Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
Ben Fried
Recent Posts
Cartoon Tuesday: Plug-in
| | No Comments
Cartoonist Signe Wilkinson has hit on a way to keep GM afloat. Click through to see how.
Bike Miami: Car Free Under Palm Trees
| | No Comments
Yesterday Miami became the latest American city to pull off a big car-free event, when an estimated 2,000 people (including mayor Manny Diaz) took to the streets for Bike Miami. Mike Lydon at Transit Miami reports: South Miami Avenue was much more like an urban plaza than a street. Did you notice how the cafe […]
Ped-Bike Mockery Flops for 7-Term House Incumbent
| | 3 Comments
The National Republican Congressional Committee ran this ad against Democratic challenger Kathy Dahlkemper in the race for Pennsylvania’s third congressional district. It hits a few Gingrichian notes on how to address the country’s energy problems before the announcer tells us incredulously: Dahlkemper’s wacky solution? She said we should make personal sacrifices, such as walking places […]
Did Last Night End Urban v. Rural Campaigns?
| | 2 Comments
Writing for Citiwire, Brookings fellow Robert Lang asks whether the 2008 presidential contest might be the last one to openly pit rural and exurban voters against cities, which are increasingly aligned politically with inner suburbs. Lang says it depends on whether Republicans will again feel confident running the type of campaign that mocks community organizers […]
Why Americans Bike and Walk — Or Don’t
| | No Comments
DC-area blog WashCycle points us to this recently released survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [PDF]. The stats on Americans’ bicycling and walking behavior are a little behind the times — from phone interviews done in 2002 — but there are reams of data compiled from nearly 10,000 questionnaires. Some of the most […]
Flouting Traffic Laws: The Gateway to Lying to Police
| | No Comments
Everyone following the blow-by-blow of the presidential race is now familiar with Ashley Todd, the undergrad campaign volunteer who falsely claimed that a black man carved the letter "B" in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker. Before Todd’s story was proven to be a total fabrication, her Twitter feed surfaced on the Smoking […]
Bike-Share Hero: Montreal’s Solar-Powered “Bixi” System
| | No Comments
Via the Bike-Sharing Blog, this vid shows a modular bike-share station getting set up in what must be record time. It’s part of a trial system in Montreal called Bixi (contraction of "bike" and "taxi," rhymes with pixie), which launched last month and is set to ramp up with 2,400 bikes next April. Bike-Sharing Blog’s […]
Study Confirms: Safer Bike Routes Get More People Riding
| | No Comments
Bike infrastructure can help overcome safety concerns, says Portland-area researcher Jennifer Dill. How effective are bike lanes at enticing people to ride? Portland State University professor Jennifer Dill has been looking into that question for more than a year, and her research is starting to get some attention. Using GPS trackers to map more than […]
Ask the Candidates to Talk Transportation at Tomorrow’s Debate
| | No Comments
Insert new question here. We’ve noted throughout this election season that transportation policy is something of a third rail in presidential politics. Gas prices and auto industry jobs are irresistible fodder for campaign promises, but even the candidate who has decent ideas about rail travel and bike infrastructure doesn’t mention transit on the stump. (The […]
James Oberstar on the Future of U.S. Transportation Funding
| | No Comments
Minnesota Representative James Oberstar is perhaps the strongest advocate for transit on Capitol Hill. In a recent Q&A with the Kansas City Star, he shared his thoughts on how the financial crisis will affect federal investments in transportation: Transit currently receives about 20 percent of federal surface transportation funding. Next year’s surface transportation authorization will […]
PBS Exposes the Joy of Transit
| | 2 Comments
NOW host David Brancaccio does an interview on the LA Metro. Click through for the full video. The latest episode of NOW is surely the most effective takedown of car-dependent planning ever broadcast in news magazine format. Adhering to the familiar contours of pocketbook journalism, "Driven to Despair" starts with a sympathetic portrayal of the […]
Amtrak Bill Clears the Way for Bike-Friendly Trains
| | 1 Comment
The five-year Amtrak authorization that Congress passed last week includes a nice inter-modal touch. It states in no uncertain terms that funding can be spent on making trains accessible for bikes: NONMOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION ACCESS AND STORAGE. — Grants under this chapter may be used to provide access to rolling stock for nonmotorized transportation, including bicycles, […]