Clarence Eckerson made a splash with a pair of videos that documented the latent traffic-calming measures lurking in New York’s streets, revealed by heavy snowfall. These “neckdowns,” left behind by snowplows, provide an existence proof of the ways that changes in curbs and streets would make things safer for drivers and pedestrians.
With the current NYC snowpocalypse upon us, Eckerson is back in the streets, calling on people to document and tweet the city’s ice-neckdowns, tagging them with #sneckdown (they’re also documenting unplowed bike-lanes). It’s a marvellous example of live, networked urban theory, and shows how people can organize to build the evidentiary basis for real change to their cities.
If you see good snowy neckdowns (a.k.a. #sneckdowns), send us your pics and we’ll run the best on the blog.
We also want to know how well the Sanitation Department is keeping the protected bike lane network clear. Winter biking is more practical than most people realize. It’s actually pretty damn comfortable if you keep your ears and extremities well-insulated. But unplowed, snow-packed bike lanes can ruin it for days on end. Remember how long the Prospect Park West bike lane went unplowed in 2011?
Send Us Your Pics of Snowy Neckdowns and (Un)Plowed Bike Lanes [Ben Fried/Streetsblog]
(via Mefi)