Striving to make make changes in New York City’s complicated urban planning legislature, non-profit group Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) has taken their film Contested Streets: Breaking NYC Gridlock, to DVD.

Contested Streets is a T.A. produced, Cicala Filmworks made documentary that explores the rich diversity of New York City street life before the introduction of automobiles and shows how New York can follow the example of other modern cities that have reclaimed their streets as vibrant public spaces. Now available on DVD, the film has been shown to audiences worldwide, affecting the way that New York legislators are voting on what to do with the city’s streets.

In response to safety concerns on New York City streets and inspired by the changes that cities like London, Copenhagen and Paris have brought about on their streets, T.A. and the NYC Bike Coalition drafted the “Bike Safety Action Plan.” The “Bike Safety Action Plan” is a year-old precursor to the city’s new plan that demands a number of changes, including: a call for the City of New York to commit to a comprehensive study of all NYC bike fatalities since 1996 to be released in a City Hall event no later than September 30, 2006; develop and implement an aggressive, ongoing enforcement campaign to deter drivers from illegal behaviors that put cyclists in peril; commit to implementing the “Bike Master Plan” by 2010 with the goal of putting every New Yorker within a half mile of the bike network.

Contested Streets features new footage of reclaimed streets in London, Paris and Copenhagen and interviews with New York savvy notables such as Ken Jackson, Mike Wallace, Bob Kiley, Majora Carter, Kathryn Wylde, Enrique Peñalosa, James Howard Kunstler and many more.