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FOR decades, New York City's Department of Transportation tried to make this town as friendly as possible to cars, mainly by giving them enough room to move as quickly as possible. Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, however, the department has been encouraging alternative transportation by reassigning street space long reserved for cars and trucks to bikes, buses and pedestrians. To accommodate all this movement, the city can no longer be as accommodating as it has been toward stationary vehicles. Before traffic reaches a standstill, as it threatens to do, the city should start phasing out curbside parking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reflects on the environmental review program for New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's plan of improving infrastructure and housing of the city. It criticizes the environmental review for it doesn't meet demands of increasing population, however, it states that the mayor can improve the same by creating executive orders and exempting many small projects.

The article focuses on issues related to traffic congestion in New York City. According to the city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, traffic congestion is one of the key challenges facing the city. The city's transportation planning organization has estimated that traffic delays waste more than $8 billion man hours annually and almost double the cost of freight shipments.