Updates for Manhattan Bridge Bicyclists
Workers have been, um, at work at the base of the Manhattan Bridge bike lane in Brooklyn for a while now. We stopped to talk to them over the weekend, and they said they are building a barrier wall for the bike lane, separating it from Sands Street as well as the grassy hill on…
Workers have been, um, at work at the base of the Manhattan Bridge bike lane in Brooklyn for a while now. We stopped to talk to them over the weekend, and they said they are building a barrier wall for the bike lane, separating it from Sands Street as well as the grassy hill on the north side. They also said they are making slight improvements to the lane itself. In other news, automobiles are still confusing the new elevated bike lane along Sands Street for parking:
Like I said… I drove this exactly. It’s not “jumping the curb” it’s an angled curb like a driveway curb cut (sorry to bring up a sore topic) and you have to slow down… like driving over a speed bump.
It’s really not that hard.
(To be honest, I think it’s sort of silly that they raised the bike lane. But since they did, it makes me think of a pretty good solution — they should cut out from the “buffer” little half parking spots periodically… basically designated double-parking areas for “live loading only” The bike lane would be untouched, it would remain protected because there wouldn’t be a reason to drive up there, and delivery trucks would have a place to go… and not even block the parked cars)
“DH, maybe those tickets still count toward retirement of their quota for the month”
That’s exactly what it is – good job guys, write out that pointless ticket while there is probably someone a block away gridlocking or driving like a prick
tybur6, look at the photo. There’s no place to double park and allow cars around. Is aALL of the traffic supposed to jump the bike lane curb? That does look like a raised curb there.
Besides, do you really want to decrease the already bad efficiency of the USPS????? 🙂
DH, maybe those tickets still count toward retirement of their quota for the month
DIBS… That’s the thing… there IS a place to park… you double-park against the parked cars! Even with a regular bike lane it’s better.
As someone mentioned before… the vast majority of safety when riding a bike is *predictability* — if a truck is double-parked on the road, you KNOW that the car in front of you will have to drive into the bike lane a bit… so you either speed up or yield (depending on the timing).
In the situation pictured above, you are forced into the roadway… with unobstructed traffic BEHIND you. It far more difficult to *predict* the speed and trajectory of that car.
It’s the difference between the double-park vehicle forcing traffic into the slow-moving lane vs. forcing slow-moving traffic into the potentially very fast (painful) lane.
“FedEx and most other large delivery services have a contract with the city to pay a certain amount of money a year to cover ALL tickets.”
I knew this – so why is it that all the worthless NYPD Traffic cops do is follow around FedEx/UPS trucks? What’s the point?
I asked this question last time and no one answered (maybe it was dumb)
Buuuut – since Sands Street appears to cut right through public housing, and presumeably the mail/delivery etc trucks are making deliveries to the housing complexes – why isn’t there any parking set aside in the complexes? Aren’t there parking lots for residents??
Almost all streets have some area that is a “No Standing Zone”. Those signs should just no standing except for deliveries, and then don’t ticket those guys. And someone not getting a package is a far better alternative to a cyclist being hit by a car.
(actually I could have probably passed without going up on the “buffer” but, as with most things in my life, I perceive them as bigger than they actually are.)