And if the box-blocking bill does get expanded to include cars standing in crosswalks, those cars are not dangerous to approach; thousands of pedestrians every minute already have to walk all over them. Should be easy for TEAs to summons those vehicles. They're stopped, usually at red lights, while they force nearby peds to walk into the intersection, or behind.

"Beginning Monday evening, January 14, 2008, the Staten Island Expressway westbound express bus lane will be opened to high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs). All vehicles with two or more occupants will be able to use the lane from its eastern terminus at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge toll plaza to its western terminus at Exit 12, Slosson Avenue. The hours of operation for HOV use will be from 3 pm to 7 pm weekdays. At all other times, the lane will be restricted to buses."

Well guess what, whenever I am on the SIE I have two or more people, generally four people, in the car. But I take transit to work, and do not drive at rush hour. Why are private vehicles allowed in the lane at rush hour, when it is full of buses, and not on the weekend, when there are very few buses?

Short of being permitted to mount a guided missile launcher on my hood, I sure would like to see these jerks ticketed via cameras.

In reality, Mr. Padavan's real "constituents" are people with placards who do not send their kids to regular NYC schools, not bus riders with schoolchildren.

http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?QUERYDATA=S7229
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?QUERYDATA=A10233

I'm pleased to see my Assemblymember (Markey) as a co-sponsor, but am I right that bills will go nowhere in the Senate without a Republican co-sponsor? The bus-lane camera bill has no Republican co-sponsor. I'm guessing that Senator Padavan has a ton of constituents who have no option but to take the bus and would love this legislation. Which routes in his district would get cameras? My suggestion is Northern Boulevard and Hillside Avenue.

Here's a bit of what I just wrote to Assemblyman Kavanagh; am about to follow up with others:

"...pedestrians all over Manhattan constantly put up with motorists endangering them by stopping and standing in crosswalks. This forces thousands of pedestrians every minute to cross streets dangerously."

They deserve praise for this bill, but please remind Lanza, Kavanagh, and the co-sponsors that it's way past time to make this tiny, yet hugely important fix!

(sorry for sort of double-posting. Coffee.)

The "box" must be expanded to include ped crosswalks.