Comments on: Anyone Biking Over the Brooklyn Bridge With a Camera This Evening?

By: Barnard

Barnard — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:14:46 +0000

Aaron, did you write any poems about the gridlock and honking?

Tangled BQE,
You promote: biking, walking
And public transit

By: Boris

Boris — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:23:05 +0000

There are plans to raise the overpasses on Belt Parkway to allow for truck traffic there. It makes a lot of sense for trucks going to Long Island- they are not needed in downtown Brooklyn.

And we certainly don’t need gravel-carrying tractor-trailers anywhere in the city. That stuff is the job of freight trains that will one day use the long-overdue Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel.

So the only trucks the city needs are smaller delivery trucks and the occasional dump truck for local road paving and the like. No 18-wheelers.

I certainly wouldn’t drive if there was congestion pricing, especially if that translated into high-speed Staten Island ferry service. But, alas.

By: Moocow

Moocow — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:46:06 +0000

I don’t know what other roads trucks would take, I mean I really don’t know, I am clueless when it comes to NYC highways. Since the whole city needs, trucks, and most of the stuff in them, and we don’t need personal cars and the one person in them, why not close highways to cars? Why expedite personal trips and clog up commercial supply lines? i.e. if traffic were always like it was last night, 6 hours after the closing of the BQE, people would figure out another method of transportation pretty quick.

By: Boris

Boris — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:01:46 +0000

I was one of those suckers driving from Staten Island to Manhattan yesterday afternoon for a class. Once I realized what a mess it was I tried going east, around Prospect Park, but gave up, parked, and took the Q to where I needed to go. Unfortunately, on average driving outside of rush hours is still faster and sometimes even cheaper than transit, so I think I will continue to drive some of the time- making sure to check the traffic report beforehand.

This truck accident is one more reason to restrict trucks on the BQE. The trucks cause a lot of pollution in some of the densest neighborhoods outside of Manhattan and generally don’t belong there.

By: Sainsbury

Sainsbury — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:57:27 +0000

It was one giant parking lot from The Brooklyn Bridge to Windsor terrace last night. Cars, SUVs, trucks, vans all twisted at odd angles trying to get around each other with no one (but bikes) moving. made it a little scary. Never know when someone decides the bike lane is necessary for them to quickly get around the car in front of them to gain those 5-10 feet of tarmac. I was surprised more cars weren’t traveling down and blocking the bike paths.

By: Eric McClure

Eric McClure — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:03:09 +0000

At 6:30pm traffic was near standstill on 5th, 6th and 7th Aves in the Slope. From 15th street up to 9th northbound, one car per light would move through intersection. This led to drivers deciding to travel on the wrong side of the street, sometimes from mid block.

What, were the Nets at home last night?

By: Larry Littlefield

Larry Littlefield — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:01:57 +0000

I’m afraid this is what SUBWAY TRAVEL is going to be like in the near future. I just hope bikes remain able to go over the bridges, so I can avoid all this.

By: Moocow

Moocow — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:02:13 +0000

At 6:30pm traffic was near standstill on 5th, 6th and 7th Aves in the Slope. From 15th street up to 9th northbound, one car per light would move through intersection. This led to drivers deciding to travel on the wrong side of the street, sometimes from mid block.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:19:40 +0000

I wasn’t on the Brooklyn Bridge tonight, but I was down in Carroll Gardens to check out an apartment and traffic was fouled up all the way down to that area both on the BQE and on local roads.

By: Susan Donovan

Susan Donovan — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:15:34 +0000

The photos in the link look scary– I hope no one got hurt.

By: Davis

Davis — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:35:43 +0000

Fender bender + gigantic fireball.

By: epc

epc — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:10:06 +0000

It wasn’t just a fender bender, car vs truck in the Middagh Street overpass in the NB BQE lanes. See Brooklyn Heights blog for photos & video. http://brooklynheightsblog.com/

By: Fair Trade

Fair Trade — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:39:54 +0000

When I lived in London I cycled everywhere – it was the only reliable way of commuting. It’s days like this in NY that shift people on to 2 wheels…