Another Bike Lane Show-down
A proposed bike land installation is ruffling feathers again in North Brooklyn. As part of a $5.8 million renovation of the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, the city is planning to install two bike lines, each with a nine-foot buffer. The result: Two fewer lanes to accommodate the many trucks that use the Brooklyn-Queens connector on a…
A proposed bike land installation is ruffling feathers again in North Brooklyn. As part of a $5.8 million renovation of the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, the city is planning to install two bike lines, each with a nine-foot buffer. The result: Two fewer lanes to accommodate the many trucks that use the Brooklyn-Queens connector on a daily basis. The proposed change comes on the heels of a new bike lane installation on Greenpoint Avenue that local industrialists blame for big back-ups. “They’ve really made Greenpoint Avenue a mess,” said Paul Pullo of Metroenergy. The bike lobby insists more buffered lanes are necessary in the area: “Those narrow sidewalks [on Greenpoint Avenue] currently make it pretty hazardous for two cyclists, let alone two pedestrians, to comfortably pass one another,” said Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives. “Separating bike and pedestrian traffic would do a lot to improve safety.” And so it goes.
It’s Trucks vs. Bikes on Greenpoint Avenue [Brooklyn Paper]
I agree with donatella’s 11:16 post.
“Since the taxpayers of NY are being forced to provide all these protections…”
Should we license pedestrians too? Crosswalks and sidewalks are a big investment.
Yes, bicyclists should play by rules, but “all these protections” serve a very real public purpose – safer bicycling (and walking) means more people commuting by bike and foot, less (macro) congestion and a reduction in pollution, etc. The real problem is the implementation – if the city has a master transportation plan for North Brooklyn (and beyond), they aren’t sharing it.
Dontatella, taxes collected from all drivers don’t come close to covering the cost of roads and upkeep, so reality is that bikers actually help supplement drivers’ roads, taxpayers don’t actually supplement bike lanes.
Get your facts straight.
Vinca gets OAGOTD award. (Officer & Gentleman of the Day.)
When I’m walking, I curse at the stupid drivers and keep my eyes open for renegade bikers. When I’m driving, then I sometimes get frustrated with dumb-ass pedestrians who cross the street while texting, or talking on cell, or just plain not looking where they’re going. When I’m biking, I dart around slow-moving pedestrians and keep my eyes open for anti-bike auto drivers.
Donatella —
My point was in reaction to “They could form a whole new revenue stream for the city, ticketing scofflaws, non-liscensed drivers (put the liscense plate on the back of the helmet) and any manner of traffic violation.”
The NYPD doesn’t enforce any traffic laws on a regular basis. Take a look at the license plates on the cars in your neighborhood… I bet 40% of them are Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, or New Jersey. So, I guess all of these folks just have a pied-Ã -terre for a day or two a month? This is a huge revenue stream that isn’t being tapped into. Scofflaws abound, but the law enforcers don’t seem to care.
My point is… I think a great starting point would be to enforce AUTOMOTIVE traffic in this city. I’m not suggesting bicycles are somehow exempt, just that a 2-ton chunk of steel driving 60 mph down a city street weaving in and out of traffic is a wee bit more urgent than a bicyclist not using hand signals.
And like Vinca said above, “The city could make a fortune enforcing traffic rules for all, AND it would far better serve the larger purpose of traffic calming.”
Perhaps bike lanes wouldn’t be necessary if there was a little more of a “share the road” culture in this town.
As someone who once used this bridge all the time to get on the LIE from Greenpoint: Who in the hell is biking over this thing? Where the hell are they going? I’m all for bike lanes — I love the way they’re central to European cities — but what in the world is this for? The big Greenpoint-to-Sunnyside commuting crowd? And if you’re biking through here for “fun,” maybe look into a far more attractive route that doesn’t pass through a litany of chemical and sewage processing plants? Weird.
“My car is registered at my address in Brooklyn NY. What does that have to do with bicycle safety?”
Nothing – it was an arguement about your point that cracking down on cyclists would be a great new revenue stream, when there are infact just as many things the NYPD could crack down on that drivers get away with.
Tybur knows the exact stats – but there are quite a few people in this city who have their car registered out of state to save a few bucks on insurance. Illegal, naturally. Crack down on them – sounds more lucrative than a ticket for a ‘riding’ infraction.
By lincolnlimestone on May 18, 2010 11:55 AM
“videos describing/ simulting . . . ., deaths to car drivers”.
You are clearly living in an alternate universe if you think this is a common occurrence.
Look, I am not living in an alternate universe in noting that irresponsible bicycling results in injury and death to pedestrians, bicyclists and car drivers. Sorry.