medallion -- are no happier with this iteration of the plan, and protest plis taking ace at City Hall this afternoon. (UPDATE: photo from the protest below.)

Protesting on the steps of New York's City Hall (photo by Kathleen Horan/WNYC)

WNYC reporter Kathleen Horan was on The Brian Lehrer Show this morning to explain the plan and field questions from listeners. You can hear the segment below, or go to the BL Show page here.

Artist rendering of the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative (photo courtesy of WMATA)

Opinions are mixed over Arlington's Columbia Pike, a planned streetcar corridor. (WAMU)

Mayor Bloomberg's outer borough livery cab street hail plan goes to Albany. (Wall Street Journal)

Meanwhile, NYC cabbies are protesting that plan. (AM NY)

NJ Governor Christie's Energy Master Plan draft "barely mentions transportation," according to a columnist. (Times of Trenton)

Both Illinois senators are pushing opposing agendas over public-private partnerships for transportation. (Chicago Tribune)

Adults can learn to ride bikes, too. (New York Times)

A guest columnist in the New York Daily News -- who lost her husband in a car-on-bike collision -- writes that the city's bike lanes are "vital and corrective" and will save lives.

According to one journalist, entertainment on the NYC subway is "a combination of 'America's Got Talent,' 'The Gong Show', and 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'" (NY Daily News)

Win the Stanley Cup, set transit ridership records. (WCVB - Boston)

A pink flamingo lawn ornament in the flower box of a West 71st Street apartment building added some suburban flourishes to the Upper West Side on Friday morning.

Newark Airport (photo by Masck/Flickr)

Racial profiling apparently became common practice at Newark Airport, and now lawmakers want to know why. (Star-Ledger)

The NYC MTA says East Side Select Bus Service increased ridership by 30%. (DNA Info)

Budget woes and high gas prices are causing Illinois to cut back school bus service. (Chicago Tribune)

New York may bring automated station announcements and digital displays to 1,700 more subway cars. (New York Times)

Toyota says full vehicle production will return to North America in September -- faster than expected. (Bloomberg)

Women in Saudi Arabia are agitating for the right to drive. (The Takeaway)

A New York Daily News op-ed says that NYC DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan killed a City Council plan to put livery cab stands in outer boroughs.

Parking a pickup truck overnight in Coral Gables, Florida -- even in a driveway -- could cost residents a $100 ticket. (USA Today)

Taxi data could be mined to solve public transit problems. (The Urbanophile)

Plans for a High Line-style park are moving ahead in Chicago. (Red Eye Chicago)

New York City is saying that when it came to putting a bike lane in Park Slope, it couldn't have located the Prospect Park West bike lane anywhere else.

In court papers filed in response to a lawsuit that seeks to remove the bike lane, New York provides the first substantial look at its defense. The suit was filed by Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes/Seniors for Safety (NBBL) earlier this year.

The 39-page document (see end of post) lays out the city's case along these lines:  we located the PPW lane in the best location, in accordance with accepted industry guidelines; we had the right to do so, because street management and bike lanes are our purview; our analysis was and is sound; and anyway the statute of limitations has expired. From the filing:

On why the city located the lane on Prospect Park West:

p. 7: "While 8th Avenue has two northbound traffic lanes that bicyclists can ride on, it has numerous intersections that increase the potential for conflicts and crashes among motorists and bicyclists, thereby decreasing the desirability and use by bicyclists. Moreover, 8th Avenue does not connect directly with Prospect Park entrances, meaning a more circuitous route to and from Prospect Park would be required....DOT also considered and rejected Park Drive, a roadway located within Prospect Park. Park Drive does not provide the connectivity to the street network that a PPW bike path would (since bicyclists could only access Park Drive in three locations), and it is also an indirect (and thus inconvenient) route for local trips. Moreover, Park Drive’s two traffic lanes are used by motor vehicles at certain times, and there is insufficient space to add an unprotected bike lane going against the flow of traffic while at the same time providing for the existing walking/running lane, bike lane and two traffic lanes."

On NBBL's contention that the city didn't accurately analyze crash data:

p. 13: "Petitioners, and their purported expert, accountant Eric Fox, take issue with DOT’s use of three-year averages in its crash analysis. ..
Petitioners, however, fail to square their assertions with the accepted industry practice of using three years’ worth of data when performing before and after crash comparisons....For this reason, DOT typically uses three years of before-crash data when evaluating traffic improvements (and indeed, used three-year data in April 2009 when it originally presented the PPW Project plan to the Community Board)...And even if there were any validity to petitioners’ criticisms of DOT’s use of three-year-average data, the most relevant indicator -- crashes involving injuries -- dropped by 50 percent between 2009 and 2010, and dropped by 33 percent in the same period if “side street” crashes are omitted."

On why NBBL's case  is just too late:

p. 18, p. 2: "In an apparent effort to skirt the statute of limitations, petitioners attempt to characterize the PPW Project as 'experimental' or as a 'trial'...Petitioners, two unincorporated associations led by individuals who live on PPW, commenced this proceeding in March 2011, months after the expiration of the Article 78 statute of limitations (which began to run at the latest when the PPW Project was installed). Consequently, petitioners’ claims relating to the PPW Project are time-barred."

The next court date in the case is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 22nd.

You can read the city's filing below.
Respondents' Memorandum of Law in Opposition to the Petition

Muni bus in San Francisco, California (Photo by BrokenSphere)

The head of San Francisco's Municipal Transit Agency is leaving. (San Francisco Chronicle)

DC's Metro has made some progress, say federal lawmakers. (WAMU)

While the US debates about whether to buy Canadian crude oil, that country already has another buyer: China. (Marketplace)

The former vice chair of General Motors says the US auto industry was suffering long before the economic downturn; listen to the conversation on The Takeaway below.

China's fast trains are going to run slower. (New York Times)

The Guardian takes up the thorny issue of whether bicycling in a skirt is hazardous.

The Brussels subway sound system has become the latest front in the linguistic fight between Dutch speakers and Francophones that has kept Belgium without a government for more than a year. (AP)

Gothamist takes the new East River Ferry out for a spin, and tests that commute against the subway and biking. Guess who wins?

(photo by Steven Vance/Flickr)

Republicans said today that privatizing the Northeast Corridor would bring high-speed rail to the country faster -- and more cheaply -- than Amtrak can.

Congressman John Mica, the chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, has never hidden his disdain for Amtrak -- or his enthusiasm for partnering with the private sector.  In a statement today, he said:  “After 40 years of highly-subsidized, poorly-managed Amtrak operations, it’s time for Congress to change the direction of America’s failed high-speed and intercity passenger rail service...After spending billions of dollars, Amtrak and its snail speed, last-century level of service have reached the end of the line.”

The plan, which Mica unveiled today along with Congressman Bill Shuster, is called the  “Competition for Intercity Passenger Rail in America Act.”  The pair introduced it in a video conference.

A draft of the legislation can be found here.

The goal is to separate the Northeast Corridor -- Amtrak's busiest route -- from the rest of the system, transfer title from Amtrak to the US Department of Transportation, and put development of high-speed rail along the corridor out for bid. Republicans said this plan would increase ridership, lower costs, and bring fast trains to the corridor in less than ten years.

Amtrak, which had been going on the offensive this week about its high-speed rail plans for the Northeast Corridor, reacted swiftly to Mica's proposal. Joseph Boardman, Amtrak's president and CEO, aired his dismay in a  phone conference call held earlier this afternoon.  "There seems to be a lack of recognition that Amtrak is the right organization to deliver better intercity passenger rail service in this country," he said. Boardman said that Amtrak had made headway in reducing debt and improving equipment, and was already looking at a public-private partnership for high-speed rail in the Northeast. "This asset, this transportation artery is critical, and that ... is lost in this, because the focus of this particular proposal is about financing and real estate, not transportation first."

Democrats did not greet the proposal warmly. New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, who sits on the Senate's transportation committee, said that "the Republican proposal to privatize rail on the Northeast Corridor would increase costs for passengers and make rail travel less reliable. I will fight in the Senate to stop any plan that threatens Amtrak and commuters on the Northeast Corridor."

Other responses were more measured, if lukewarm. Petra Todorovich, a high-speed rail expert at the Regional Plan Association, said "we don't think it's the worst idea in the world." She added that Mica's proposal was useful in that "he's starting a conversation about what it would take to implement world-class high speed rail in the Northeast Corridor. This is the first time we’ve had this conversation at the congressional level.” But she added that "I think it's unlikely that private companies would bid unless federal money is on the table. You can't have a public/private partnership without public money."

A sunny day on Varick Street in Soho.

Following a court ruling, Seattle's Metro can now begin providing public transit service to sporting events. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Toronto's mayor is interested in selling naming rights to subway stations, bridges, and highways in order to raise badly-needed revenue. (The Globe and Mail)

Bus-only lanes are coming to LA's Wilshire Boulevard. (Los Angeles Times)

Members of the French parliament are pressuring Air France to place a large order with the French plane-maker Airbus over US company Boeing. (Marketplace)

A new US DOT distracted driving ad features characters from the Disney movie 'Cars 2." Because only bad guys drive distracted.

Ethanol subsidies survived a Senate vote. (NPR)

So many people are using Montreal's bike lanes that the lanes are reaching capacity. (Montreal Gazette)

Las Vegas is using Krispy Kremes to try to lure drivers out of their cars and onto buses. (Las Vegas Sun)

Anthony Weiner's car isn't registered. (NY Daily News)

Lose your NYC MetroCard? Now you can file a claim online. (TransitBlogger)

The 10-block extension of the popular park the High Line ends near 30th Street at a green-and-white striped parking lot. In addition to food carts and beer and wine vendors, The Lot will play host to a variety of public art projects throughout the summer. 

Kunshan South Station, Jiangsu, China (photo by Ross Hong Kong via Flickr)

China wants to build a network of high-speed rail that extends beyond its borders. (NPR)

Chicago's transpo commissioner wants to install video screens at bus shelters that "would include everything from Bus Tracker information now available on the internet and cell phones to the current inventory for car- and bike-sharing and how long it would take to walk to popular destinations" (Chicago Sun-Times). He also wants to give pedestrians a leg up at some busy intersections. (NBC Chicago)

New York City's pedicabs may soon get new rules. (WNYC)

U.S. airlines brought in over $3 billion in bag fees last year. (The Hill)

Who's blocking Manhattan's bike lanes? Pretty much everybody and everything, according to a DNA Info investigation.

Nearly $100 million in federal transportation grants will be returned if the City Council's $50 million in additional cuts hold firm, according to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. (Detroit News)

As Libya faces a gas shortage, women get a break at a female-only gas station in Tripoli. (NPR)

One opinion writer says mass transit's time may finally have come to central Indiana. (Indianapolis Star)

TN's Todd Zwillich talks about the Senate's upcoming vote on whether to repeal ethanol tax subsidies. You can listen to the conversation below, or check it out on The Takeaway.

Yarn-bombed bike rack on Manhattan's Upper West Side (photo by Kate Hinds)

The proliferation of electric bikes on NYC streets has led to tickets -- and confusion (New York Times). Meanwhile, Las Vegas's transportation commission is purchasing them (Las Vegas Sun).

The US Department of Transportation put two bus companies out of business this weekend. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Meanwhile, eight times since October, U.S. bus-safety regulators gave extensions allowing operators to stay on the road after finding problems serious enough to shut them down. (Bloomberg via San Francisco Chronicle)

As New Jersey emerges from the financial downturn, access to transit is driving the office market recovery. (Wall Street Journal)

Can electric vehicles create a sustainable job market -- and would the cars sell as well without a tax subsidy? (NPR)

Sales of full-size pickup trucks have stalled; GM plans to trim production accordingly. (Detroit Free Press)

New York City wants to put cameras on some street sweepers to catch alternate side parking violations. (New York Times)

A New Jersey Assembly panel plans to examine Governor Christie's decision to pull the state from a multistate pact to reduce greenhouse gases. (AP via NJ.com)

In New York, new East River ferry service begins today. (MyFoxNY.com)

Some members of Manhattan's Community Board 8 are not loving the Central Park Conservancy's plan to put in cross-park bike paths. (West Side Spirit)

Ray LaHood is waiting for more data before he weighs in on whether the government should regulate communications technology built directly into cars. (AP via BusinessWeek)

Used car prices are soaring. (The Takeaway)

(photo by DennisSylvesterHurd/Flickr)

A cut in federal transportation funds could hurt Westchester and Putnam County's transit plans. (LoHud.com)

Toyota predicts a 31% drop in profits. (New York Times)

The iconic NYC taxi meets Nascar. (Wall Street Journal)

New York's C train cars are the oldest in the subway system, and the Franklin Avenue Shuttle is the train least likely to have working A/C. (NY Daily News)

Will a bike share program come to Pittsburgh? (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Los Angeles doesn't know how many parking meters it has, and so doesn't know how much revenue it should be collecting from them. (Los Angeles Times)

Paris will have the world's first municipal electric vehicle car share program. (Green Futures)

All aboard the Brighton 'bike train.' (The Guardian)

NYC Mayor Bloomberg (photo by Richard Yeh/WNYC)

(Transportation Nation) A New York-bike-ticket-protest-video has been making the internet rounds (and we reported on how TN producer Alex Goldmark makes an auditory cameo), and this morning it collided with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The mayor was in East Harlem this morning to announce a plan to install free Wi-Fi in 26 city parks. In the Q&A afterwards he fielded questions on a range of issues from Anthony Weiner to pension reform to Alec Baldwin's purported mayoral run. But the journalist posing the last question asked the mayor about the video, which filmmaker Casey Neistat made following his being ticketed for not riding in a bike lane. You can listen to the question and the mayor's response here; a transcript follows.

Mayor Bloomberg (responding to whether or not it is fair to ticket a cyclist for not riding in a bike lane if the lanes are encumbered):

There’s nothing fair in life. But the bottom line, is every once in a while, I don’t know if we gave a ticket out that we shouldn’t have, I haven’t seen the video, but generally speaking, you have to obey the laws. And I think there’s a lot of people in the city who love to ride bicycles and we’re trying to accommodate them just like we’re trying to accommodate the people that want to walk on the sidewalks, cross the streets, just like we’re trying to accommodate those people who want to drive their cars. You have to obey the law. If you don’t obey the law you’re not going to have the rights to do things that you want to do, and bicyclists are just as required to obey the laws as anybody else, the police can’t spend all their time going after anybody that breaks the law. Generally speaking bicyclists are going to stay in bicycle lanes because of public pressure, the same ways that smokers aren’t going to smoke in this park, we’re not going to give out tickets, it’s public pressure -- the same way you pay your taxes. Most people in America, unlike other places in the world, pay their taxes, and that lets us go after the handful that don’t. If nobody paid their taxes – and you have that in some countries, it’s a very difficult problem for government. Thank you very much.

Transportation Nation looked at New York City law and bike lanes -- and whether riders are legally obligated to ride in them --  in this post.