What does it take to make a street safer for everyone? In the US, it typically requires a combination of tragedy, grassroots organizing, and political leadership. Even when these ingredients come together, success is never guaranteed, as so many projects become battles about more than just bike lanes. Changing Lanes, a new documentary from director Ben Wolf, covers the fight to make McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, safer following the tragic death of a beloved teacher at the hands of a hit-and-run driver. Featuring interviews with such notable figures as Janette Sadik-Khan and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Changing Lanes moves beyond bike lanes to tell a story that’s very much made for this political and cultural moment. Wolf joins us along with advocates Bronwyn Breitner and Kevin LaCherra, as well as New York State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, to talk about how they fought to make McGuinness safe and the broader lessons they learned along the way.
***Join The War on Cars on Patreon and listen to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!***
SHOW NOTES:
Stream Changing Lanes on Amazon or Kanopy.
Watch the film’s trailer.
Learn more about the film and request a screening at ChangingLanesDoc.com.
Read more about the Make McGuinness Safe campaign and learn about where the project stands today.
Catch up on the corruption that led to a powerful family’s downfall and the indictment of a top aide to Mayor Eric Adams, via Streetsblog.
Order our book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit Upway.co to get rolling.
Thanks also to Cleverhood. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.