Brooklyn's Dangerous Intersections
The tragic death of an eight-year-old boy on Saturday, who was struck by a car on Adams and Livingston Streets while riding his bike with his dad, is raising awareness about the dangers of downtown streets to bicyclists and pedestrians. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that “residents wonder if a solution for a gauntlet of deadly…
The tragic death of an eight-year-old boy on Saturday, who was struck by a car on Adams and Livingston Streets while riding his bike with his dad, is raising awareness about the dangers of downtown streets to bicyclists and pedestrians. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that “residents wonder if a solution for a gauntlet of deadly Downtown intersections will ever be found.” The non-profit Transportation Alternatives has compiled statistics for the area, showing that 39 people (28 pedestrians and 11 bicyclists) were hit by motor vehicles at that same spot from 1995 to 2005. “A half a block east on Livingston Street, eight pedestrians were struck during the same time period; one of them died. A block north, at the notorious Adams/Livingston/Fulton Street intersection, 32 people were struck and injured,” they write. “A few steps away, at Adams and Willoughby, 11 people were hit. Next to this, at Fulton and Willoughby, one more. At Fulton near Red Hook Lane, another one.” We have 150 miles of bicycle lanes in Brooklyn, with many more in progress, and the DOT instituted a six-month trial of a new downtown traffic plan beginning in June, hoping to ameliorate the recurring issue. Clearly, though, it’s not enough. One Brooklynite has been lobbying for a pedestrian overpass to curve over Adams Street, so pedestrians and bicyclists can avoid it altogether.
Another Victim of Downtown Traffic [Brooklyn Eagle]
“I also can not imagine allowing my 8 yr old child (with me or not) to ride his bicycle on Adams, Livingston or virtually any other street in downtown brooklyn (except maybe some in BH).”-fsrg
I’m guessing you can’t imagine it because you’re a jackass. Let’s hope that no one callously blames the victim if something similarly tragic and undeserved should happen to you, (and it shouldn’t).
If you resent occasionally sharing the sidewalk with cyclists, you should support the spread and enforcement of bike lanes, congestion pricing, and any other effort to make the streets safer for cyclists. I always prefer to ride in the street, but at certain intersections, (where the motorists like to pretend they’re starring in Death Race 2000), the cyclist’s choice is either a quick hop on the sidewalk or death.
This area is just a crazy traffic mess. You see every kind of potential trouble. U-turns. Cars turning onto streets from two directions simultaneously. On top of everything else, the cop car parades seem to kick off in the area. Some days there are just tons of cop cars who seem to think that a little toot on their siren is all the need to illegally go through a red light. And the cops that are paid to direct traffic don’t seem to want to leave the shady spots where they plant themselves. Ultimately the only way to sort it out is reduce the number of motor vehicles.
“a bicyclist going through a red light is more like jaywalking than anything else”
Thats absolute crap. Have you seen a biker hit a hapless 70 year old crossing with the light? I have, and the results are shocking. I am pro-biking, I think it makes the city a better place, but bicyclists should be ticketed when they disobey key road rules just like car drivers should be.
On another note, I can barely ready this story without feeling sick in the pit of my stomach. I was already trying to recover from reading this morning about some Brownsville family whose baby suffocated while sleeping after getting caught between the bottom of a crib and a mattress attached to it.
My heart goes out to the family and friend of Alexander Toulouse. Sincerest, sincerest sympathies.
To reiterate, cars and other motorized vehicles are far, far more deadly than bikes or pedestrians. The burden is on drivers to excercise extreme caution.
pensnyc:
You are absolutely right, the biggest problem is the aggressive nature of many drivers. Personally, I’m glad summer is coming to an end. It brings out the serious craziness in drivers.
People think I’m crazy for biking in the winter, but unless there is snow on the ground – it is by far the safest time to ride. Everyone is just so much more calm.
You can’t stop it entirely though. I’ve read a couple studies on the issue, and the best theory I’ve read is the confined, personal nature of an automobile leads drivers to incorrectly construe any impediment – traffic, cyclists, pedestrians, even read lights – as a violation of their personal space. Aggressive driving is best explained as neurotic territoriality.
This is one of the reasons driving has to be discouraged. It will never change.
R.I.P. Alexander. R.I.P.
Let me add that in no way does my post mean to suggest any fault by the 8 year old or his father. I was hit on Vanterbilt and Dean in April while following the rules and riding safely. Similarly to the above accident, the driver failed to yeild to me in the bike path through the intersection.
if the cyclist stops at the stop light before proceeding, as i advocated in my post, there would not be an increased likelihood of hitting a pedestrian.
i am just trying to put an end to this ridiculous fiction that anything that happens to a cyclist who disobeys a red light is his fault.
and, for the record, i have never been hit by a cyclist going full speed. once, however, i hit a pedestrian who stepped from between two cars into a bike lane, knocking the both of us down, me into traffic. it goes both ways.
I bike regularly on Eastern Parkway and in Prospect Park. Sunday I saw the Transportation Alternatives ride on Eastern Parkway. Many were unaware the reason Eastern Parkway was on their route was because if its dedicated bike lane on the south median. Transportation alternatives promotes safe and legal riding but needs to inform its riders to follow the rules. I’ve decided to join the organization this week in order to participate and encourage rational behavior among cyclists. I agree that many cyclists disregard the traffic rules, and especially in these kinds of organized rides, does no service to the cause.
Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists would benefit from a massive media/education blitz that explicitly states rights and responibilities, and the law.