Impossible. Far-fetched. Not in a million years.
TA activists are used to hearing that our big ideas for safer streets will never happen. After all, naysayers are everywhere, and their negativity can be loud.
This #GivingTuesday, we asked some TA activists and allies to share their most memorable, um, feedback.
Our passionate community of New Yorkers, who share our vision of safer streets and better transportation for all, help us rise above the voices of the naysayers each and every day.
Be part of this movement. Your donation helps prove that a safer, cleaner, greener and more equitable New York is not so far-fetched after all.
“A DISASTER” on the Brooklyn Bridge
Today thousands of New Yorkers enjoy a safe, pleasant ride over the Brooklyn Bridge each day. But not long ago, the idea for a dedicated bike lane over the bridge was shouted down as impossible, including one impassioned opponent who called it “A DISASTER.”
Luckily, TA activists like Liz, Katherine, Blythe Austin, Diane Martins and other Bridges 4 People leaders didn’t listen. Their tireless work on the #Bridges4People campaign, supported by decades of advocacy and hundreds of volunteers, pushed past the naysayers and paid off: The new bike-only lane opened in September, expanding space for both cyclists and pedestrians.
Bike share in NYC? It’ll never happen!
Back when bike share was just a dream of some hardworking TA activists, naysayers fought hard to stop it from happening. They called the idea “shocking” and said it would “ruin neighborhoods.”
We all know what happened next. TA activists proved the naysayers wrong and won, and since then, New Yorkers have taken Citi Bikes on over 100 million trips across the city.
When we get on a Citi Bike today, it’s hard to believe that this affordable, efficient and sustainable form of transportation was ever considered far-fetched, even controversial. That kind of change is what we can accomplish together.
“No possibility whatsoever”
For years, Queens Boulevard was one of the most dangerous streets in the city. And some said there was “no possibility whatsoever” that it could ever change.
But Familes for Safe Streets activist Lizi Rahman knew all too well the cost of doing nothing. After she lost her son to traffic violence on Queens Boulevard, she turned her grief into action. And just this year, she and the other activists celebrated a victory: A new protected bike lane and other safety improvements on Queens Boulevard.
“You can’t fight cars.”
TA activist Ken Coughlin heard a lot of excuses when he first asked New Yorkers to sign postcards, and later a petition, banning cars in Central Park.
“They’ve been here too long,” they said. “You’ll never get city officials to agree.”
But he didn’t listen. 26 years and over 100,000 petition signatures later, cars were permanently banned from Central Park. Turns out a car-free park wasn’t so impossible after all.
THANK YOU
We at TA are no stranger to the naysayers. From community board meetings, to online comments, to shouts from the driver’s side window — we’ve heard it all. That’s why we’re grateful to have your support this #GivingTuesday.
We hope you can look back on these predictions of doom and gloom with a smile — knowing that when we work together, we make the impossible possible.