Spread the blame

[BrooklynBus]

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjLF7UGvRJvZnSZb1D8VySNvZMa_

[Brillant93]

Service cuts are only part of the problem with the B41. Traffic is a nightmare alongside Flatbush Avenue, not sending enough buses to the Bergen Beach branch during the day, and so on. They need to add bus lanes in the most congested areas that are in affect from 7-10am and 4-7pm which could help. 

[Deucey]

Stupid yet serious idea: how about building parking garages in vacant lots instead of unaffordable housing to get parked cars off major and busy streets?

[NY1635]

8 minutes ago, Deucey said:

Stupid yet serious idea: how about building parking garages in vacant lots instead of unaffordable housing to get parked cars off major and busy streets?

Jamaica, Flushing, and I think Downtown Brooklyn used to have lots of parking lots before the area became heavily commercialized. Sure these destinations were used for shopping, but not to the extent that you had the Multiplex/Old Navy/Dunkin Donuts/and Popeyes all in one large building built on top of Parsons-Archer on the, or Lots of shopping centers, a major stadium, and luxury condos built right by the Atlantic Ave-Pacific Street Station feeding lots of people into the subway. 

[BrooklynBus]

44 minutes ago, Deucey said:

Stupid yet serious idea: how about building parking garages in vacant lots instead of unaffordable housing to get parked cars off major and busy streets?

Parking garages are out of style under de Blasio. He is selling off municipal lots for development which only adds to congestion. That along with dollar vans and Uber and the MTA constantly reducing bus service in response to a rise in those services and more people biking. There was an article the other day how many citibikers only ride downhill and use mass transit uphill. That makes it more difficult to run efficient bus service.

Add that to all the traffic lanes the city is eliminating reducing three lane streets to two lanes and two lane streets to one lane, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why congestion is increasing. 

There was once a survey that in some areas fifty percent of the cars are in the process of looking for parking spaces. 

[JeremiahC99]

20 minutes ago, BrooklynBus said:

Parking garages are out of style under de Blasio. He is selling off municipal lots for development which only adds to congestion. That along with dollar vans and Uber and the MTA constantly reducing bus service in response to a rise in those services and more people biking. There was an article the other day how many citibikers only ride downhill and use mass transit uphill. That makes it more difficult to run efficient bus service.

Add that to all the traffic lanes the city is eliminating reducing three lane streets to two lanes and two lane streets to one lane, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why congestion is increasing. 

There was once a survey that in some areas fifty percent of the cars are in the process of looking for parking spaces. 

You’re right about development adding to congestion. Why is deBlasio on the side of greedy private developers who just build without considering the effects of increased traffic? When will developers, especially in Downtown Brooklyn, even realize their mistakes? Traffic there is a nightmare already.

[BrooklynBus]

28 minutes ago, JeremiahC99 said:

You’re right about development adding to congestion. Why is deBlasio on the side of greedy private developers who just build without considering the effects of increased traffic? When will developers, especially in Downtown Brooklyn, even realize their mistakes? Traffic there is a nightmare already.

More tax revenue for the city and he mistakenly believes along with his friends from Transportation Alternatives that increased congestion is a good thing because it discourages people from driving so eventually there will be fewer cars. What he doesn't realize is that the cars just don't disappear. Either, the middle class moves out because they are fed up or they have to switch to mass transit or bikes. He believes that everyone can and wants to bike if there were more bike lanes, but the MTA is not willing to increase service to handle the displaced autos. 

Zero vision isn't only deBlasio's idea. The trains are also slower which increases subway congestion. See this Village Voice article. https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/03/13/the-trains-are-slower-because-they-slowed-the-trains-down/ 

People drive not only to save time, but they want some degree of comfort. They don't want crowded trains and buses and the MTA does not want to comply. There is no shortage of blame to go around. 

And the more congestion increases, the greater the case for congestion pricing. No matter that the city itself not the drivers is who is responsible for this increased congestion. The politicians don't talk about MTA misplaced priorities or MTA inefficiencies so that transit dollars go the furthest. They only talk about flashy projects they are supporting to get their moment of glory in the media. When will the public wake up? 

[JeremiahC99]

2 hours ago, BrooklynBus said:

More tax revenue for the city and he mistakenly believes along with his friends from Transportation Alternatives that increased congestion is a good thing because it discourages people from driving so eventually there will be fewer cars. What he doesn't realize is that the cars just don't disappear. Either, the middle class moves out because they are fed up or they have to switch to mass transit or bikes. He believes that everyone can and wants to bike if there were more bike lanes, but the MTA is not willing to increase service to handle the displaced autos. 

Zero vision isn't only deBlasio's idea. The trains are also slower which increases subway congestion. See this Village Voice article. https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/03/13/the-trains-are-slower-because-they-slowed-the-trains-down/ 

People drive not only to save time, but they want some degree of comfort. They don't want crowded trains and buses and the MTA does not want to comply. There is no shortage of blame to go around. 

And the more congestion increases, the greater the case for congestion pricing. No matter that the city itself not the drivers is who is responsible for this increased congestion. The politicians don't talk about MTA misplaced priorities or MTA inefficiencies so that transit dollars go the furthest. They only talk about flashy projects they are supporting to get their moment of glory in the media. When will the public wake up? 

And the prioritizing of flashy projects over core maintenance of the transit system has resulted in the deterioration of the subway and bus system. There was even an article from The NY Times about the deterioration of the subway system. Former transit president David L. Gunn said it was heartbreaking to see the subway system crumble. Looks like he woke up to see reality.

 

Also, what is your view of the Enhanced Station Initiative by Governor Cuomo? Do you think it is yet another flashy project for the politicians?

 

Also I liked when you said zero vision instead of vision zero. Totally exposes the true meaning of DeBlasio’s Street plans.

[BrooklynBus]

1 hour ago, JeremiahC99 said:

And the prioritizing of flashy projects over core maintenance of the transit system has resulted in the deterioration of the subway and bus system. There was even an article from The NY Times about the deterioration of the subway system. Former transit president David L. Gunn said it was heartbreaking to see the subway system crumble. Looks like he woke up to see reality.

 

Also, what is your view of the Enhanced Station Initiative by Governor Cuomo? Do you think it is yet another flashy project for the politicians?

 

Also I liked when you said zero vision instead of vision zero. Totally exposes the true meaning of DeBlasio’s Street plans.

I haven't really looked at the Enhanced Station Initiative other than to notice 57 St 6th Avenue is listed. At a mere 50 years old, it is like one of the ten newest stations out of 468. If they are going to repair leaks, that's okay. But if they are going to replace perfectly good bland looking time with more decorative tile with artwork, that is a waste of money when there are so many pressing problems that need to be done first. They say they are transparent, but very little info was released about what this program will actually do. 

[R68OnBroadway]

11 minutes ago, BrooklynBus said:

I haven't really looked at the Enhanced Station Initiative other than to notice 57 St 6th Avenue is listed. At a mere 50 years old, it is like one of the ten newest stations out of 468. If they are going to repair leaks, that's okay. But if they are going to replace perfectly good bland looking time with more decorative tile with artwork, that is a waste of money when there are so many pressing problems that need to be done first. They say they are transparent, but very little info was released about what this program will actually do. 

57th/6th may be bland, but it doesn't need a renovation.

Also, I hope ESI is cancelled for that station. It's like a relic of time, there still are "next train" indicators on the platforms from when it was a terminus (at least since I lasted visited it sometimes in 2016/7).

[Future ENY OP]

15 hours ago, Brillant93 said:

Service cuts are only part of the problem with the B41. Traffic is a nightmare alongside Flatbush Avenue, not sending enough buses to the Bergen Beach branch during the day, and so on. They need to add bus lanes in the most congested areas that are in affect from 7-10am and 4-7pm which could help. 

The B41 has been disastrous since the 1990's and sorry to say it's going to continue. Now you have Queens like jitney buses you would normally see on the Guy Brewer lines going to Far Rockaway. Also, I can agree with you that there's not enough Bergen Beach service 

Here's the problem with Flatbush Avenue and this is from observation only. If you add bus lanes along the Avenue traffic will be worse than it is and you will send some of that traffic on to Bedford Avenue and Washington Avenue. Both Avenues can be congested at times. 

I feel the best solution for the problem is that the  has to take a page from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Houston and San Fran and restructure the whole network to provide essential service to the areas that heavily rely on Uber/Lyft/Dollar Vans. 

14 hours ago, NY1635 said:

Jamaica, Flushing, and I think Downtown Brooklyn used to have lots of parking lots before the area became heavily commercialized. Sure these destinations were used for shopping, but not to the extent that you had the Multiplex/Old Navy/Dunkin Donuts/and Popeyes all in one large building built on top of Parsons-Archer on the, or Lots of shopping centers, a major stadium, and luxury condos built right by the Atlantic Ave-Pacific Street Station feeding lots of people into the subway. 

Downtown Brooklyn had 2 municipal parking lots and both were on Bond Street, also Flatbush/Nostrand (2)(5) with the current Target/Applebees. Having luxury apartments are good. However, when it takes a big toll on essential public transportation than that's a problem and when you have politicians who don't care for public transportation that's a bigger problem. 

[JeremiahC99]

4 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

The B41 has been disastrous since the 1990's and sorry to say it's going to continue. Now you have Queens like jitney buses you would normally see on the Guy Brewer lines going to Far Rockaway. Also, I can agree with you that there's not enough Bergen Beach service 

Here's the problem with Flatbush Avenue and this is from observation only. If you add bus lanes along the Avenue traffic will be worse than it is and you will send some of that traffic on to Bedford Avenue and Washington Avenue. Both Avenues can be congested at times. 

I feel the best solution for the problem is that the  has to take a page from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Houston and San Fran and restructure the whole network to provide essential service to the areas that heavily rely on Uber/Lyft/Dollar Vans. 

Downtown Brooklyn had 2 municipal parking lots and both were on Bond Street, also Flatbush/Nostrand (2)(5) with the current Target/Applebees. Having luxury apartments are good. However, when it takes a big toll on essential public transportation than that's a problem and when you have politicians who don't care for public transportation that's a bigger problem. 

How about a HOV 3+ lane on Flatbush Avenue, like what is being proposed for the Williamsburg Bridge, and a offset bus lane through the Junction (Farragut Road to Avenue I)? Would that work?

 

Restructuring the bus network is a good idea. @BrooklynBus created proposals 12 years ago to restructure bus routes in Brooklyn south of Atlantic Avenue. One problem that stands out that the plans from 12 years ago could’ve solved were the service gaps on Ft Hamilton Pkwy, 13th Avenue, and along 65th Street, all in Borough Park and Bensonhurst. The plans at the time were to extend the B23 over along 13th Avenue to the 86th Street station and have bus routes on McDonald Avenue replace 16th Avenue service. B16 bus service would be rerouted to Ft. Hamilton Pkwy between DaHill Road and 60th Street, closing service gaps. In addition, the B2 would’ve been named the B1, and extended via Avenue P, 65th Street, the 62nd Street subway station, and Bay Ridge Avenue to where the B9 and B64 terminate in Bay Ridge. The 64 would’be been combined the B70 and run via the VA Hospital. Read about them here: http://brooklynbus.tripod.com/id10.html

 

Sadly, all of those wonderful proposals have been rejected by the MTA, who doesn’t believe restructuring the bus network. The result, service cuts that eliminated the B23 and made ridership decrease further.

In the present day, I have taken these plans and modified them to work in the Brooklyn we have today. First example, Canarsie Plaza opened in 2010. No additional bus routes were added to serve the new shopping center. To remedy this, revive the B23, extend it via the routing proposed 12 years ago, but rather ending it at Kings Hwy and Beverly Road, the route should continue to Remsen Avenue via then B8 route, then south along Remsen to canarsie Plaza.

 

Example 2: that gap in borough park along Ft Hamilton and on 13th Avenue still exists. Solution: implement those proposals from 12 years ago.

 

I have a map describing these changes, but is incomplete due to the fact that I am busy with other things. I will post it when I’m done.

[B35 via Church]

4 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

.....Downtown Brooklyn had 2 municipal parking lots and both were on Bond Street, also Flatbush/Nostrand (2)(5) with the current Target/Applebees. Having luxury apartments are good. However, when it takes a big toll on essential public transportation than that's a problem and when you have politicians who don't care for public transportation that's a bigger problem. 

I still have yet to go inside Triangle Junction..... How is it in there?

I remember that municipal lot quite well & would chain my bike to the fence, since Bulletproof (local hobby shop... which is STILL there btw) didn't allow bikes inside the establishment at the time..... Spent many-an-hour there during my mid-teens..... Whenever I'd go there w/ friends during the summer time, man that lot was so empty, we used to play 3 on 3 football (2-hand touch) in there...... Some kids used to play either [4 on 4] or [5 on 5]... never really counted, street hockey in there too - 2 nets (one on each end) - manned by a goalie a piece in full goalie gear too!.... Kids (ourselves included) eventually stopped playing inside there though, as police presence became more & more commonplace; it got to a point where there was at least a police car in there everyday, without fail...... I still think that was primarily due to the dudes that used the lot as a modern day pep boys or auto zone or something ... Kids sometimes used to go in there after school to fight..... I remember my uncle telling me that people used to get their cars broken into left & right (before I started frequenting Bulletproof w/ regularity), so be careful chaining my bike to the fences here & I can certainly believe it..... All kinds of shit used to go down in that lot....

If you saw more than like 15 cars in that big ass lot, it was packed... SMH... During the 90's, the only time that really occurred was on weekends - and that was due to people shopping around & about the Junction itself....

[BrooklynBus]

26 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

I still have yet to go inside Triangle Junction..... How is it in there?

I remember that municipal lot quite well & would chain my bike to the fence, since Bulletproof (local hobby shop... which is STILL there btw) didn't allow bikes inside the establishment at the time..... Spent many-an-hour there during my mid-teens..... Whenever I'd go there w/ friends during the summer time, man that lot was so empty, we used to play 3 on 3 football (2-hand touch) in there...... Some kids used to play either [4 on 4] or [5 on 5]... never really counted, street hockey in there too - 2 nets (one on each end) - manned by a goalie a piece in full goalie gear too!.... Kids (ourselves included) eventually stopped playing inside there though, as police presence became more & more commonplace; it got to a point where there was at least a police car in there everyday, without fail...... I still think that was primarily due to the dudes that used the lot as a modern day pep boys or auto zone or something ... Kids sometimes used to go in there after school to fight..... I remember my uncle telling me that people used to get their cars broken into left & right (before I started frequenting Bulletproof w/ regularity), so be careful chaining my bike to the fences here & I can certainly believe it..... All kinds of shit used to go down in that lot....

If you saw more than like 15 cars in that big ass lot, it was packed... SMH... During the 90's, the only time that really occurred was on weekends - and that was due to people shopping around & about the Junction itself....

The city never heard of supply and demand. If it was empty either they charged to much they didn't allow you to enough time to park. If you wanted to leave your car there for the entire day, you couldn't very well use spaces that allowed you only three hours. 

[Future ENY OP]

25 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

I still have yet to go inside Triangle Junction..... How is it in there?

I remember that municipal lot quite well & would chain my bike to the fence, since Bulletproof (local hobby shop... which is STILL there btw) didn't allow bikes inside the establishment at the time..... Spent many-an-hour there during my mid-teens..... Whenever I'd go there w/ friends during the summer time, man that lot was so empty, we used to play 3 on 3 football (2-hand touch) in there...... Some kids used to play either [4 on 4] or [5 on 5]... never really counted, street hockey in there too - 2 nets (one on each end) - manned by a goalie a piece in full goalie gear too!.... Kids (ourselves included) eventually stopped playing inside there though, as police presence became more & more commonplace; it got to a point where there was at least a police car in there everyday, without fail...... I still think that was primarily due to the dudes that used the lot as a modern day pep boys or auto zone or something ... Kids sometimes used to go in there after school to fight..... I remember my uncle telling me that people used to get their cars broken into left & right (before I started frequenting Bulletproof w/ regularity), so be careful chaining my bike to the fences here & I can certainly believe it..... All kinds of shit used to go down in that lot....

If you saw more than like 15 cars in that big ass lot, it was packed... SMH... During the 90's, the only time that really occurred was on weekends - and that was due to people shopping around & about the Junction itself....

Bulletproof. My favorite video/comic book spot. I missed it when it closed down Canarsie. Although the Junction was bigger and had better selection. Canarsie had some of the best video games. Didn't have to camp out overnight. They had everything u needed back then. As for Triangle Junction. Only went to target a handful of times. However, it's OK. 

Honestly, u know and I know that whole neighborhood has changed and yes, without fail police cars would park there. There were times I would see a BSTF unit, 70, and 67 cops chilling there and wait for the 2:30-4:00 crowd from Midwood either at the parking lot or on the Junction itself near Baskin Robbins.