Through dreary rain, late Monday afternoon, I dodged jammed Madison Avenue traffic to the Municipal Art Society office in exquisite remains of the Villard Mansion. There NYC’s Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan explained her strategic plan for “Sustainable Streets.” The wine flowed, the sushi, ginger & wasabi were fresh (even without soy sauce), the tabuli tangy, the tapinade, salty.

People packed shoulder to shoulder, making dancing to the swing trio impractical. Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler was there, as was NYPC Commissioner Ray Kelly (Kelly was so freshly dressed, so creased, so unwrinkled, so calm, he glowed. I’ll bet he didn’t cycle over.) The overwhelmingly white, suited crowd had a few cycling advocates mixed in: Transportation Alternatives’ Paul Steely White in his signature vest, Straphanger Gene Russianoff in cacki chinos, Karen Overton, formerly of Recycle-A Bicycle. But, for me the big news was who was missing: I saw no elected officials at all.

Got this from Straphangers Campaign:

Chapter 384 of the Laws of 2007 established the New York City Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission, a 17-member body directed to undertake a review and study of plans to reduce traffic congestion and other related health and safety issues within the City of New York.

As part of its statutory mandate, and to provide the opportunity for maximum public involvement, participation and comment, the Commission is conducting this series of public hearings to be held in each borough of the City of New York, on Long Island, and in Westchester County.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Commission at any of the above public hearings should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

The MTA ONCE AGAIN wants to hike our fares even as service gets worse. I can't believe how bad the F line has become. It should be the quickest way I can take to pick up my son at day care. It has so many major delays and snags that I have almost given up on it.

ONCE AGAIN, the MTA wants to raise our fares.

When I was in Los Angeles, I noticed that bus fares (I have never taken the tiny subway in LA) were about the same as they were when I left LA more than 10 years ago.

In NYC this will be, I think, the third (?) fare hike since I moved here.

Where does the money go? Does the MTA still illegally keep two sets of books, one to brag about and one to use to convince people they have to pay more, more, more?

Here is the Straphangers Campaign's statement on the proposed fare hike:

Here are some questions that New Yorkers should be asking about a possible fare hike in the months to come:

Do the financial numbers show the MTA facing a serious budget deficit in 2008 and beyond?