Park Slope Wants to Go Both Ways (Traffic-wise)
After a biker was killed earlier this year on 8th Avenue, a one-way street where folks often zoom by, Park Slopers are hoping to change this and a few other streets to two-ways, reports the Brooklyn Paper. In a 2007 study, Transportation Alternatives found that traffic on 8th Avenue averages 40 miles per hour, which…
After a biker was killed earlier this year on 8th Avenue, a one-way street where folks often zoom by, Park Slopers are hoping to change this and a few other streets to two-ways, reports the Brooklyn Paper. In a 2007 study, Transportation Alternatives found that traffic on 8th Avenue averages 40 miles per hour, which is 10 miles above the speed limit; two-way traffic on 7th Avenue, on the other hand, stays at about 25 mph. Last year, the DOT aimed to change 6th and 7th Avenues to one-ways and the community wasn’t having it.
Photo by Zesmerelda.
As a resident of 8th Avenue, I am all for reverting it to two-way. It seems to me this might really improve quality of life on the avenue by reducing the ridiculous amount of truck traffic on 8th ave, sending it back to 4th where it belongs. Is there any reason to believe that 8th couldn’t feel as peaceful as 6th ave if it were a two-way?
Denton:
I don’t really subscribe to any particular political ideology – that’s why I try to focus on specific problems and policies rather than parties. Blind ideology just isn’t my thing, so I’m sorry if my writing seems contradictory at times.
As a regular cyclist, it is clear to me that our streets truly are out of control. The social contract and the public acceptance of government authority is dependent on the ability of the State to maintain order. So in that sense, I support strong enforcement of laws that maintain such order and safety. Would I prefer we reduce the bureaurcacy of this city by 50% and hire a 100,000 new police officers at livable wages? Of course, but I realize that is politically untenable.
On a side note, a great way to avoid graft in the public sector is to prohibit government employees or recipients of tax dollars from voting for certain offices. Maybe have a dual legislature – one for which everyone can vote and one for only those who are not beholden to graft.
Certainly, the problem we have in this city is far too many citizens are either on public assistance or employed by the city. This is what has lead to the impractical allocation of resources over the past 40 years.
Average speen on 7th ave is more like 5MPH, why with all the lights turning red every 5 seconds. Fine for safety reasons, not so good for CO2 emissions.
Speaking of what cars weigh these days: if rules were enforced a lot of the SUVs couldn’t be driven over Brooklyn Bridge (6,000 lbs GVW limit) – even a BWM X5. Here’s the full article: http://slate.msn.com/id/2104755/
Dozens of bikers and pedestrians are killed in the city every year. But pedestrians (with Ipods or cellphones) regularly step off the curb without looking and bikers consistently run red lights and ride without helmets. You’d think they’d learn and act more defensively on the streets. I guess pedestrian/biker fatalities are relatively small and people don’t take notice of the facts.
It’s also a fact that cars are responsible for nearly 40,000 deaths per year nationally. You’d think drivers would learn and drive more responsibly. I guess 40,000 traffic deaths are relatively small and people don’t take notice of the facts.
Come to think of it, voters elected George W. Bush to a second term — I guess people don’t take notice of the facts.
We get the streets and the government we deserve.
We need better public transportation in Brooklyn, number one. Number two, we should absolutely have radar signs at least alerting drivers to their current speed…e.g. “Speed Limit 25. Your Speed: 35”
Some random enforcement wouldn’t hurt either. I see an awful lot of red light running.
Many people in Brooklyn are addicted to their cars. Sad but true. Again, we need better public transportation and a change in people’s attitudes. Policy issues as well as urban planning efforts might change things. Also, we’re kind of still in the era of huge SUVs despite the price of gas. Sales of SUVs have dropped but gone are the days of the compact cars of the 70’s. Maybe we’ll start to see many more compacts in the next years and a huge decrease in SUVs but I doubt it will help us any time soon.
I walk and take the subway and buses living in Brooklyn and feel better for it. Occasionally, of course, I cab it home from Manhattan. In my “former life” on the UES we had a taxi call button in the elevator. It was much too easy to press that button and get in a cab just to go a short way if it seemed too long to walk. I basically didn’t know how to get anywhere with the buses or subways. I think it must be the same way for drivers. It seems easier to take the car/SUV instead of looking into public transportation options.
Bikes may not be motor vehicles, but they need to be treated as such.
If bikes could be impounded due to traffic violations or riding on the sidewalk, bikers would quickly clean up their act and learn how to avoid the pedestrians. All too often I see bikers on the sidewalk, even when there are bike lanes (i.e. DeKalb Ave). This is especially true with commercial ‘delivery’ bikes (food, courier, etc) who are (understandably) rushing to make as many deliveries as possible.
I grew up in Manhattan in the 1970s, and the only thing I ever got in trouble for was biking on the sidewalk. When I was in my prime ‘bike’ phase of 12-14 y.o. cops would usually stop me from riding on the sidewalk. I’d complain that riding on Broadway was dangerous. They would still tell me to ride in the street or walk it on the sidewalk. In retrospect, that still makes sense to me.
If bikers are going to get their own lanes, public racks and other niceities, then they need to do more to avoid pedestrians, and also pay the price when they don’t follow the rules.
unless nyc uses a big brother solution, traffic enforcement is not going to solve the problem. Bikes, cars and pedestrians are all going to take shortcuts. plus its politically unpopular. (Anyone remember the complaints here when they ticketed for bikes on the sidewalk in Clinton Hill?)
Urban planning might provide a solution that makes the roads safer. That said, I doubt converting a road to 2-way really solves the problem without creating other ones.
They could reduce the number of lanes for traffic and use the space to build a designated bike lane (w/ median, not just lines painted on the road) like 8th Ave in Manhattan; the trick will be the cost.
P, it’s interesting how you are all of a sudden a big fan of oppressive government. There are all kinds of problems with impounding cars, and in fact even under the drunk driving program that got a lot of noise very few cars are actually impounded. That’s cuz most people don’t own their cars, the bank does. Then there’s the question of unequal treatment under the law: Is a 1995 Civic the same as a 2008 BMW 750i?
jimdisc, I completely agree about the greater responsibilities of drivers because of their greater potential for damage to others. I see you’re a bit out of the loop on what cars actually weigh in these days of airbags, side door impact panels, etc. A Mini Cooper weighs in at 2700 lbs.
Round up the usual bs.
I hold no brief for the cyclist if indeed he was going the wrong way, but! it’s how you do it, now what, that counts. I’m a regular cyclist and I rarely wait for green lights but I do slow/stop, then if there’s no cross traffic, I go. And I go against traffic on cross streets. It’s actually safer for me. Only an idiot would think this was “unsafe” (as opposed to illegal.)
That said, YES, make 8th and PPW two way, and put bike lanes on PPW. Regardless of what traffic engineers think (and I have engineering and planning degrees) two way streets cause cars to slow down. It’s a psychological thing, the perception is that a one-way street can be negotiated at a higher speed.