­Safe Routes To Schools

“If a city is good for children, it will be good for everybody else.”
— Enrique Peñalosa

The Upper West Side is a neighborhood defined by family that also features some of the best schools in New York City. Yet, like the rest of the city, it is beset by traffic and plagued by deadly drivers. Join a nationally recognized movement to improve the streets and intersections that surround our schools. The Department of Transportation has just finished its first round of improvements to Priority Schools around the city and now is the time to work to expand the benefits to schools in our neighborhood.

Broadway

Broadway was the original road that linked the first settlements on the Upper West Side to the city at the bottom of Manhattan. Today, it remains the beating heart of our city and our neighborhood. But throughout the Upper West Side, it is suffering from neglectful design. Cars double and triple park, sidewalks are too narrow to meet demand, and the noise of traffic is overwhelming. Join us in imagining a new future for our greatest avenue that will see it return to glory as a hub of Upper West Side neighborhood life rather than just another traffic-choked thoroughfare.

Amsterdam

Running the length of the Upper West Side, Amsterdam Avenue is the backbone of this neighborhood. It is a nexus of the community, providing shopping, eating, walking, and essential services. But it stops far short of the green, healthy boulevard that it could be. Come together with other with other members of the community in envisioning a new path for Amsterdam Avenue in which it can serve not just the needs of drivers, but the needs of the neighborhood.

Bike Network

Cities around the world are waking up to the fact that bicycling is an easy, safe, and low-cost method to reduce congestion and improve public life. For years, New York City has lagged behind as it continued to pursue harmful auto-centric design principles. Today there is a sea change at work within the ranks of our planners, bringing with it an unprecedented opportunity for cyclists to make themselves heard. Join your two-wheeled compatriots in a concerted effort to redefine the streets of the Upper West Side.

Parking Reform

As any New Yorker who has ever driven can attest, there exists a parking crisis in our city. On the Upper West Side, circling drivers block streets and burn gas while searching for that elusive spot. And with the revolutionary congestion pricing program currently under discussion, opponents of the plan are suggesting that conditions on the borders of the pricing zone could worsen. Come work with other proactive members of the community to find a sensible solution to a large and growing problem.