Guest0821
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Posts posted by Guest0821
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On 8/23/2019 at 11:36 AM, BrooklynBus said:
Thanks for not answering my questions.
Yes, headlights on cars are required and most of the time they are on at night. But many cyclists do not have required headlights or reflectors and are dumb enough to wear dark clothing at night. Funny you mention street lamps. A friend of mine was cautiously crossing an intersection in his car at about ten mph about ten years ago after stopping at a stop sign. Two cyclists were traveling across the intersection without headlights and wearing dark clothing. The second cyclist was not looking ahead or for traffic. He had his head down concentrating on pedaling faster to catch up to his friend. My friend failed to see him coming partially due to a street lamp that was out of order. He pedaled right into my friends car. As a passenger I saw the bike at the last second but thought saying something to my friend might cause him to panic and make a decision that would make things worse. Luckily at the last second the cyclist noticed the car and served to grab onto the side of the car. He fell off the bike but wasn't hurt. But that didn't stop him from suing my friend. The case was dropped after three years when the cyclist couldn't produce any medical bills.
Yes, drivers violate traffic rules, but by far cyclists violate more rules than drivers. You say drivers have greater responsibility implying little responsibility for cyclists. I say everyone needs to be responsible. Cyclists killed two pedestrians this year. Were those the fault of the pedestrian? Until you drive a car at night you won't understand how under certain conditions, how difficult it can be to see cyclists and even pedestrians. Just the other day there was a cyclist in the middle of the street operating his bicycle as if it were a unicycle. Stunt driving has no place on the city streets just like driving a car at sixty or ninety mph on a city street that resulted in two recent tragedies. And everyone needs to be attentive.
You're right that bicyclists should have the required lighting at night to increase visibility but in all honesty it is not difficult to see a bicyclists on NYC streets, nor is it difficult to see a pedestrian if you are attentive and not speeding. There is plenty of lighting in NYC, on the vast majority of streets. We recently had almost every street in NYC converted to LED lighting as well.
The story about the bicyclist crashing into the side of your friend's car has to do with the bicyclist being inattentive, not a lack of light.
"Yes, drivers violate traffic rules, but by far cyclists violate more rules than drivers."
This is not even close to being an accurate statement. Speeding, double parking, illegal U-turns, unpredictable lane changes, failing to signal? The primary rules that bicyclists break in NYC are red running and riding in the wrong direction. Drivers do those things too with regularity. Besides the fact that drivers violate far more rules than bicyclist have the capability to, drivers are far more likely to cause serious injury or death.
As for the pedestrian deaths, starting with the most recent:
"According to the NYPD, Michael Collopy, 60, was hit by a cyclist at about 11:53 a.m. on July 31 <b>as he stood in the protected bike lane</b> at Sixth Avenue and 23rd Street, a busy corner."
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/08/07/pedestrian-dies-after-cyclist-hit-and-run/
Pedestrian killed earlier this year:
"Donna Sturm was hit by a cyclist in the crosswalk at West 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues during her lunch break on April 25th. The cyclist, 40-year-old Damian Deward, allegedly ran a red light when he hit Sturm."
https://gothamist.com/2019/05/06/pedestrian_cyclist_death.php
And BTW. I do drive and night and have never had an issue seeing a bicyclists or pedestrian in the city after dark.
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This was probably mentioned but I strongly feel the SAS should extend to the Hub at E 149th St and 3rd Ave with a stop at E 138th St before swinging west through Harlem.
The DOT could make 125th St a busway or run the lanes down the center greatly improving bus service. It's a short stretch.
Buses coming over from the Bronx have to deal with the bridges and limited approaches.
The existing subways coming from the Bronx are very crowded.
It's also more likely people would transfer to the SAS further upstream.
And the redevelopment potential in Mott Haven/Melrose is greater than it is in Central Harlem, with more robust zoning and potential for upzoning.
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4 train has been flying through East Harlem lately. It's noticeable.
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On 8/20/2019 at 6:03 AM, Lawrence St said:
What is the next phase for the OMNY testing? J heard it was 42nd St to 125th St on Lexington Avenue.
I read in some interview, can't remember where, that the MTA is considering installing readers according to station ridership. Not sure about the buses but maybe busiest bus routes first as well.
So Times Sq, Herald Sq, etc should be getting them sooner than later.
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Are the overhead camera gantries installed yet? Considering the delays, the city should start enforcement as soon as the lawsuit is thrown out.
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If the bus lanes lead to increased traffic than perhaps the drivers should try taking the bus or subway? There's also the Henry Hudson Parkway Bridge.
For the buses to improve in NYC, trips are going to have to get worse for drivers in private vehicles. There is just not enough space for both. Prioritize the buses.
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On 8/9/2019 at 2:32 PM, BrooklynBus said:
Let me ask you one question. Have you ever driven a car at night and encountered cyclists? Well, I have, and they are very easy to hit when they show up unexpectedly like at night without headlights or reflectors and cycling between the double yellow line or traveling in the wrong direction. What about cyclists who have a protected bike lanes and instead choose to use a traffic lane instead because they consider the bike lane too slow for them? I have seen that too. I have also seen cyclists at night who were only visible because of reflective strips on their sneakers. So quit blaming drivers for every crash with a cyclist, giving them free reign to do whatever they like, like 90 percent if them going through red lights.
The more we encourage cycling, the more traffic fatalities there will be regardless if the rate of fatalities decline. It is not the solution to improving travel for the single reason that it is not an all-weather solution. The answer is improved mass transit with better service levels, not continuing to reduce the frequency of service as we are doing.
All automobiles on the road are required headlights and in NYC we have street lamps. It's not easy to hit a bicyclist here due to limited visibility.
All road users violate the rules with regularity but the reality is that most crashes are the fault of the driver. Most crashes that result in injury or death are the result of driver inattention or reckless behavior (like speeding). Drivers have greater responsibility because they are operating vehicles which are likely to cause great harm to others in a collision.
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I'm a fan of the new plan. A lot of redundant stops are being eliminated and routes are being straightened which will speed things up.
The ball is now in the NYC DOT's court. The city needs to paint more bus lanes, create busways, physical seperate those they can, and install TSP along these routes.
A few thoughts for the DOT in the Bronx.
-Bus lanes on 149th Street from the Harlem River to Southern Blvd.
-Bus lanes on Southern Blvd from Barreto Street to Westchester Avenue.
-Extend the bus lane on E 163rd Street from Bruckner Blvd to Westchester Avenue, in both directions.
-Buses only, both ways for the E 161st St tunnel under the Grand Concourse (currently buses only in one direction).
-Extend the bus lane on E 161st St to avoid the traffic that merges near Morris Avenue to Melrose Avenue at least.
-Bus lanes on East Tremont Avenue, curbside. Loading off peak and around the corner install loading zones.
-Bus lanes on White Plains Road from Lafayette Avenue to the Bruckner Expressway.
-Queue jump on White Plains Road just south and north of Westchester Avenue.
-Queue jump on Bronx River Avenue just south of and under the Bruckner Expressway.
-Bus lanes in Co-op City.
-Bus lanes on the 145th St Bridge, Macombs Dam Bridge, Washington Bridge, University Heights Bridge.
-Do something about the Bruckner Blvd where it goes over the Bronx River for the Bx5 and coming SBS Bx6.
-Fill in the camera gaps with more cameras.
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11 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:
Some of the things you mention are already in the works. Instead of complaining, take the time to read the Better Buses Action Plan. It describes in detail a number of corridors that are being worked on by the DOT and the City, and include things like bus lanes, Transit Signal Priority and so on. OMNY should be on all buses Citywide by sometime in 2020. Until then people will have to be patient and wait. What is concerning isn't what they're doing, but rather what isn't being done, and how long some of these things have been in the works.
https://www1.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/better-buses-action-plan-2019.pdf
Where was I complaining? I am aware that these things are coming, which is why I brought them up. I was responding to the post above me.
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5 hours ago, KK Local said:
Well, this redesign of the Bronx buses. May work in some areas, but they missed one route that needs a lot of help! That's the Bx19, the slowest and one of the longest route in the Bronx. This route is in need of a serious overhaul.
The Bx19 is getting changes. They are removing redundant stops. The features that would help improve performance for the Bx19 are:
-Bus lanes on 149th St throughout and Southern Blvd particularly around East 163rd and Westchester Avenue.
-All door boarding
-Off board payment
-OMNY (off board tap for most and inside tap for people running in last minute)
-Traffic signal priority.
The route is already pretty straight.
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Can We Trust DOT About Buses and Bicycles?
in New York City Bus
Posted
Dangerous driving contributed to 70 percent of pedestrian fatalities in NYC from 2008 to 2012. Page 15.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pdf/nyc-vision-zero-action-plan.pdf
The results for serious injuries involving pedestrians and bicyclists (and bicyclists deaths) can be assumed to be similar.
And it makes sense considering the disregard, inattentiveness, and aggression displayed by too many drivers.
We should continue to support bicycling. Mass transportation is crowded in all seasons, and even if bicycling does reach a desirable say 10% of all trips (currently around 1%), mass transit will still be crowded. Pulling some people from other modes is beneficial because the alternatives are currently often at, close to, or over capacity at peak travel periods. And the city and metropolitan area will continue to grow into the near future at least.