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.)
Great job by Mike Epstein to take the initiative to research and propose such thoughtful changes that will lead to improvements in pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
Bunny nailed it – I used to drive and am very conscious of what a driver can/cannot see. I stop at all lights, pause at all stops, and would signal more if I knew the drivers understood the signals anyway (I know they don’t).
But really, it’s one thing to endanger yourself at 10mph; it’s another thing to endanger OTHERS (drivers) by speeding, running redlights/stopsigns, etc. and I see that kind of thing very, very often.
Either way – look at the map. See all the pedestrian incidents? Those are between cars and pedestrians, and there are more blue circles than red – I would say the focus on cyclist behavior is a red herring compared to how often cars hit both pedestrians and bicyclists.
When car traffidc is stopped at a ligh across all lanes, another car can not come speeding through like the buikes do and practically run over a pedestrian.
If you cross a street without looking, you get what you deserve, but it’s a lot easier to spot a car coming in your direction than a bike coming off the sidewalk, in the opposite direction or between a lane of stopped cars.
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.
Yes, cyclists in this city run red lights. But you know what? So do drivers in this city. I see cars run red lights *every single day*. Red-light-running seems to be endemic to all kinds of transport (including many pedestrians who cross against their light and seem to think that they still have right of way). So I don’t think we can pick on any one group for violating traffic laws–the city needs to enforce better across the board.
dave:
how fast was the wheelchair going? we gotta get these bastards off the streets.
how about this dave. everybody breaks the law, right?
pedestrians jay walk.
bikes go through reds.
cars speed.
but if i’m gonna spend my precious (k that’s a lie) time getting pissed off over one of’em. I’m gonna choose the two-ton pollution-mobiles that are for the most part unnecessary in the city.
I regularly drive and ride my bike in Brooklyn and Manhattan and I agree that cyclists who break traffic laws make it much harder for everyone. They also drive me insane and scare the shit out of me by blowing by me or just behaving like douches. I try to behave like a car and make what I’m going to do very clear and drivers have generally been kind to me.
That said, I really would like to see those who regularly drive in the city try to ride a bike here sometime, too. You will see how inherently hostile the traffic environment is to cyclists. It would be useful for drivers to have some perspective on just how frightening a car can be when you’re riding a bike.
I’d say that I see more non-delivery people running reds than delivery people, but I see more delivery people cycling the wrong way on one way streets.
I agree with the idea of more enforcement. In my area I’d start on the popular bike routes on Dean and Bergen, and also on Hoyt.
ftgreene…cars are USUALLY STOPPED at a redlight. These douchebags come racing through the light. i saw one jackass delivery guy hit someone in a wheelchair on Park Ave.
Couldn’t agree with you more, donatella. It is also incredibly and moreso dangerous for pedestrians. Some enforcement of laws is necessary. These people are largely out of control.