Streetfilms: A Conversation with NYCDOT Boss Janette Sadik-Khan

I usually don’t post Streetfilms that have a strict New York focus, but this one is different.  Open Planning Project Director Mark Gorton sits down with the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, Janette Sadik-Khan, to talk about what’s going on in New York.

The 11-minute film, a long one by Streetfilms’ standard, is “required viewing” for Livable Streets advocates everywhere.  Sadik-Khan sounds more like Josef Bray-Ali than Rita Robinson as she explains that streets are for people, and that design and enforecement dictate how people view and use a street.  The best streets are more about creating a place for the public than just moving cars, a concept that seems lost on officials at LADOT.  Let’s just say this, at no point does anyone in the video fret that adding a bike lane will take space away from cars.

So find time in the next couple of days to sit down for 15 minutes and watch this video.  Depending on your mood, you’ll need the other four minutes to either cry or cheer.