Closing the Bike Lane Gaps
As you can see from this map Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn have had their share of pedestrians and bicyclists getting hit by cars. The area has made a lot of progress in the bike land department in recent years, but there are still plenty of awkward (and dangerous) gaps that need to be filled…
As you can see from this map Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn have had their share of pedestrians and bicyclists getting hit by cars. The area has made a lot of progress in the bike land department in recent years, but there are still plenty of awkward (and dangerous) gaps that need to be filled in. To address the issue, Mike Epstein recently made a presentation to Community Board 2 in which he made some specific suggestions on the lane creation front. There are bunch included in the presentation (including problems crossing the major thoroughfares of Flatbush and Atlantic) which can be viewed here, but one in particular that resonated with us was the gap in the eastbound route where the Lafayette bike path ends at Fulton and the next eastbound path doesn’t start again until Willoughby and Washington Park. Epstein suggests extending the Lafayette route to Carlton and then providing a northbound lane on Carlton to Willoughby. (Image on the jump.)
The issue is that cyclists can cheat the rules by ignoring the flow of traffic and there are no repercussions – a solo cyclist will try to jump ahead, cut across, be the exception, just because they figure, “Hey, I’m in control, I’m just a bike, I know what I’m doing, I’ll just weave through here real quick, won’t be a problem. I’ll zip by this dude walking – let me fit in between these cars.”
That is classic antisocial, the rules don’t apply to me thinking.
That said, I was going to Manhattan the other day, walking down Bergen St. no cars coming, I jaywalked. WOOSH! Cyclist coming down the bike lane, I never thought to check.
I stepped onto the street with my two little kids the other day and a cyclist missed us by inches. He came out of nowhere and flew through a red light. I have had close calls with bikes many more times than I have with cars. Not stopping at red lights seems to be some kind of cyclist/f*cktard badge of honor. Drives me nuts.
is today groundhogs day again?
personally i hate everything wheels. (except people on rollerskates, they get a pass)
*rob*
i’ll be chillin’ with my 40oz watching the whole thing.
but my money won’t be on dave…unless threatening imaginary bicyclists on blogs is any indication of physical prowess.
His neck will likely be broken.
“Someday one of these douchebags is going to get my umbrella in his spokes. I hope the new healthcare bill is in effect by then. He’ll need it.”
chances are he’ll be shaken up – get up and pound your face in with his U-Lock
you would NEVER stick your umbrella in someone’s spokes – “tough guy”
There has to be more traffic enforcement all around, for cars and cyclists. When most drivers get tickets they’re not happy about it, but they seldom express the high level or righteous indignation shown by cyclists over the crack down on bike riders breaking the bike lane rules a few weeks ago. This isn’t entirely cyclists’ fault. If tickets for reckless riding were as common as those for reckless driving, ticketed cyclists wouldn’t feel they were being singled out. There should be a lot more tickets issued to asshat drivers AND f**ktard riders.
i see cars run red lights much more often than bikes
and they speed
and they kill people
Brownstonerlogin- true. Everyone is at fault, and I’m speaking as a pedestrian. I’ve been nearly run down by cars, bicyclists and other pedestrians. Why can’t people use hand signals when they are turning on a sidewalk? 🙂
But i also think bicyclists have a more difficult problem because they are not as visible to a car driver. They move quickly and get easily lost in the mirrors. On a sunny day, car drivers have more than enough distractions with reflection, lights, other cars (which are so much bigger, visually, let alone bicyclists. I’m surprised more of them have not been killed because NYC streets are a nightmare. The City should make sure their clothing and bikes are much more visible during the day- maybe brighter colors?