Secretary of the U.S Department of Transportation Sean Duffy has a suggestion for better travel this holiday season: have you considered just being in a good mood? That's the message of DOT's new " civility campaign" titled "The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You," and it's meant to address the surge in unruly passenger air travel - even if some might argue it encapsulates the transportation profession's over-focus on personal responsibility over systemic reform in the air and on the ground.
The other day we noticed that a sign installed by the Department of Transportation to herald the role then-President Joe Biden played in funding the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge bike lane (above) had been quietly taken down (below). We wondered if the sudden disappearance of Amtrak Joe was linked to the city's ongoing battles with President Trump over such near-and-dear transportation initiatives such as congestion pricing, bike lanes, the 34th Street busway and the Second Avenue Subway.
Mayor Adams needs to get out of the Department of Transportation's way and let them do their job. Two years ago, DOT unveiled an ambitious Curb Management Action Plan to make the space in between the travel lane and sidewalks work better for all New Yorkers, including drivers. Better curb management strategies, bus lanes, and bike lanes help drivers in the long run by reducing traffic, making our streets safer, and making parking more readily available.
Different neighborhood, same story. The city is once again halting a modest proposal for unprotected bike lanes in Brooklyn, this time in Midwood, after the all-too-familiar backlash from some car-focused locals. Department of Transportation honchos recently told local electeds they would pause the proposed network of unprotected bike lane in the southern Brooklyn's Community Board 14 that has been in the works for at least four years, frustrating residents who want to safely travel around without a car.
"Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told employees in an email Tuesday that the department is launching a consolidation initiative, dubbed 1DoT, to "streamline our processes, consolidate administrative functions and modernize our infrastructure to better serve the American public."
The city Department of Transportation is hiring deckhands for the Staten Island Ferry, offering a salary range of $57,991-$66,690 for part-time positions.