Transportation Alternatives
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Transportation Alternatives is a non-profit NGO based out of New York City. T.A. seeks to change New York City's transportation priorities to encourage and increase non-polluting, quiet, city-friendly travel and decrease private car use. They seek a transportation system based on a "Green Transportation Hierarchy," which gives preference to modes of travel based on their benefits and costs to society. To achieve these goals, T.A. works in five areas: Bicycling, Walking and Traffic Calming, Car-Free Parks, Safe Streets and Sensible Transportation.
[edit] History
Transportation Alternatives was founded in 1973 during the explosion of environmental consciousness that also produced the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency. Since its founding, T.A. has helped win numerous improvements for cyclists and pedestrians and has been the leading voice for reducing car use in the city. T.A.'s roots are in bicycling, and many of its members are everyday cyclists. A cycling-friendly city means changing the overall transportation system, which, even in mass transit-centered New York City, means shifting a paradigm dominated by the private automobile.
