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Vision Zero failing as New Yorkers turn to cars over mass transit

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Bicyclists navigate past vehicles in the bike lane, turning cars, delivery trucks and pedestrians as they ride north on Sixth Avenue in midtown on July 3. Photo Credit: Charles Eckert

By Vincent Baronevin.barone@amny.com  @vinbaroneUpdated July 9, 2019 8:31 AM

Amid a surge in cyclist fatalities and climbing traffic injuries, some believe the city is failing to grapple with a fundamental threat to street safety: more people choosing cars over mass transit to get around.

Under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero safety initiative, the city has pledged to eliminate all traffic-related deaths by 2024, but 2019 poses a significant challenge to an already ambitious goal.

There have been 15 cyclist fatalities so far this year compared with 10 recorded in all of last year. Overall traffic deaths are also on pace to rise this year, with 96 fatalities on city streets through June, compared with 83 at the same point last year, a 15.7 percent jump. And traffic injuries have climbed since 2014 — increasing from 51,057 injuries that year to 60,800 last year — even while deaths had declined to historic lows in 2018.

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A cyclist navigates around an open car door in the Sixth Avenue bike lane in midtown on July 3. Photo Credit: Charles Eckert

 

Jon Orcutt, the spokesman at Bike New York and former policy director at the city’s Department of Transportation, believes those figures are particularly worrisome to cyclists, for whom “six inches could be the difference between brushing yourself off or getting killed” in a crash.

The city, he said, has failed to adequately address the impact more vehicular traffic can have on safety. Orcutt believes there must be a more urgent push to redesign streets with features like protected bicycle lanes and added pedestrian space.

“City street redesign efforts need to increase in pace. We think they’re good and we’re very supportive of what the city does each year on the streets,” he said. “But I don’t think there’s been a recognition that the return to transportation growth led by cars has a big safety implication that needs to be matched by the city’s efforts.”

As commuters began fleeing poor bus and subway service, opting to bike or to take one of the soaring numbers of e-hail vehicles from services like Uber and Lyft to get around, weekday traffic volumes in the city have grown from 4.371 million vehicle trips in 2014 to 4.441 million vehicle trips in 2016, according to the most recent city data.

Since 2010, the city’s per capita car ownership has increased as private vehicle registrations have climbed. Meanwhile, the number of licensed vehicles under the Taxi & Limousine Commission has ballooned by almost 52 percent since 2015, fueled by the rapid growth of Uber and Lyft.

During that growth at the TLC, its drivers’ traffic injury rate worsened. TLC vehicles were involved in 6,629 crashes that caused injuries in 2015, compared with 10,600 of those crashes last year, a 59 percent increase, according to city data.

Cars have a direct role in causing cyclist collisions: getting struck by an opening car door, known simply as “getting doored,” is the leading cause of bicycle injuries, according a recent tweet from the DOT. The city did not elaborate on those figures when asked for comment.

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Bicyclists ride in a protected bike lane on 6th Avenue next to Herald Square, Manhattan, Wednesday, July 3, 2019. The NYPD is ramping up enforcement on dangerous driving conditions, such as parking in bike lanes, as cycling injuries increased 9.2 percent in the first five months of the year. Photo Credit: Charles Eckert

 

Even though cyclists were statistically less likely to be injured in 2017 than a decade earlier, cycling injuries are also climbing this year. Riders have been rattled by the deaths in the news — three cyclists were killed in a recent seven-day window — or their own harrowing experiences. Cyclists are planning a “mass die-in” on Tuesday evening in Washington Square Park to protest the recent deaths.

“I don't always feel safe, but I try to push the fear down,” said Sage Bartow, 30, of Greenpoint, who said she recently started biking again in January after being severely injured in a crash with a truck two-and-a-half years ago.

De Blasio’s administration has touted its work to install new bike infrastructure to accommodate and encourage more cycling. There are 1,240 miles of bike lanes across 6,000 miles of city streets. But many have lost faith in the city and its traffic enforcement's ability to keep those lanes free of illegally stopped or parked vehicles.

“The city has been making more bike lanes, but a lot of times they're not doing it well — they'll cross traffic in dangerous places, there's constantly construction or cars parked in them,” said Greg Granaghan, 30, of Williamsburg, who frequently bikes across the Williamsburg Bridge into the Lower East Side. “Then you create this dynamic where you have bike lanes but they're not safe and people have to bike in the street.”

Following the recent string of deaths, de Blasio announced the development of a new “cyclist safety plan” and a three-week Police Department ticketing blitz, which was widely mocked for instructing police to crack down on laws they already should have been enforcing, like speeding, failure to yield and red-light-running.

“Are we saying that they weren’t enforcing the laws at [their] bare minimum before the 15 deaths? Are we saying it takes 15 people to die before we simply ask people to do their job?” asked Brooklyn Councilman Antonio Reynoso at a recent vigil for a fallen cyclist. 

When asked about the increasing injuries on city streets and the growing number of TLC vehicle injuries, the de Blasio administration said that more than 120,000 TLC-licensed drivers have undergone required Vision Zero training that teaches how to share the road with cyclists and pedestrians. The TLC is also developing a new license renewal course that will include Vision Zero curriculum, according to the administration.

A DOT representative pointed to a different data point, “serious injuries,” which isolate traffic incidents that cause broken bones, severe lacerations and other harm beyond minor bruising or cuts. Those more critical injuries have dropped under de Blasio.

“DOT’s Vision Zero work is guided largely by data — making street improvements where we see the most fatalities and serious injuries,” the representative said in a statement. “We have seen not only fatalities decline over the years, but serious injuries as well going from over 3,700 in 2013 to approximately 3,000 in 2017. We continue to redouble our Vision Zero efforts to engineer safer streets and add more bike lanes to our growing network.”

Aaron Naparstek, the founder of Streetsblog and a host on the urbanist podcast “The War on Cars,” felt that education, enforcement and even new bike lanes were not enough.

“Right now dangerous drivers can operate with impunity and they know that and that needs to change. That’s the fundamental thing,” Naparstek said. “We’ve been paying a lot of attention to street design. To me street design is like giving kids bulletproof backpacks as a response to school shootings. What we need to focus on is the weapons and the people wielding the weapons: motor vehicles and habitually dangerous drivers.”

Naparstek said the city needs to better utilize parking policy to discourage driving and car ownership and to look at new ways to use data to target drivers with the worst records. The City Council’s bill package, called the Reckless Driver Accountability Act and sponsored by Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander, would be a first step in that direction, according to Naparstek. 

Under the act, car owners who receive four traffic camera violations within a year would be sent a warning notice and offered the opportunity to enroll in a Driver Accountability Course.

A driver who racks up a fifth violation in a year would be required to enroll in the course within 10 days of receiving a notice from the city. If the driver does not enroll in that time, their vehicle would be subject to impoundment. The act has lingered in the Council’s Transportation Committee since being introduced last year.

“A whole new set of solutions need to be developed,” Naparstek said. “We all need to start to orient Vision Zero more toward: how do we start to identify habitually dangerous drivers and reach out to them in a way that changes their behavior — I don’t even think this is punitive or carceral or enforcement-oriented. This is an issue of transportation management.”

With Allegra Hobbs

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Citywide weekday traffic volumes

2014: 4.371 million vehicle trips

2015: 4.406 million vehicle trips

2016: 4.441 million vehicle trips

Taxi & Limousine Commission licensed vehicles

2015: 89,686

2018: 135,993

New York City vehicle registration

2014: 2.057 million

2015: 2.107 million

2016: 2.162 million

2017: 2.189 million

Taxi & Limousine Commission crashes involving injuries

2015: 6,629

2016: 8,099

2017: 9,218

2018: 10,600

New York City traffic deaths

2015: 234

2016: 231

2017: 223

2018: 203

New York City traffic injuries

2015: 53,181

2016: 59,432

2017: 59,212

2018: 60,800

Source: https://www.amny.com/transit/vision-zero-nyc-1.33600035?fbclid=IwAR3e2Ya67iYpw9EaJDsZSeozJboWYaMRVc9I5i63vLNb81RLHK_EcvlCckE#user=5abbd25152ba1e3d82558b80&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Top-Headlines

 

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Since we're going to conflate matters, can we THEN say that the MTA's inadequacies are ultimately resulting in more deaths on the road.....

People have & are continuing to astray from mass transit in this city & they've been doing so, well before so-called Vision Zero NYC..... While I'm indifferent to Vision Zero NYC (since I deem it as nothing more than a convenient talking point), it's not "failing" for the reasons that's being conveyed & portrayed in this article, or at all really.... With that said, it isn't garnering praise & evoking any standing ovations either.... FWIW, Vision Zero NYC had shit to do with my decision to go through with abandoning MTA services to commute to work..... The collateral damage argument/point of view (well since vehicles have slowed {supposedly], that means the buses are too) is a convenient copout....

Speaking of which, I don't care for the pass this article seems to give to the MTA.... Irresponsible, impatient, ignorant, and outright dangerous drivers need stay the f*** off the roads.... At the same time, the mere fact that people are abandoning public transit at the rate that they are, shouldn't somehow be some less than significant concern that's shooed away like a fart in the wind..... There should be more of a focus as to WHY more vehicles are on the road & more people are getting injured or killed, due to the influx of it.... To convey to me that a talking point (Vision Zero) is a significant enough a reason, well you may as well tell me that "chicks dig the longball" is a large factor as to why the game of baseball is going down the tubes.....

It wouldn't make much sense for so many NY-ers to commence driving or using rideshare services if VisionZero, by itself, is the failure that it's being made out to be (responsible for an increasing amt. of deaths)..... There would be a healthy trepidation of NYC's roads if that were the case.... I mean, If it was as such, the subways would be infinitely more unbearable to utilize than it already is (if such a thought is even fathomable).....

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de Blasio has failed repeatedly to demonstrate any actual concern for pedestrian or bike safety, and his daily car commute to the Y represents in perfect terms his deranged commitment to life in an SUV. I attended the die-in tonight and I hope others did as well. The mayor has failed, as has Polly Trottenberg. In a progressive city, these people would actually be held accountable. I have shifted from optimism about Vision Zero to grim recognition of the failure that it is. The DOT has ruined streets that were functioning properly, slowed traffic and increased driver anger, and failed to reduce pedestrian injuries or bike safety along the way. Everybody here is culpable. What a sad, embarrassing state of affairs. I never thought I would credit Bloomberg for anything, but he did an infinitely better job in improving city street infrastructure and modernizing the city. de Blasio's legacy is the death of bikers and the rise of circling, polluting Ubers and Lyfts. Add to that the collapse of bus speeds and the decline of transit use. Shameful. 

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I’m gonna just say that despite cyclists’ claim of the efficacy of the Idaho Stop:

1) it’s killing them here in NYC; and

2) it’d be nice if the courtesy and right-of-way they want from motorists was something they practiced with pedestrians. 1300 people exiting the ferry through the funnel to State and Whitehall Streets and nary a cyclist stops to let them pass - oftentimes riding through it and either almost hitting us or making us jump back or forwards.

 

So yeah, as an occasional bike rider who used to ride in mixed traffic to school and managed to have the ONLY injury be losing traction on wet leaves and having 6 stitches, it’s likely cyclist selfishness that’s causing the problem. I ride my bike on Richmond Terrace by the 120th and never have a conflict with parked or moving cars. But I recognize that:

1) Me vs a 1.5 ton piece of metal = I lose big time; and

2) Ride like you drive a car - check blind spots, watch for obstructions and hazards, plan ahead, and share the damn road because #1.

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3 hours ago, Deucey said:

I’m gonna just say that despite cyclists’ claim of the efficacy of the Idaho Stop:

1) it’s killing them here in NYC; and

Point taken, but that just isn't true boss. All of the incidents of the past few weeks have been cyclists mid-block hit by vehicles that weren't paying attention to them. That's just the facts, not worth speculating that it's about stoplights being skipped. "Cyclist selfishness" is not causing the problem and we have a lot of evidence about that fact, you can see it if you read the news stories about these incidents. Trucks that didn't look, cars that didn't look, etc. Where is the accountability for these drivers?

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As a commercial driver of 18 months experience. Most of my experiences have been in the borough of Queens and the bike to commercial vehicle ratio is pretty high in LIC, Woodside and Jackson Heights. However, I’ve picked up so much work in Manhattan as of late I’m more extra careful on how I drive. These bikers come from all different places and as a driver I have blind spots. IF I CANNOT SEE YOU THERE IS A BIG PROBLEM. 

I gotta think like 5 blocks ahead to see certain objects especially bikers trying to swerve. It’s very imperative that bikers have to share the road and be courteous. 

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18 hours ago, MHV9218 said:

Point taken, but that just isn't true boss. All of the incidents of the past few weeks have been cyclists mid-block hit by vehicles that weren't paying attention to them. That's just the facts, not worth speculating that it's about stoplights being skipped. "Cyclist selfishness" is not causing the problem and we have a lot of evidence about that fact, you can see it if you read the news stories about these incidents. Trucks that didn't look, cars that didn't look, etc. Where is the accountability for these drivers?

That’s the past few weeks.

When I worked in W’burg I would see regularly somebody on a bike going against a red at Met & Union hit someone or get hit. (One got hit by a box truck, fell off and rode away.)

When I worked on 19th St there was always some fool ignoring the red on 6th Av almost hitting me crossing.

Pay attention to cyclists not on bike paths and watch how many of them will ignore reds - including ignoring the tenet of the Idaho stop (yield then move), ride through groups of pedestrians and almost hit them and curse at them, but cry victim at motorized vehicles.

 But it’s not like drivers are going after cyclists l. And in a situation where it’s them on a thin piece of aluminum versus a 3000 lb Corolla, perhaps they should act like drivers and look over shoulders and scan the ENTIRE road ahead before running the light or changing lane.

And make them stop wearing earbuds in both ears so they hear sirens and horns.

Like every driver training; DMV handbook and traffic school tells you - it’s the object you don’t see that’ll hit you. Cyclists need to be better at checking for that. Obliviousness and arrogance kill.

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12 hours ago, Deucey said:

But it’s not like drivers are going after cyclists l. And in a situation where it’s them on a thin piece of aluminum versus a 3000 lb Corolla, perhaps they should act like drivers and look over shoulders and scan the ENTIRE road ahead before running the light or changing lane.

Drivers aren't gunning after these bicyclists; it's a false ass narrative.... Bicyclists tend to ride like they're in their own world & then whenever they get into some unfortunate accident, it's the motorist's fault because he/she bears ALL of the responsibility in the matter..... The only blind spots that matter are their own, not the ones they tend to dive into of some motorist from out of nowhere....

The one thing I will say though is that they are using the bike lanes a lot more.... But that does not mean you get to dive out of the bike lane whenever you want to turn down some side street, and I'm just supposed to stop on a dime because I'm the motorist in the situation.... Ped's (pedestrians) tend to think the same way too, when they're crossing the street on a green (light), incl. jaywalking.....

The concept of sharing the road goes both ways, not the sole onus of it having to be on the driver.

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2 hours ago, B35 via Church said:

But that does not mean you get to dive out of the bike lane whenever you want to turn down some side street, and I'm just supposed to stop on a dime because I'm the motorist in the situation....

How hard is it to look over the shoulder to make sure it’s clear before changing lane?

Drivers do it - EVEN WITH HAVING MIRRORS. 

But it’s too much to ask of a cyclist... FOH

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It is all DeBlasio's and Cuomo's Fault for not handling NYC Subway System very well and this is reason why more and more New Yorkers prefering Cars over Mass Transit due to MTA's Failure, also DeBla**hole and Cuomo's Failures as well of not handling MTA and the NYCT Very Well. NYC is failing very badly.

Edited by subwayfan1998
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NYC is failing very badly since DeBla**hole took office, it is very possible we are returning back how it was during 70's and 80's. NYC has now Less Affordability, More Crumbling Roads, More Dog Shits and Dog Piss on the Sidewalk, Banning Smoking indoors, Increase Tax Hikes on Cigarettes, Very Stench smell from the Sewers at Guggenheim, (A) Train Derailment in 2017, Crumbling Subway System and etc. This shows DeBlasio is Screwing this CIty up. I Don't like Trump at all but i could pnly agree with Trump and the Conservative Republicans on DeBlasio for being the Worst Mayor in the City he's much worse than David DInkins, Abraham Beame and John Lindsay. DeBla**hole is a Liberal Democratic Version of Donald Trump.

This City has become a Shithole thanks to Bill De Blasio. like what @MHV9218 said Bill de Blasio's aka Warren Wilhelm's legacy is the death of bikers and the rise of circling, polluting Ubers, Lyfts and other Car Culture in NYC plus the decline and collapse of transit use.

Edited by subwayfan1998
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On 7/11/2019 at 2:31 PM, subwayfan1998 said:

NYC is failing very badly since DeBla**hole took office, it is very possible we are returning back how it was during 70's and 80's. NYC has now Less Affordability, More Crumbling Roads, More Dog Shits and Dog Piss on the Sidewalk, Banning Smoking indoors, Increase Tax Hikes on Cigarettes, Very Stench smell from the Sewers at Guggenheim, (A) Train Derailment in 2017, Crumbling Subway System and etc. This shows DeBlasio is Screwing this CIty up. I Don't like Trump at all but i could pnly agree with Trump and the Conservative Republicans on DeBlasio for being the Worst Mayor in the City he's much worse than David DInkins, Abraham Beame and John Lindsay. DeBla**hole is a Liberal Democratic Version of Donald Trump.

This City has become a Shithole thanks to Bill De Blasio. like what @MHV9218 said Bill de Blasio's aka Warren Wilhelm's legacy is the death of bikers and the rise of circling, polluting Ubers, Lyfts and other Car Culture in NYC plus the decline and collapse of transit use.

Didn't we discuss this topic some time ago and if I remember most of the posters were in agreement that vision Zerowould be a falure.

The growth in automobile usage was discussed in reference to the change in riding habits in the Sheepshead Bay area sometime ago and its impact upon bus service in the area. So for many of us this is nothing nnew except that every often who wants his name in the mdia brings it up againto show that he/she is doing something (Yea! right)

I think that Michael Goodwin's column in the New York Post about what formerMayor Ed Koch did in the 1980 preisdential campaign shows how divorced from reality DeBlasio  is and how it will hurt this city. I read many of the columns on the internet and heaven forbid this city runs into fiscal trouble (and for that matter the state as well), what former President  Gerald Ford said to NYC during the last fiscal crisis will become the rallying call in  response to our plea for help. Who will those elected leaders who helped to create thismess turn to for help? 

 I have a suggestion, China, North Korea, Cuba or any of the other wonderful countires that many of these so called "progressvies" worship as better than the United States.

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Yet he had no problem expanding the speed cameras, enforcing them when school is out.  People are still walking into the street with traffic barreling down at them without a care in the world.  Funny how he's so quick to blame cars when people just think they can walk and bike wherever?  He can stay in Iowa, for all anyone cares.

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12 hours ago, Joel Up Front said:

Yet he had no problem expanding the speed cameras, enforcing them when school is out.  People are still walking into the street with traffic barreling down at them without a care in the world.  Funny how he's so quick to blame cars when people just think they can walk and bike wherever?  He can stay in Iowa, for all anyone cares.

BdB has become camera happy. Within the last few days I counted 3 new cameras near me. Somebody must be receiving (and 'enjoying') those funds. If there is a need to reduce speed in a given area, then I'd rather have a speed bump over a speed camera. The speed bump, along with a 'bump' sign would actually slow down most motorists at that very moment, hence making the school zone much safer, as opposed to a motorist speeding through the school zone, risking injury to a pedestrian, and then receiving a summons in the mail. At this point, I already presume every light or school zone has a camera in place. It is pretty much becoming the trend.

As for BdB being in Iowa, as a I mentioned in a different post, I would've been fine if he stayed there during the Saturday NYC blackout. For that matter, I would've been fine is Cuomo kept a lower profile, too.

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On 7/15/2019 at 1:55 AM, Joel Up Front said:

Yet he had no problem expanding the speed cameras, enforcing them when school is out.  People are still walking into the street with traffic barreling down at them without a care in the world.  Funny how he's so quick to blame cars when people just think they can walk and bike wherever?  He can stay in Iowa, for all anyone cares.

A number of these (I'll use some examples off-hand)...I'm not sure there's a school to justify its existence.  Some examples include Father Capodanno Boulevard before Sand Lane and Hylan Boulevard just south of Tysens Lane (both enforce a speed limit of 35 mph)...I also wonder about the cameras on Ocean Parkway near Kings Highway (enforcing a 25 mph speed limit) as well as Woodhaven Boulevard near Pitkin Avenue (enforcing a 30 mph speed limit and mounted on a pre-existing street lamp-post).

 

As for the overall problem, it appears to be an issue with the mayor not really caring about enforcing traffic laws...I'll say that at least some of this is out of the control of the MTA, but not all of it. Sending in state troopers to enforce bus lanes and traffic laws should be a priority.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here are the registration numbers for passenger vehicles only in 2012 and 2017 (last year DMV stats available). My own theory is that as more New Yorkers become more well-off they buy cars for the freedom and convenience. A 7.61% (+146,505) increase in passenger car ownership between 2012 and 2017 is pretty impressive when you consider how expensive and potentially difficult it is to own a car in NYC. The Alternate Side Parking rules alone are an impediment to car ownership

nyc 2012:
BRONX 227,105
KINGS 408,007
NEW YORK 221,916
QUEENS 671,816
RICHMOND 247,692

NYC 2012 TOTAL 1,776,536

 

nyc 2017:
BRONX 249,216
KINGS 457,980
NEW YORK 225,179
QUEENS 725,906
RICHMOND 264,760

NYC 2017 TOTAL 1,923,041

 

https://dmv.ny.gov/statistic/2012reg.pdf

https://dmv.ny.gov/statistic/2017reginforce-web.pdf

 

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I wonder how much of that queens total (and increase for that matter) has to do with all the taxi garages in the borough... i wonder how much uber/lyft helped increase that number? I figured a good amount of those types of drivers were just normal citizens taking up a side job, but seeing all those black cab livery vehicles (LUXOR or whoever rents those out) makes me think that that might also be contributing to the increase in reg’d vehicles...

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4 minutes ago, Orion6025 said:

I wonder how much of that queens total (and increase for that matter) has to do with all the taxi garages in the borough... i wonder how much uber/lyft helped increase that number? I figured a good amount of those types of drivers were just normal citizens taking up a side job, but seeing all those black cab livery vehicles (LUXOR or whoever rents those out) makes me think that that might also be contributing to the increase in reg’d vehicles...

The numbers are for passenger vehicles only. The info is from the two pdfs I linked to. I'm assuming that the 'Standard' column in the pdfs means passenger vehicles. There is a separate 'Taxi' column which again I'm assuming includes traditional taxis as well as Uber/Lyft vehicles with 'TLC' plates. The DMV should be clearer but this is the only info I have.

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12 minutes ago, Orion6025 said:

I wonder how much of that queens total (and increase for that matter) has to do with all the taxi garages in the borough... i wonder how much uber/lyft helped increase that number? I figured a good amount of those types of drivers were just normal citizens taking up a side job, but seeing all those black cab livery vehicles (LUXOR or whoever rents those out) makes me think that that might also be contributing to the increase in reg’d vehicles...

Don’t forget Tower Luxury has a Queens office also. A lot of these black car companies are centered in Long Island City, Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. 

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Just gonna throw these out there

  • More car owners in NYC is a *bad* thing -- environmentally and from a safety/civic efficiency perspective. We should strive to reverse that trend. 
  • Lots of jaywalkers and bikers in crowded areas and the frequent conflicts between the various types of traffic should maybe indicate that it's time to reassess the massive/exclusive amounts of space we devote to car transportation in this city with an eye towards providing safe passage for all modes.
  • I'm amused by the juxtaposition of "jaywalkers and crazy bikers are the issue" and "BdB is an idiot for adding more speed cameras." I agree with those who're saying that prevention (bumps) are better than enforcement (cameras) but there's no reason you can't have both, nor are bumps universally viable.
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One thing I noticed, is that lights have adjusted to now cycle to the pedestrian walk for 2-5 seconds which puts pedestrians in the crosswalk as cars start moving as opposed to the simultaneous change where the first car are two will pass the point of conflict before pedestrians reach the area.



When you count the dead time between light cycles it may be time to just go full tilt and make an exclusive pedestrian cycle, a lot of congestion results from being unable to complete a turn during a light cycle which backs up the platoon of cars which trickles back to the next intersection then dominoes. A controlled 15-30 second wait may just do the trick.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian_scramble

Edited by Jsunflyguy
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