Comments on: Fifth Ave Merchants: Delivery Problems Have Nothing to Do With Bike Lane http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/11/fifth-ave-merchants-delivery-problems-have-nothing-to-do-with-bike-lane/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:31:30 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Cap'n Transit http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/11/fifth-ave-merchants-delivery-problems-have-nothing-to-do-with-bike-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-70031 Cap'n Transit Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:49:07 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=6393#comment-70031 Jonathan, it all depends on what percentage of the population drives. In an area with car usage as low as Park Slope, most businesses would do quite well with no parking at all - off or on-street. All they need is a place for their delivery trucks to park, an hour or two a day at most. Jonathan, it all depends on what percentage of the population drives. In an area with car usage as low as Park Slope, most businesses would do quite well with no parking at all - off or on-street. All they need is a place for their delivery trucks to park, an hour or two a day at most.

]]> By: Jonathan http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/11/fifth-ave-merchants-delivery-problems-have-nothing-to-do-with-bike-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-70028 Jonathan Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:28:20 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=6393#comment-70028 I was browsing some links from <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/12/new-urbanism-old-urbanism-and-creative-destruction/" rel="nofollow">the Denver discussion</a> on today's Streetsblog, including the Joe-Urban fellow whose positive post was heavily quoted, and I found <a href="http://joe-urban.com/archive/in-da-hood/"on his blog the following quote which seems relevant to the Fifth Avenue discussion. He's going over how to implement bike lanes on a retail strip, and whether therefore to remove one lane of parked cars from the 40-foot wide avenue: <blockquote>The irony is this: [Minneapolis] is in the process of revising their retail off-street parking requirements, which implies that businesses would rely more on bike and foot traffic, but really means relying more on on-street parking. Taking away on-street parking would not be wise, in my mind. Add to that one of the reasons people like our neighborhood and move here is our local businesses. So I cannot in good conscience, personally or as vice-president of my neighborhood board, support a plan that removes on-street parking when that is exactly the thing we are trying as a city to promote. Businesses have a hard enough time staying in existence in our over-regulated city. </blockquote> The writer sees onstreet parking as a necessary complement to bike and foot traffic; many posters on Streetsblog see those two ideas as opposed. I was browsing some links from the Denver discussion on today's Streetsblog, including the Joe-Urban fellow whose positive post was heavily quoted, and I found <a href="http://joe-urban.com/archive/in-da-hood/"on his blog the following quote which seems relevant to the Fifth Avenue discussion. He's going over how to implement bike lanes on a retail strip, and whether therefore to remove one lane of parked cars from the 40-foot wide avenue:

The irony is this: [Minneapolis] is in the process of revising their retail off-street parking requirements, which implies that businesses would rely more on bike and foot traffic, but really means relying more on on-street parking. Taking away on-street parking would not be wise, in my mind.
Add to that one of the reasons people like our neighborhood and move here is our local businesses. So I cannot in good conscience, personally or as vice-president of my neighborhood board, support a plan that removes on-street parking when that is exactly the thing we are trying as a city to promote. Businesses have a hard enough time staying in existence in our over-regulated city.

The writer sees onstreet parking as a necessary complement to bike and foot traffic; many posters on Streetsblog see those two ideas as opposed.

]]> By: Greg http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/11/fifth-ave-merchants-delivery-problems-have-nothing-to-do-with-bike-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-69961 Greg Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:40:23 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=6393#comment-69961 Perhaps they aren't hearing complaints because the trucks are parking in the bike lane, and the city is not ticketing them for it. That seems to be how things work elsewhere in the city. Perhaps they aren't hearing complaints because the trucks are parking in the bike lane, and the city is not ticketing them for it. That seems to be how things work elsewhere in the city.

]]> By: Marty Barfowitz http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/11/fifth-ave-merchants-delivery-problems-have-nothing-to-do-with-bike-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-69955 Marty Barfowitz Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:18:48 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=6393#comment-69955 This small sample of interviews confirms my suspicion that the BID's leadership does not accurately reflecting the opinions of most merchants on 5th Avenue on this issue and, perhaps, many other issues. The BID should find new leadership before the 5th Avenue merchants go down the tubes like the 7th Avenue merchants have. All the BID and CB6 are doing with their misguided war on bike safety is alienating a huge portion of the Avenue's customer base. Not a wise strategy. This small sample of interviews confirms my suspicion that the BID's leadership does not accurately reflecting the opinions of most merchants on 5th Avenue on this issue and, perhaps, many other issues. The BID should find new leadership before the 5th Avenue merchants go down the tubes like the 7th Avenue merchants have. All the BID and CB6 are doing with their misguided war on bike safety is alienating a huge portion of the Avenue's customer base. Not a wise strategy.

]]> By: paco http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/11/fifth-ave-merchants-delivery-problems-have-nothing-to-do-with-bike-lane/comment-page-1/#comment-69949 paco Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:37:03 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=6393#comment-69949 Thank you Streetsblog for so quickly going to the source and directly asking merchants their thoughts. Parking on 5th is difficult and maybe it does cause some driving shoppers to give up entirely, but I firmly believe that in a walking neighborhood where the majority of households don't own a car, a BID should SUPPORT pedestrian and cyclist accommodations like neck-downs and bike lanes, not resist them. Why not go further and survey every shop on 5th for their customers' modes of transportation? No doubt, the overwhelming response would be foot power, not engine power. Thank you Streetsblog for so quickly going to the source and directly asking merchants their thoughts. Parking on 5th is difficult and maybe it does cause some driving shoppers to give up entirely, but I firmly believe that in a walking neighborhood where the majority of households don't own a car, a BID should SUPPORT pedestrian and cyclist accommodations like neck-downs and bike lanes, not resist them. Why not go further and survey every shop on 5th for their customers' modes of transportation? No doubt, the overwhelming response would be foot power, not engine power.

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