CARR OFFERS THIS VIDEO AS REPRESENTATION OF TYPICAL, SCOFFLAW MIDTOWN INTERSECTION

By Ron Gabriel, Art Director, SVA MA

The video does try to offer a solution (not only point out problems) by working in tandem with a street-level campaign with a clear focus on interconnection (NYC Goes Three Ways). The video is intended to live on a website that clearly discusses the bad habits that were highlighted in the video. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists each have a section that points out long-standing bad habits, and how to help break them. The bad habits addressed on the website are marked with text on the left hand side of the video.

To those who think the accident stats in NYC are not bad, and the street system 'regulates' itself, I disagree. The problem with a barely-functioning system is that it becomes very difficult or impossible to introduce change. And the same people who are obsessed with statistics and percentages are also obsessed with accident stats. But this is the wrong approach. Quality of life is the ideal and is not necessarily reflected in 'low' fatality stats. The conflicts highlighted in the video may be nothing more than invasions of personal space (or not) — but repeated block by block, day by day — they amount to an important quality of life issue, whether or not someone ends up dead or 'only' with a broken hip.

We are fortunate to live in a city trying to modernize and evolve. It is not good enough to be satisfied with old (selfish) thinking, behaviors, and street systems.

NEW YORK GOES 3 WAYS

If you have trouble seeing the entire image, ckick on the link:

3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.

Posted by RonConCocaCola at 6/10/2011 10:27 AM | View Comments (8) | Add Comment

NYC Goes Three Ways

By summer 2010, the expansion of bike lanes exposed a clash of long-standing bad habits — such as pedestrians jaywalking, cyclists running red lights, and motorists plowing through crosswalks. The old habits exacerbate attempts to expand ways to use our streets; existing disfunction makes change more difficult.

My master's thesis project at SVA focused on one intersection as a case study. The video aims to show our interconnected role in improving the safety and usability of our streets. The campaign is named '3-Way Street' and is made up of a poster series, a video and website.

The website is still under construction while a possible partner is found.

Music: "Peter Gunn" by Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy, won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental of 1986. Available on iTunes.