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
A Message from Copenhagen: Climate Plan Must Include Walkable Urbanism
| | 3 Comments
The energy-saving benefits of transit aren’t limited to the transportation sector. Image: Jonathan Rose Companies via Richard Layman. At a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable urban development must be part of any effective plan to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to […]
Bike-Share: Not Just for French Commies
| | 2 Comments
In Montreal, theft is "not a major problem" for the bike-share network. Photo: TreeHugger. The New York Times ran a piece on Vélib’s growing pains this weekend. The story is more thoroughly reported than the hatchet job we saw from the BBC back in February — no claims that bike-share in Paris will flame out […]
Will “Crash-Proof” Cars Make Drivers More Dangerous?
| | 3 Comments
Via TreeHugger, Copenhagenize reports that Volvo is in the final stages of testing technology to improve safety for people outside its products — a "pedestrian detection" system available in S60 models next year: It is meant to spot all pedestrians in front of the car as well as off to the sides in a […]
Ad Nauseam: What “Cash for Clunkers” Hath Wrought
| | 18 Comments
The government’s Cash for Clunkers program officially begins today, but car dealers have been running ads like this one for a while already. They have to keep the public informed: Now you can trade in your old car and buy a brand-new SUV or pick-up truck with a hefty assist from Uncle Sam. Here we […]
In New York, More Proof of Safety in Numbers for Cyclists
| | No Comments
The city’s expanding bike network is paying dividends — boosting the level of cycling and making streets safer in the process. Snagged from the latest issue of TA’s StreetBeat, this graph is a great illustration of the "safety in numbers" effect identified by researcher Peter Jacobsen in a landmark 2003 paper published in Injury Prevention. […]
Cartoon Tuesday: Beware of the Ouchies
| | No Comments
After reading about a new Pew Poll that found 88 percent of Americans believe they can’t live without a car, I couldn’t help thinking of this cartoon from John Akre — who also gave us Cars for Hats. Car dependence has never looked so terrifying.
Boxer: Collect Fees on Driving Through ‘Honor System’
| | 4 Comments
Another must-read from last week’s Reuters Infrastructure Summit: Barbara Boxer, who as Chair of the Senate’s Transportation Committee will be responsible for shepherding the next transportation bill through the Senate, says she’s open to a mileage tax and to indexing the gas tax to inflation to generate new revenue. It’s great to hear a legislator […]
Doomsday Across America
| | 8 Comments
Following up on Sarah’s post about transit funding woes in Illinois, this CNN segment from earlier in the month brings home the effect of service cuts and fare hikes in St. Louis. Similar scenarios are playing out all over the country. According to the latest tally from Transportation for America, 85 transit systems serving 22 […]
Rail Across America
| | 7 Comments
You’ve probably seen this already. It’s the latest graphic representation of the nation’s proposed high-speed rail corridors, and it’s been all over the transportation blogosphere since President Obama stood beside it at a press conference last week. Those corridors are likely to change somewhat as the administration refines its new strategy for high-speed rail, says […]
Waxman’s Climate Change Bill Good for Green Transportation
| | 1 Comment
At the end of March, representatives Henry Waxman and Ed Markey introduced an ambitious federal climate bill. This is the real deal — the legislative centerpiece of President Obama’s effort to combat global warming. Transportation contributes about a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., so any climate bill will have to green […]
Obama Falls Prey to Ribbon-Cutting Syndrome
| | No Comments
Obama greets construction workers at a DC photo op. Photo: AFP via Infrastructurist. At a press event in DC yesterday, President Obama touted the two thousandth transportation project to receive federal stimulus funds. I’m speculating a bit here, but the White House probably had some discretion when choosing which item to highlight for this milestone. […]
Livable Streets Promised Land
| | 1 Comment
Here’s a nice visual of what cities will look like when the livable streets movement has completely emerged from the wilderness (sorry for the extended metaphor, couldn’t help it today). GOOD Magazine ran this photosim done by our very own Carly Clark in their transportation issue, with text by Streetsblog Editor-in-Chief Aaron Naparstek. They’ve got […]