Transportation Alternatives

### Context Profile for Transportation Alternatives

1. **Organization Mission & Cause**:
   - **Mission**: Transportation Alternatives (TA) is dedicated to reclaiming New York City’s streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit users. Their mission is to promote sustainable transportation options and advocate for policies that enhance the safety and accessibility of the city’s transportation network.
   - **Cause**: TA aims to create a more livable city by reducing reliance on cars, promoting cycling and walking, and improving public transportation. Their work focuses on community engagement, policy advocacy, and raising awareness about the benefits of sustainable transportation.

2. **Type of Activities**:
   - **Events**: Regular community events, including the "Advocacy Awards & Member Mixer," which celebrates activists and community leaders.
   - **Fundraising Campaigns**: Engages in various fundraising efforts to support their advocacy work, including membership drives and special events.
   - **Community Programs**: Initiatives aimed at promoting safe streets, cycling education, and public transit improvements. They also conduct surveys to gather community input on transportation issues.

3. **Tone of Voice**:
   - The tone of TA’s communications is **friendly, inspiring, and community-oriented**. They aim to engage their audience with a sense of enthusiasm and positivity about the changes they advocate for. The language is accessible and encourages participation, making it feel inclusive and inviting.

4. **Emoji Usage**:
   - The website and recent communications do not prominently feature emojis. However, they may be used occasionally in social media posts or informal communications to convey excitement or community spirit.

5. **Key Facts**:
   - **Founding Info**: Established in 1973, TA has a long history of advocating for sustainable transportation in NYC.
   - **Scale**: They have a robust membership base and engage with the community through various events and campaigns.
   - **Impact Metrics**: Specific metrics on their impact are not detailed on the website, but they highlight successful initiatives and policy changes resulting from their advocacy.
   - **Volunteer Info**: TA encourages volunteer involvement and provides opportunities for community members to engage in their programs and events.

6. **Writing Guidelines**:
   - **Style**: Use an engaging and conversational style that reflects a sense of community and activism. 
   - **Structure**: Keep content clear and concise, using headings and bullet points for easy readability.
   - **Call to Action**: Include strong calls to action that encourage community involvement, whether through attending events, participating in surveys, or becoming a member.
   - **Visuals**: Incorporate images and graphics that resonate with the community and highlight their initiatives, as seen in their email campaigns.

This context profile serves as a foundation for creating personalized and effective content for Transportation Alternatives, ensuring alignment with their mission and communication style.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Your City Your Voice Activist Training

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM "Turn Every Page": Inside the Robert A.

Start: Hunters Point South Park
End: Brooklyn Bridge Park

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM East River Ferry Tour

Start: Central Park North / 110th Street Subway Stop

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Green Schools, Safe Streets Walk Audit

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Workshop: Applying a Safe Systems Approach

Start: Journal Square PATH, Jersey City
End: Grove Street PATH, Jersey City

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Bike Tour - Jersey City

Note: This bike tour begins where the ferry tour concludes: 
The Tour will start in Brooklyn Bridge Park (near Pier 1), travel along the Greenway to Red Hook, then backtrack and go through DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, ending near the Newtown Barge Playground.

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Bike Tour: The Spectrum of Greenway Design

Start: Broadway & 31st Street (NW corner)
End: Queens Plaza South & Crescent Street

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Walking Tour: NEW and Future Western Queen

Registered Vision Zero Cities attendees may choose their Field Tours here. Please select up to two tours. Tours will take place throughout the city and participants are responsible for travel between tour locations. Staff will be available to provide directions and in some cases, guide groups to their next tour.  Questions? Email events@transalt.org 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Your City Your Voice Activist Training | Location: NYU Kimmel Center Room 802Your City, Your Voice is a series of activist trainings developed by Transportation Alternatives’ renowned team of community organizers. Hear the lessons learned in their years of hyper-local, grassroots political activism. Absorb the tools and tactics that contributed to winning campaigns to change New York’s speed limit and introduce innovations like protected bike lanes, bike share, and speed cameras to city streets. You’ll be taught how to engage with your neighbors and organize a successful local campaign — valuable lessons that could apply to the fight for a protected bike lane, an effort to protect a community garden, or a campaign to advocate for better food access for your community. 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM | "Turn Every Page": Inside the Robert A. Caro Archive | Location: New York Historical SocietyThe first public exhibition drawn from the archive of the author whose award-winning works on Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson are regarded as masterpieces of modern biography and history, "Turn Every Page" includes never-before-seen highlights from the archive—which New-York Historical acquired in 2019—that provide an intimate view of how Caro started his career and how he worked as a reporter.  11:30 AM - 1:30 PM | East River Ferry Tour: Case Studies in Resilient Waterfront Design | Start: Hunters Point South Park End: Brooklyn Bridge ParkOver the past decade, cities worldwide have invested in waterfronts as critical defenses against climate change. These areas offer opportunities to protect vulnerable populations and infrastructure from severe storms while addressing economic, health, and social challenges. Under-utilized waterfronts are being transformed into housing, park spaces, and vital infrastructure like active mobility corridors. This tour will utilize New York’s newest public transportation infrastructure - the NYC Ferry – to explore waterfront projects including Brooklyn Bridge Park, Domino Park, Hunters Point South, the East Midtown Greenway, and Malt Drive Park —focusing on trail connectivity, stormwater management, and urban design, while discussing policies and strategies that shape urban communities and improve quality of life. This session will start and end with a walking tour, please expect approximately 1 mile of walking at either end. 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM | Green Schools, Safe Streets Walk Audit | Start: Central Park North / 110th Street Subway Stop 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM | Workshop: Applying a Safe Systems Approach | Location: NYU Kimmel Center Room 802“There Are No Accidents” author and Transportation Alternatives senior strategist Jessie Singer will lead an interactive lecture on the origins and applications of the Safe Systems approach. Learn how to shift your city from individualized, behavior-based responses to systemic safety solutions and save lives. 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Bike Tour - Jersey City | Start: Journal Square PATH, Jersey City | End: Grove Street PATH, Jersey CityJoin us on a field tour showcasing urban transformation through pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, intersection safety techniques, and placemaking. We'll explore how closing slip lanes, adding pedestrian plazas, and incorporating Vision Zero principles are reshaping our streets for walking and biking. Highlights include: Homestead Place, a fully pedestrianized street, Protected bike lanes extending to Journal Square, Bergen Square’s transformation with crosswalks, trees, and benches, Future bike lanes and safety improvements at McGinley Square Expect approximately 1 mile of walking and 5-6 miles of biking. 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Bike Tour: The Spectrum of Greenway Design: The Good, The Challenges, and Future Opportunities | Start: Brooklyn Bridge Park End: Skyscraper MuseumWe will lead a bike tour of a portion of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, highlighting several different typographies of greenway designing, and discussing the strengths and challenges of each in terms of implementation, safety, and suitability for different types of greenway users. The tour will also pass several locations of sensors and intercept surveys from the recently-completed Greenway User Study. The Tour will start in Brooklyn Bridge Park near the corner of Old Fulton Street and Furman Street (near Pier 1), travel along the Greenway to Red Hook, then backtrack and go through DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, ending near the Newtown Barge Playground. Ride Distance: 9.5 miles 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Walking Tour: NEW and Future Western Queens Infrastructure Walking Tour | Start: Broadway & 31st Street (NW corner)| End: Queens Plaza South & Crescent StreetTake a walking tour of recently installed street infrastructure in Queens. The tour will cover the Crescent Street protected bike lane, the new 31st Avenue Bike Boulevard, and the planned Queens Waterfront Greenway. We will also visit the yet-to-open Queensboro Bridge South Outer Walkway. This tour offers a closer look at the evolving transportation and bike infrastructure in the area. Expect an approximately three mile walk.

We hope you’re enjoying your time at Vision Zero Cities! We’re excited to guide you through several field tours tomorrow, October 18. Please find the schedule and details below:8:30 AM - 10:30 AM Breakfast and Session: Congestion Pricing State of Play Location: New York University, 4th Floor, Eisner and Lubin AuditoriumNote: Groups will depart from outside the Auditorium to travel to the following Field Tours together:<ul><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;box-sizing:inherit">"Turn Every Page": Inside the Robert A. Caro Archive</li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;box-sizing:inherit">East River Ferry Tour: Case Studies in Resilient Waterfront Design</li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;box-sizing:inherit">Green Schools, Safe Streets Walk Audit</li></ul>Please note that lunch is on your own and join us at our closing Happy Hour at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Skyscraper+Museum/@40.7057375,-74.0203239,733m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c25a11fc993761:0xec0538e9a4453343!8m2!3d40.7057375!4d-74.017749!16zL20vMDUxbDl6?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">the Skyscraper Museum</a> from 5:00pm - 7:30pm! Please find more Field Tour details below:11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Your City Your Voice Activist TrainingLocation: NYU Kimmel Center Room 802 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM "Turn Every Page": Inside the Robert A. Caro ArchiveLocation: <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/New-York+Historical+Society/@40.7793487,-73.9739079,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x505d79b92e16a75e?sa=X&ved=1t:2428&ictx=111" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">New York Historical Society</a> 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM East River Ferry Tour: Case Studies in Resilient Waterfront DesignLocation: <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/SGEFfooqw4BQnT6W8" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">Hunters Point South Park</a>End: Brooklyn Bridge Park The tour will begin with a walking tour through Hunters Point South before boarding the ferry and viewing several waterfront parks to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The tour will conclude with a walking tour and will end where The Spectrum of Greenway Design bike tour begins or you may access transit to other tour locations! 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Green Schools, Safe Streets Walk AuditLocation: <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/KjUrboyrosjYvYGw8" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">Central Park North / 110th Street Subway Stop</a> 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Workshop: Applying a Safe Systems ApproachLocation: NYU Kimmel Center Room 802 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Pedals, Paths, and Plazas: A Tour of Jersey City InfrastructureLocation:  <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Journal+Square/@40.7327173,-74.0629699,92m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x89c25730fde37f99:0x41f5f28679b201e6!2sJournal+Square,+Jersey+City,+NJ!3b1!8m2!3d40.7345715!4d-74.0631544!16zL20vMGRocmZ2!3m5!1s0x89c2573198633ced:0xa6d1e66cf283b192!8m2!3d40.73265!4d-74.0626901!16s%2Fg%2F12hq87rtk?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">Journal Square PATH</a>, Jersey City top of the escalatorEnd: Attendees will be escorted back to the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Grove+St/@40.7196121,-74.0452168,733m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c250b20ff7fe13:0x50875f6c08c8e0c0!8m2!3d40.7196081!4d-74.0426365!16s%2Fg%2F12hr_xs7r?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">Grove Street PATH station</a>. Take the PATH to the World Trade Center, the Skyscraper Museum is a short walk away!Expect approximately 1 mile of walking and 6 miles of biking. Please bring your own water bottles, helmets, and other supplies if desired. Citi Bike codes are available for use. If you plan to use a Citi Bike, please download the app in advance and stop by check in in the morning or get codes from your tour leaders! 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Bike Tour: The Spectrum of Greenway Design: The Good, The Challenges, and Future OpportunitiesLocation: <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Old+Fulton+St+%26+Furman+St,+Brooklyn,+NY+11201/@40.7028889,-73.9973606,733m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c25a30a806de9d:0xba011fe87d4ba9f6!8m2!3d40.7028849!4d-73.9947803!16s%2Fg%2F11gdyrfl8p?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">Old Fulton at Furman Street, Brooklyn Bridge Park</a> End: After the tour, you may continue riding to reach the Skyscraper Museum or take transit.Expect approximately 10 miles of biking. Please bring your own water bottles, helmets, and other supplies if desired.  Citi Bike codes are available for use. If you plan to use a Citi Bike, please download the app in advance and stop by check in in the morning or get codes from your tour leaders! 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Walking Tour: NEW and Future Western Queens Infrastructure Walking TourLocation: <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/ofhmnk8fSesECv876" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">Broadway & 31st Street (NW corner)</a>End: <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/R6jhwmXLEakCTi4AA" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">Queens Plaza South & Crescent Street</a> Expect an approximately 3 mile walk.  Any questions? Respond to this email or send us a message at <a href="mailto:events@transalt.org" style="color:green;text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit">events@transalt.org</a>

Registered Vision Zero Cities attendees may choose their Field Tours here. Please select up to two tours. Tours will take place throughout the city and participants are responsible for travel between tour locations. Staff will be available to provide directions and in some cases, guide groups to their next tour.  Questions? Email events@transalt.org 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Your City Your Voice Activist Training | Location: NYU Kimmel Center Room 802Your City, Your Voice is a series of activist trainings developed by Transportation Alternatives’ renowned team of community organizers. Hear the lessons learned in their years of hyper-local, grassroots political activism. Absorb the tools and tactics that contributed to winning campaigns to change New York’s speed limit and introduce innovations like protected bike lanes, bike share, and speed cameras to city streets. You’ll be taught how to engage with your neighbors and organize a successful local campaign — valuable lessons that could apply to the fight for a protected bike lane, an effort to protect a community garden, or a campaign to advocate for better food access for your community. 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM | "Turn Every Page": Inside the Robert A. Caro Archive | Location: New York Historical SocietyThe first public exhibition drawn from the archive of the author whose award-winning works on Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson are regarded as masterpieces of modern biography and history, "Turn Every Page" includes never-before-seen highlights from the archive—which New-York Historical acquired in 2019—that provide an intimate view of how Caro started his career and how he worked as a reporter.  11:30 AM - 1:30 PM | East River Ferry Tour: Case Studies in Resilient Waterfront Design | Start: Hunters Point South Park End: Brooklyn Bridge ParkOver the past decade, cities worldwide have invested in waterfronts as critical defenses against climate change. These areas offer opportunities to protect vulnerable populations and infrastructure from severe storms while addressing economic, health, and social challenges. Under-utilized waterfronts are being transformed into housing, park spaces, and vital infrastructure like active mobility corridors. This tour will utilize New York’s newest public transportation infrastructure - the NYC Ferry – to explore waterfront projects including Brooklyn Bridge Park, Domino Park, Hunters Point South, the East Midtown Greenway, and Malt Drive Park —focusing on trail connectivity, stormwater management, and urban design, while discussing policies and strategies that shape urban communities and improve quality of life. This session will start and end with a walking tour, please expect approximately 1 mile of walking at either end. 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM | Green Schools, Safe Streets Walk Audit | Start: Central Park North / 110th Street Subway Stop 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM | Workshop: Applying a Safe Systems Approach | Location: NYU Kimmel Center Room 802“There Are No Accidents” author and Transportation Alternatives senior strategist Jessie Singer will lead an interactive lecture on the origins and applications of the Safe Systems approach. Learn how to shift your city from individualized, behavior-based responses to systemic safety solutions and save lives. 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Bike Tour - Jersey City | Start: Journal Square PATH, Jersey City | End: Grove Street PATH, Jersey CityJoin us on a field tour showcasing urban transformation through pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, intersection safety techniques, and placemaking. We'll explore how closing slip lanes, adding pedestrian plazas, and incorporating Vision Zero principles are reshaping our streets for walking and biking. Highlights include: Homestead Place, a fully pedestrianized street, Protected bike lanes extending to Journal Square, Bergen Square’s transformation with crosswalks, trees, and benches, Future bike lanes and safety improvements at McGinley Square Expect approximately 1 mile of walking and 5-6 miles of biking. 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Bike Tour: The Spectrum of Greenway Design: The Good, The Challenges, and Future Opportunities | Start: Brooklyn Bridge Park End: Skyscraper MuseumWe will lead a bike tour of a portion of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, highlighting several different typographies of greenway designing, and discussing the strengths and challenges of each in terms of implementation, safety, and suitability for different types of greenway users. The tour will also pass several locations of sensors and intercept surveys from the recently-completed Greenway User Study. The Tour will start in Brooklyn Bridge Park near the corner of Old Fulton Street and Furman Street (near Pier 1), travel along the Greenway to Red Hook, then backtrack and go through DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, ending near the Newtown Barge Playground. Ride Distance: 9.5 miles 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Walking Tour: NEW and Future Western Queens Infrastructure Walking Tour | Start: Broadway &amp; 31st Street (NW corner)| End: Queens Plaza South &amp; Crescent StreetTake a walking tour of recently installed street infrastructure in Queens. The tour will cover the Crescent Street protected bike lane, the new 31st Avenue Bike Boulevard, and the planned Queens Waterfront Greenway. We will also visit the yet-to-open Queensboro Bridge South Outer Walkway. This tour offers a closer look at the evolving transportation and bike infrastructure in the area. Expect an approximately three mile walk.

Transportation Alternatives

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Vision Zero Cities Field Tour Selection

Various Locations

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Your City Your Voice Activist Training

Free

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM "Turn Every Page": Inside the Robert A.

Free

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM East River Ferry Tour

Free

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Green Schools, Safe Streets Walk Audit

Free

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Workshop: Applying a Safe Systems Approach

Free

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Bike Tour - Jersey City

Free

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Bike Tour: The Spectrum of Greenway Design

Free

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Walking Tour: NEW and Future Western Queen

Free