Rush Hour in Brooklyn
This was a first for us: En route to the office this morning we encountered actual congestion in the bike lane along Navy Street, though the strikingly homogeneous group of riders remained quite civil as they pulled up to the intersection and waited, law-abidingly, for the light to turn green. As we approached Sands Street,…
This was a first for us: En route to the office this morning we encountered actual congestion in the bike lane along Navy Street, though the strikingly homogeneous group of riders remained quite civil as they pulled up to the intersection and waited, law-abidingly, for the light to turn green. As we approached Sands Street, everyone else made a left towards the Manhattan Bridge as we continued on towards Dumbo.
“Walking IS becoming a problem here in Manhattan. I’ve yelled at more than one person who can’t seem to walk and text at the same time.”
Don’t forget the people who DRIVE and text.
Can’t really tell if it happens here – but definitely a problem in the ‘burbs.
Meant to say, “To equate cyclists riding on sidewalks and the wrong way on one way streets to cars that disobey traffic laws is as assinine as comparing pedestrians to motorcyclists.”
Anyone whon thinks a reckless cyclist is as dangerous as a reckless driver needs some serious help.
“the more lanes you take and give to bikers are less lanes for cars/trucks to drive which actually causes more traffic jams and pollution and slower deliveries”
I believe studies have found that creating more roads/parking does little to alleviate traffic – just incentivizes more people to own a car and drive more often.
Gotta love all the shrieking the mention of a bicycle brings out.
One point you all are missing is that there are very good reasons that bikes migrate to the front of the line of cars backed up at a light. You can’t make a left turn from the right shoulder. Cars have a bad habit of turning right in front of you if you are squeezed into the shoulder. And, it’s much safer if you can get off the line and into the intersection ahead of traffic when the light turns green–lowers the chance that you’ll get scraped off on a parked car on the next block. Its just that here there is nowhere to put your bike except in the cross walk.
In London the bike lanes include a zone across the front of the lane of traffic before the crosswalk at a light where cyclists can wait for the light to change. And it makes a huge difference. Pedestrians don’t get all angry that bikes are in their way and drivers expect bikes to be in front of then at the light. London used to be way worse than NYC for cyclists. Seriously angry drivers, but that has changed a lot in the last decade in part because bike lanes are everywhere. Also, $10 a gallon gas probably helps too.
For the record I drive a lot in Brooklyn and cycle some too.
tybur6, I can vouch for Seattle & jay walking.
To equate cyclists riding on sidewalks and the wrong way on one way streets is as assinine as comparing pedestrians to motorcyclists.
Car Crash Stats: There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than 230 Billion dollars. 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States — one death every 13 minutes.
I need to find updated statistic for the number of deaths involving cyclists, but for now, in 1995, approximately 250 children ages 14 and under died in bicycle-related crashes. Motor vehicles were involved in 230 of these deaths.
Walking IS becoming a problem here in Manhattan. I’ve yelled at more than one person who can’t seem to walk and text at the same time.
lets ban drivers who speed and jump lights, cyclists who contraflow and jump lights, and texting jaywalkers.
And dog-poopers of course.
Gemini10 —
I think you comment about walking is very funny. “walking doesn’t impinge on anyone’s rights NOR does taking the train to work!!!!”
It’s like you’ve never actually been a pedestrian in NYC. Do you see how pedestrians walk around this town?! They NEVER wait on the sidewalk… they dart out at you on the street… if I am walking and patiently waiting on the sidewalk, they step IN FRONT OF ME and get in my way when the like changes (9 out of 10 times I walk faster than the impatient douche)… they cross the road without looking… they stand in the middle of the road and make taking a RIGHT turn difficult (be it in a car or on a bike).
I’m not saying jaywalking is a problem per se… I lived in Seattle where jaywalking is ticketed and heavily enforced. From that experience, I can see how jaywalking can actually *help* traffic flow. When ALL pedestrians load up on the sidewalk and wait, even when there are no cars preventing them from crossing, it means it takes ages for all of them to cross when the light changes. During busy times of the day, this means no cars have the opportunity to turn (or only 1 car) during a entire light cycle.
The PROBLEM is pedestrians being assholes. Talk about an entitled set of people.
Why should I be biking down the road (with a green light) and have a pedestrian dart out at me… Do I know they see me? Half the time their texting or on their phone walking like a zombie. If they walk into me, I’m seriously injured. What if i’m driving my car? That pedestrian walks into my car… I’m going to jail.