“At intersections, the dashed line with chevrons indicates that cars may turn across your path.”
Huh. I always thought they meant I got a turbo boost for riding over them.
Anonymous
Or walks!
Anonymous
I’m glad the racks are of flexible design and can be moved. Here’s a change that’s needed: adjust or get rid of the bike share racks on Hanover Place between Livingston and Fulton Streets in downtown Brooklyn. On Monday morning I saw a fire truck struggle to get through this narrow side street, just in front of my daughter’s day care school. Bike share racks were on the left and legally-parked school buses were on the right.
As someone very much pro-bike share, I wonder why DOT/Alta chose this ridiculous and dangerous location. Nearby is Albee Square Plaza by the new City Point project, where more people will see the bikes and they present no obstruction to emergency vehicles.
Jared R
I got mine yesterday. It will probably be delivered tomorrow or Friday.
Anonymous
what i want to know about each candidate is 1) do they own a car, 2) how do they commute 3) how much does it cost them to park/commute….my guess is as government employees they have free parking at work so they drive. I doubt any of them play the alternate side game. i think most of them live outside of manhattan except for Quinn?
Anonymous
Still haven’t gotten mine, so now I’m worried.
Anonymous
The map is wrong in at least one place on the iOS version; I can see the station on Liberty Street just off Broadway right this second by looking out the window, but it’s not on the map. It’s also crash-prone, but that’s to be expected with a new release.
Wish Gelinas had read the article more thoroughly before getting all up in arms about it.. The whole response sounds blustery, all the way down to her seeming offense at Komanoff’s use of the words “tabloid titillation..” It sounds like she didn’t really read the rest of his article.
Daniel Winks
Considering it’s usually a greater offense to drive drunk than to drive without a license, I agree, I don’t see how this will change anything. If someone is already willing to drink and drive, I highly doubt a suspended license will stop them either. Maybe if we upped the minimum sentence for driving without a license to something more severe, such as perhaps 5 or 7 years in jail, no probation/parole, then people would think twice about driving without a license. As it is, people will drive drunk and not care, then drive without a license and continue to not care.
Not speaking professionally, It is my personal view that it is nearly impossible for me to convince a Community Board, local business owners, Transit Agencies, as well as our operating agencies to go any lower than 5 traffic lanes without adversely affecting response times or general operations.
It WILL be done piecemeal and the next mayor will largely determine what direction that takes – but as of now, commercial, transit, taxi and municipal vehicles take up an enormous amount of room on the streets.
Perhaps we should simply deck over every street with a 25′ high deck and have the vehicle level become the defacto basement, with LRT/BRT and pedestrians on the raised “ground” level.
Brad Aaron
The felony provision in Charlotte’s Law could help, though there’s no way to know how it would be applied.
Then there are places that take dangerous drivers seriously. For example, Vladimir Rigenco who lives in a Toronto suburb. Mr. Rigenco bragged in an online forum about driving his German luxury car at 100 km/hr (62 MPH) over the speed limit in a residential neighbourhood.
Someone complained to the police. Immediately a team of police officers sprung into action. They knocked on doors throughout the neighbourhood and turned up witnesses to Mr. Rigenco’s offence. Mr. Rigenco was charged with Dangerous Driving (good for 5 years in jail) and pled guilty to the lesser charge of Careless Driving (good for six months in jail).
Can we imagine a New York where a complaint about a dangerous driver results in a team of police officers springing into action and knocking on doors to successfully find witnesses to the crime? And then laying appropriate criminal charges with appropriate jail time?
Joe Enoch
I still have not received mine!
Joe R.
I don’t blame Bloomberg for being angry. Talk about a missed opportunity. Sliding doors on all the taxis would have been great. The only thing I would have done differently is go with straight electrics instead of hybrids. With the sheer number of taxis in Manhattan, that would have made a notable difference in air quality. I really hope Bloomberg follows through on his threat. Taxis are half the traffic in Manhattan, and nearly invariably the worst drivers.
Niccolo Macchiavelli
I’m still looking for statistics regarding the non-car NYC majority.
Specifically, what is the percentage of actual voter who do not own cars? I also care about the percentage of households who own a car, the percentage of individuals (voters and non-voters who own a car. Is also like to see it broken out by neighborhood, borough, county, zip codes.
But I’d really be happy with the percentage of voters city wide. I’ve never seen it.
JK
How many vulnerable road users are killed or struck by someone driving without a license — be it suspended or revoked? Does suspending a drivers license actually change behavior in New York? As you imply, Charlotte’s Law would help, but what about dangerous drivers caught driving with a suspended license who hurt others, what actually happens to them? Anything?
You appear to be mixing “subway” with “multi-modal transportation.” If I walk and then take a subway train that’s multi-modal transportation.
Most subway users do walk to and from a station. But the subway part of their journey will be standing or sitting, and that is sedentary transportation.
While I am on the street walking, I’m a pedestrian. And the fact that criminal car drivers in their criminal negligence regularly crush and kill pedestrians on the sidewalk and pedestrian crossings scares the $&%*#!! out of me.
Anonymous
I think it’s hilarious how Gene Freidman puts on his best Blanche DuBois act when it comes to those scandalous, scandalous words he alleges the mayor used.
Anonymous
As I understand it, London cabs, although wheelchair accessible, are not ADA compliant.
That’s arguable. The advocacy group Taxis for All was pissed that they weren’t wheelchair accessible and even cited London as their preferred model. TLC claims that London isn’t ADA compliant because those require slooping entries ways and higher ceilings (think Access-A-Ride). I’m not a ADA litigator so I cannot speak to the compliance though I think handicap accessible seems like a reasonable accommodation to me when taken in conjunction with the existing system of calling for Access-A-Rides.
Ben Kintisch
Bike share and bike infrastructure is only controversial in the silly tabloids that create silly controversies. End of story.
guest
you can bet your sweet dippy that DOT removed the docks due to the media attention. What other possible explanation is there?
Anonymous
As I understand it, London cabs, although wheelchair accessible, are not ADA compliant. I don’t think every cab needs to be ADA compliant (and larger and less fuel efficient as a result). People in the outer boroughs somehow manage calling rather than hailing cabs. I do think hybrids are important, but the cab owners are slimy, complaining about fuel efficiency requirements and then complaining about the absence of hybrids on the next go round. The City and Nissan should simply offer a hybrid version of the taxi of tomorrow.
Triple Prime
50% more NYC voters would vote for a pro-biking mayoral candidates than against one.
Jared R
Thanks – that is my guess as well. The article is just veiled with particular language choices that allow it to flow well with other bikelash pieces.
The good thing about having such easily reconfigurable docking stations is that next year, when residents complain that there aren’t enough bikes, they can put them back.
moocow
Pure gold: Why not provide news to the public instead?
Anonymous
It’s inexcusable to make a large fleet order that isn’t (i) ADA compliant and (ii) Hybrid.
The ADA requires “reasonable accommodations ” and given that every single London Taxi is handicap accessible, indicates that they did not give “reasonable accommodations” to disabled individuals. We want our disabled brothers and sisters to be mobile and not have to rely solely on Access-A-Rides. And if you’re concerned about street safety, which I know you are, you know that Access-A-Rides are probably the scariest vehicles to be around while on bicycle.
Re: Hybrid. The cost savings would’ve paid for itself. This is a bulk order so we’d get great pricing. Plus the obvious Environmental impact.
I’d prefer sliding doors as well. No reason it can’t have (i) sliding doors (ii) hybrid and (iii) ADA Compliant.
Daphna
Regarding the NY Post piece on the bikeshare docking station at 175 West 13th Street: The NY Post fabricates a story then follows it up the next day with another story praising the good results they think were the result of their fabricated story. Why not provide news to the public instead? Do NY Post editors think that these lies are what people want to read? Do they fabricate stories to win advertisers and readers??
I hope the DOT had previously planned to remove the 8 docks and were not reacting to the false NY Post story. I wish they had only removed 4 docks as they did at 99 Bank Street (the other NIMBY complainers) rather than 8. I also wish they had elongated the docking station on either end with the docks that were removed from the center rather than leaving it with fewer docks overall.
I hope all the people involved who perpetrated this misinformation feel ashamed of themselves: Lawyer Steven Shore, Reporters Julia Marsh, Amber Sutherland, Kevin Fasick, Antonio Antenucci, co-op residents Dave Marcus and Mrs. Edward Liss. Their antics are costing the city money and are lessening a transportation option for the public.
JamesR
I just don’t understand the ‘Save the Trail’ crowd. Do they not understand that the VCP segment is just a small piece of a much longer corridor? I rode the current path through Van Cortlandt Park out to the South County Trailway a few days ago and it was/is a rutted, unsafe mess. There is an entire park’s worth of cross country trails for trail runners to use. I run the Tortoise & Hare course a few times a week and it’s wonderful. The Putnam alignment, however should be for everyone’s use and that means the best quality surface possible.
Does anyone know what funding stream the city is using to make the improvements? If they are using state Transportation Enhancements funds, then ADA accessibility is an absolute must and I don’t know if stone dust can meet that threshold unless it is meticulously maintained (which is just not going to happen – even a paved trail will end up with inevitable frost heaves).
re: Stanton – Bronxite, if what you say is true, Cohen has just lost my vote.
Anonymous
I think she’d say her intention was to note how Paris dealt with a spike in apparently bikeshare-related deaths shortly after their system debuted, with the hope that New York might follow suit and head off similar problems here. And that’s fine. But she’s a fellow at the nightmarishly conservative Manhattan Institute and, therefore, all she could do was point fingers at DOT and bikers, since the police are the only blameless public employees and trucking companies and such are, when privately held, basically gods.
Bolwerk
Sure, I’ll forgive anybody. But they should at least show signs of rehabilitation first.
(And, I don’t mean Weiner’s Twitter scandal. I actually think that was out of bounds as a concern for politics.)
Daphna
I was looking forward to the Taxi of Tomorrow. I was upset when first it was challenged on a supposed disability requirement and then on the supposed hybrid requirement. While not perfect, the Taxi of Tomorrow would have meant the whole fleet of NYC yellow taxis would be minivans with sliding doors. Those sliding doors would be lifesavers! Dramatically fewer cyclists would be doored! There would be so many fewer injuries and some fewer deaths. For the sliding door feature alone, I supported the Taxi of Tomorrow concept.
I thought Bloomberg’s initiative was very good. But instead NYC will be stuck with a fleet of mostly sedans and SUVs which all have doors that present serious danger to cyclists since drivers and passengers often do not look before opening.
Anonymous
LOL, yeah, I’ve seen one a few months ago!
Anonymous
Weird, when I tap the layers icon the only options I get are “City Branches” and “Bike Shops”, no “Bike Lanes”.
Jared R
I always come back to: “What was the intent of her article?” Seemingly, the intent was to say Citibike is flawed because there is nothing we can do about drivers killing pedestrians and cyclists. I’m still unsure. Someone clarify for me.
Mark Walker
You’re probably right. But I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if he changes course. Advocating at least some livable streets policies might set him apart from the pack. OK, file this under Unduly Optimistic. But I won’t dismiss him until he opens his mouth.
Anonymous
This is infuriating and embarrassing, I’m ashamed to live in this city /sobs
Bolwerk
I was pretty “anybody but Quinn,” but Weiner may actually be worse. At least on streets/transit issues, maybe not civil rights.
Anonymous
How the hell is it harder to go around bike racks than to go around bumper-to-bumper parked cars. Are these people really retarded??? Not to mention that FDNY denied all that bullshit.
Anonymous
Precisely. They won’t let the facts get in their way.
I would love to have bike share in front of my building, whose entrance is usually blocked with parked cars in spite of it being a no parking zone. How’s that? Well we have some special people in this city, a few hundred thousand, and they have special pieces of paper to place on their car dashboards, and this allows them to park wherever they want. In Downtown Brooklyn where I live, most of the street parking I see is special.
So I have no interest in typical no parking zones that function as a perk for special people and many of which seem to have been assigned with that intent, but hope for ever more useful infrastructure like bike share stations that physically prevent special people from parking on every inch of public property.
As far as a bike share station being easier or harder to negotiate than parked cars, who knows? The stations won’t be 100% full. How they compare when in use to the many other obstructions pedestrians face and some of which they replace, we’ll just have to see.
Andrew
If your #1 priority is processing automobile traffic, then I agree.
Personally, I can think of countless better ways to use valuable Manhattan real estate than for processing automobile traffic.
As I said: “This is a city street, not a superhighway. Seven lanes is absurd.”
Anonymous
Thanks for posting the photo of the packet; I’m still eagerly awaiting mine. I think it’s great that they included the Bike Smart guide.
I also see now that there is some useful advice in the riding tips section of the Citi Bike website. It’s not as detailed but does include a link to download the Bike Smart booklet PDF.
What I don’t like so much is that the Rules posted on every bike and in other prominent places seem more focused on not annoying other road users than on being safe. “Safety theater”, almost. I guess they figured they had to do it for political reasons, though. When people complain about Citi Bike users riding on the sidewalk, Citi Bike can say “but look, we told them! It’s written on every bike!”
If I had to pick four rules to write on the handlebars, they would be:
1) stay away from parked vehicle doors
2) beware of turning vehicles (especially trucks). Remember they have blind spots and might turn without seeing you.
3) take the lane when it’s not wide enough for cars to pass you safely
4) ride in the direction of traffic
Anonymous
But DOT and Citi Bike are doing things to educate their customers. Think of the biking-related PSAs and all the educational materials coming from DOT. And every Citi Bike already has the most important rules of the road printed on them.
Then there’s the reality that DOT’s “Bike Smart” guide is included in the Citi Bike annual membership packet, and it has a very good section on the dangers of navigating around trucks and buses.
The problem is that the onus is always on the cyclist or DOT, such that here Gelinas basically argues that, lacking this one warning, DOT will be responsible for an uptick in cycling deaths. Other causes of cycling fatalities–such as the outrageous lack of police enforcement–are treated as immutable facts, unworthy even of mention in Gelinas’s original article.
Anonymous
The Share hasn’t even begun yet and the detractors are already complaining about “full” bike racks. The system is designed to have more rack space than total bikes available. The only way those racks will be constantly filled will be if there is a constant demand by users to get to that area which would also raise the question of who’s rights are more important – the co-op’s demand for public curb access or their neighbor’s demand for better transportation options?
Anonymous
It’s being reported that The bike share has already removed a section of the racks in front of the building in response to criticism.
It’s curious that this building NEVER had special protections against cars blocking their front door but does now which leads me to think of the adage about strange bedfellows.
The Post will probably crow about their reporting and the power of the press but its more likely that the design of the system has ALWAYS made it easy to move around the racks as demand suggested
Bronxite
•If you click on layers, you have the option to enable a bicycle lane layer. However, you are unable to differentiate between on-street bicycle lanes, on-street protected bicycle paths, shared lane sharrows, greenways or designated bicycle routes.
•It would also be nice to have labeled warnings for sets of stairs and narrow, unpaved paths, or other dangers.
•Street closure updates would be nice. Even information about events like Summer Streets.
•Satellite, terrain elevation, and traffic are useful Google Maps overlays that cyclist can use too.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Anonymous
“At intersections, the dashed line with chevrons indicates that cars may turn across your path.”
Huh. I always thought they meant I got a turbo boost for riding over them.
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Anonymous
Or walks!
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Anonymous
I’m glad the racks are of flexible design and can be moved. Here’s a change that’s needed: adjust or get rid of the bike share racks on Hanover Place between Livingston and Fulton Streets in downtown Brooklyn. On Monday morning I saw a fire truck struggle to get through this narrow side street, just in front of my daughter’s day care school. Bike share racks were on the left and legally-parked school buses were on the right.
As someone very much pro-bike share, I wonder why DOT/Alta chose this ridiculous and dangerous location. Nearby is Albee Square Plaza by the new City Point project, where more people will see the bikes and they present no obstruction to emergency vehicles.
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
Jared R
I got mine yesterday. It will probably be delivered tomorrow or Friday.
in response to T-Minus 10 Days to Citi Bike Launch
Anonymous
what i want to know about each candidate is 1) do they own a car, 2) how do they commute 3) how much does it cost them to park/commute….my guess is as government employees they have free parking at work so they drive. I doubt any of them play the alternate side game. i think most of them live outside of manhattan except for Quinn?
in response to Q Poll: Support for Cycling a Vote Winner for Mayoral Candidates
Anonymous
Still haven’t gotten mine, so now I’m worried.
in response to T-Minus 10 Days to Citi Bike Launch
Anonymous
The map is wrong in at least one place on the iOS version; I can see the station on Liberty Street just off Broadway right this second by looking out the window, but it’s not on the map. It’s also crash-prone, but that’s to be expected with a new release.
in response to Official Citi Bike Mobile App Now Available
Kate Speidel
Wish Gelinas had read the article more thoroughly before getting all up in arms about it.. The whole response sounds blustery, all the way down to her seeming offense at Komanoff’s use of the words “tabloid titillation..” It sounds like she didn’t really read the rest of his article.
in response to Gelinas Responds to Komanoff on Bike-Share Safety
Daniel Winks
Considering it’s usually a greater offense to drive drunk than to drive without a license, I agree, I don’t see how this will change anything. If someone is already willing to drink and drive, I highly doubt a suspended license will stop them either. Maybe if we upped the minimum sentence for driving without a license to something more severe, such as perhaps 5 or 7 years in jail, no probation/parole, then people would think twice about driving without a license. As it is, people will drive drunk and not care, then drive without a license and continue to not care.
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Michael Klatsky
Not speaking professionally, It is my personal view that it is nearly impossible for me to convince a Community Board, local business owners, Transit Agencies, as well as our operating agencies to go any lower than 5 traffic lanes without adversely affecting response times or general operations.
It WILL be done piecemeal and the next mayor will largely determine what direction that takes – but as of now, commercial, transit, taxi and municipal vehicles take up an enormous amount of room on the streets.
Perhaps we should simply deck over every street with a 25′ high deck and have the vehicle level become the defacto basement, with LRT/BRT and pedestrians on the raised “ground” level.
in response to After Two Meetings, CB 6 Still Hasn't Decided on QBB Bike Access Plan
Brad Aaron
The felony provision in Charlotte’s Law could help, though there’s no way to know how it would be applied.
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Kevin Love
Then there are places that take dangerous drivers seriously. For example, Vladimir Rigenco who lives in a Toronto suburb. Mr. Rigenco bragged in an online forum about driving his German luxury car at 100 km/hr (62 MPH) over the speed limit in a residential neighbourhood.
Someone complained to the police. Immediately a team of police officers sprung into action. They knocked on doors throughout the neighbourhood and turned up witnesses to Mr. Rigenco’s offence. Mr. Rigenco was charged with Dangerous Driving (good for 5 years in jail) and pled guilty to the lesser charge of Careless Driving (good for six months in jail).
Details here:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2010/08/10/speeding_boast_online_costs_19yearold_his_licence.html
Can we imagine a New York where a complaint about a dangerous driver results in a team of police officers springing into action and knocking on doors to successfully find witnesses to the crime? And then laying appropriate criminal charges with appropriate jail time?
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Joe Enoch
I still have not received mine!
in response to Keys to the Citi Bike: Bike-Share Fobs Start to Arrive in Members' Mailboxes
Joe R.
I don’t blame Bloomberg for being angry. Talk about a missed opportunity. Sliding doors on all the taxis would have been great. The only thing I would have done differently is go with straight electrics instead of hybrids. With the sheer number of taxis in Manhattan, that would have made a notable difference in air quality. I really hope Bloomberg follows through on his threat. Taxis are half the traffic in Manhattan, and nearly invariably the worst drivers.
in response to Today's Headlines
Niccolo Macchiavelli
I’m still looking for statistics regarding the non-car NYC majority.
Specifically, what is the percentage of actual voter who do not own cars? I also care about the percentage of households who own a car, the percentage of individuals (voters and non-voters who own a car. Is also like to see it broken out by neighborhood, borough, county, zip codes.
But I’d really be happy with the percentage of voters city wide. I’ve never seen it.
in response to Q Poll: Support for Cycling a Vote Winner for Mayoral Candidates
JK
How many vulnerable road users are killed or struck by someone driving without a license — be it suspended or revoked? Does suspending a drivers license actually change behavior in New York? As you imply, Charlotte’s Law would help, but what about dangerous drivers caught driving with a suspended license who hurt others, what actually happens to them? Anything?
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Kevin Love
Steven,
You appear to be mixing “subway” with “multi-modal transportation.” If I walk and then take a subway train that’s multi-modal transportation.
Most subway users do walk to and from a station. But the subway part of their journey will be standing or sitting, and that is sedentary transportation.
While I am on the street walking, I’m a pedestrian. And the fact that criminal car drivers in their criminal negligence regularly crush and kill pedestrians on the sidewalk and pedestrian crossings scares the $&%*#!! out of me.
in response to Gelinas Responds to Komanoff on Bike-Share Safety
Anonymous
I think it’s hilarious how Gene Freidman puts on his best Blanche DuBois act when it comes to those scandalous, scandalous words he alleges the mayor used.
in response to Today's Headlines
Anonymous
As I understand it, London cabs, although wheelchair accessible, are not ADA compliant.
That’s arguable. The advocacy group Taxis for All was pissed that they weren’t wheelchair accessible and even cited London as their preferred model. TLC claims that London isn’t ADA compliant because those require slooping entries ways and higher ceilings (think Access-A-Ride). I’m not a ADA litigator so I cannot speak to the compliance though I think handicap accessible seems like a reasonable accommodation to me when taken in conjunction with the existing system of calling for Access-A-Rides.
in response to Today's Headlines
Ben Kintisch
Bike share and bike infrastructure is only controversial in the silly tabloids that create silly controversies. End of story.
in response to Q Poll: Support for Cycling a Vote Winner for Mayoral Candidates
guest
you can bet your sweet dippy that DOT removed the docks due to the media attention. What other possible explanation is there?
in response to Today's Headlines
Anonymous
As I understand it, London cabs, although wheelchair accessible, are not ADA compliant. I don’t think every cab needs to be ADA compliant (and larger and less fuel efficient as a result). People in the outer boroughs somehow manage calling rather than hailing cabs. I do think hybrids are important, but the cab owners are slimy, complaining about fuel efficiency requirements and then complaining about the absence of hybrids on the next go round. The City and Nissan should simply offer a hybrid version of the taxi of tomorrow.
in response to Today's Headlines
Triple Prime
50% more NYC voters would vote for a pro-biking mayoral candidates than against one.
in response to Q Poll: Support for Cycling a Vote Winner for Mayoral Candidates
Jared R
Thanks – that is my guess as well. The article is just veiled with particular language choices that allow it to flow well with other bikelash pieces.
in response to Gelinas Responds to Komanoff on Bike-Share Safety
Brad Aaron
More agenda-driven gossip from the Post.
in response to Today's Headlines
Marcus Woollen
The good thing about having such easily reconfigurable docking stations is that next year, when residents complain that there aren’t enough bikes, they can put them back.
in response to Today's Headlines
moocow
Pure gold: Why not provide news to the public instead?
in response to Today's Headlines
Anonymous
It’s inexcusable to make a large fleet order that isn’t (i) ADA compliant and (ii) Hybrid.
The ADA requires “reasonable accommodations ” and given that every single London Taxi is handicap accessible, indicates that they did not give “reasonable accommodations” to disabled individuals. We want our disabled brothers and sisters to be mobile and not have to rely solely on Access-A-Rides. And if you’re concerned about street safety, which I know you are, you know that Access-A-Rides are probably the scariest vehicles to be around while on bicycle.
Re: Hybrid. The cost savings would’ve paid for itself. This is a bulk order so we’d get great pricing. Plus the obvious Environmental impact.
I’d prefer sliding doors as well. No reason it can’t have (i) sliding doors (ii) hybrid and (iii) ADA Compliant.
in response to Today's Headlines
Daphna
Regarding the NY Post piece on the bikeshare docking station at 175 West 13th Street: The NY Post fabricates a story then follows it up the next day with another story praising the good results they think were the result of their fabricated story. Why not provide news to the public instead? Do NY Post editors think that these lies are what people want to read? Do they fabricate stories to win advertisers and readers??
I hope the DOT had previously planned to remove the 8 docks and were not reacting to the false NY Post story. I wish they had only removed 4 docks as they did at 99 Bank Street (the other NIMBY complainers) rather than 8. I also wish they had elongated the docking station on either end with the docks that were removed from the center rather than leaving it with fewer docks overall.
I hope all the people involved who perpetrated this misinformation feel ashamed of themselves: Lawyer Steven Shore, Reporters Julia Marsh, Amber Sutherland, Kevin Fasick, Antonio Antenucci, co-op residents Dave Marcus and Mrs. Edward Liss. Their antics are costing the city money and are lessening a transportation option for the public.
in response to Today's Headlines
JamesR
I just don’t understand the ‘Save the Trail’ crowd. Do they not understand that the VCP segment is just a small piece of a much longer corridor? I rode the current path through Van Cortlandt Park out to the South County Trailway a few days ago and it was/is a rutted, unsafe mess. There is an entire park’s worth of cross country trails for trail runners to use. I run the Tortoise & Hare course a few times a week and it’s wonderful. The Putnam alignment, however should be for everyone’s use and that means the best quality surface possible.
Does anyone know what funding stream the city is using to make the improvements? If they are using state Transportation Enhancements funds, then ADA accessibility is an absolute must and I don’t know if stone dust can meet that threshold unless it is meticulously maintained (which is just not going to happen – even a paved trail will end up with inevitable frost heaves).
re: Stanton – Bronxite, if what you say is true, Cohen has just lost my vote.
in response to City Council Candidates on the Issues: Andrew Cohen, District 11
Anonymous
I think she’d say her intention was to note how Paris dealt with a spike in apparently bikeshare-related deaths shortly after their system debuted, with the hope that New York might follow suit and head off similar problems here. And that’s fine. But she’s a fellow at the nightmarishly conservative Manhattan Institute and, therefore, all she could do was point fingers at DOT and bikers, since the police are the only blameless public employees and trucking companies and such are, when privately held, basically gods.
in response to Gelinas Responds to Komanoff on Bike-Share Safety
Bolwerk
Sure, I’ll forgive anybody. But they should at least show signs of rehabilitation first.
(And, I don’t mean Weiner’s Twitter scandal. I actually think that was out of bounds as a concern for politics.)
in response to Today's Headlines
Daphna
I was looking forward to the Taxi of Tomorrow. I was upset when first it was challenged on a supposed disability requirement and then on the supposed hybrid requirement. While not perfect, the Taxi of Tomorrow would have meant the whole fleet of NYC yellow taxis would be minivans with sliding doors. Those sliding doors would be lifesavers! Dramatically fewer cyclists would be doored! There would be so many fewer injuries and some fewer deaths. For the sliding door feature alone, I supported the Taxi of Tomorrow concept.
I thought Bloomberg’s initiative was very good. But instead NYC will be stuck with a fleet of mostly sedans and SUVs which all have doors that present serious danger to cyclists since drivers and passengers often do not look before opening.
in response to Today's Headlines
Anonymous
LOL, yeah, I’ve seen one a few months ago!
in response to Official Citi Bike Mobile App Now Available
Anonymous
Weird, when I tap the layers icon the only options I get are “City Branches” and “Bike Shops”, no “Bike Lanes”.
in response to Official Citi Bike Mobile App Now Available
Jared R
I always come back to: “What was the intent of her article?” Seemingly, the intent was to say Citibike is flawed because there is nothing we can do about drivers killing pedestrians and cyclists. I’m still unsure. Someone clarify for me.
in response to Gelinas Responds to Komanoff on Bike-Share Safety
Mark Walker
You’re probably right. But I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if he changes course. Advocating at least some livable streets policies might set him apart from the pack. OK, file this under Unduly Optimistic. But I won’t dismiss him until he opens his mouth.
in response to Today's Headlines
Anonymous
This is infuriating and embarrassing, I’m ashamed to live in this city /sobs
in response to Predictions of Bike-Share Carnage Are a Mirage and a Distraction
Bolwerk
I was pretty “anybody but Quinn,” but Weiner may actually be worse. At least on streets/transit issues, maybe not civil rights.
in response to Today's Headlines
Anonymous
How the hell is it harder to go around bike racks than to go around bumper-to-bumper parked cars. Are these people really retarded??? Not to mention that FDNY denied all that bullshit.
in response to New York Post Serving as Stenographers for Bike-Share Litigants [Updated]
Anonymous
Precisely. They won’t let the facts get in their way.
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
Anonymous
The best story of the day: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/mike_unleashes_hail_storm_HMHlgCTlmYYBlH7Cu9iG6M
in response to Today's Headlines
Clarke
Wait until the articles about how bike share is a failure because there are always empty slots. “Did they even order enough bikes?”
in response to New York Post Serving as Stenographers for Bike-Share Litigants [Updated]
Nathan
I would love to have bike share in front of my building, whose entrance is usually blocked with parked cars in spite of it being a no parking zone. How’s that? Well we have some special people in this city, a few hundred thousand, and they have special pieces of paper to place on their car dashboards, and this allows them to park wherever they want. In Downtown Brooklyn where I live, most of the street parking I see is special.
So I have no interest in typical no parking zones that function as a perk for special people and many of which seem to have been assigned with that intent, but hope for ever more useful infrastructure like bike share stations that physically prevent special people from parking on every inch of public property.
As far as a bike share station being easier or harder to negotiate than parked cars, who knows? The stations won’t be 100% full. How they compare when in use to the many other obstructions pedestrians face and some of which they replace, we’ll just have to see.
in response to New York Post Serving as Stenographers for Bike-Share Litigants [Updated]
Andrew
If your #1 priority is processing automobile traffic, then I agree.
Personally, I can think of countless better ways to use valuable Manhattan real estate than for processing automobile traffic.
As I said: “This is a city street, not a superhighway. Seven lanes is absurd.”
in response to After Two Meetings, CB 6 Still Hasn't Decided on QBB Bike Access Plan
Anonymous
Thanks for posting the photo of the packet; I’m still eagerly awaiting mine. I think it’s great that they included the Bike Smart guide.
I also see now that there is some useful advice in the riding tips section of the Citi Bike website. It’s not as detailed but does include a link to download the Bike Smart booklet PDF.
What I don’t like so much is that the Rules posted on every bike and in other prominent places seem more focused on not annoying other road users than on being safe. “Safety theater”, almost. I guess they figured they had to do it for political reasons, though. When people complain about Citi Bike users riding on the sidewalk, Citi Bike can say “but look, we told them! It’s written on every bike!”
If I had to pick four rules to write on the handlebars, they would be:
1) stay away from parked vehicle doors
2) beware of turning vehicles (especially trucks). Remember they have blind spots and might turn without seeing you.
3) take the lane when it’s not wide enough for cars to pass you safely
4) ride in the direction of traffic
in response to Gelinas Responds to Komanoff on Bike-Share Safety
Anonymous
But DOT and Citi Bike are doing things to educate their customers. Think of the biking-related PSAs and all the educational materials coming from DOT. And every Citi Bike already has the most important rules of the road printed on them.
Then there’s the reality that DOT’s “Bike Smart” guide is included in the Citi Bike annual membership packet, and it has a very good section on the dangers of navigating around trucks and buses.
The problem is that the onus is always on the cyclist or DOT, such that here Gelinas basically argues that, lacking this one warning, DOT will be responsible for an uptick in cycling deaths. Other causes of cycling fatalities–such as the outrageous lack of police enforcement–are treated as immutable facts, unworthy even of mention in Gelinas’s original article.
in response to Gelinas Responds to Komanoff on Bike-Share Safety
Anonymous
The Share hasn’t even begun yet and the detractors are already complaining about “full” bike racks. The system is designed to have more rack space than total bikes available. The only way those racks will be constantly filled will be if there is a constant demand by users to get to that area which would also raise the question of who’s rights are more important – the co-op’s demand for public curb access or their neighbor’s demand for better transportation options?
in response to New York Post Serving as Stenographers for Bike-Share Litigants [Updated]
Anonymous
It’s being reported that The bike share has already removed a section of the racks in front of the building in response to criticism.
It’s curious that this building NEVER had special protections against cars blocking their front door but does now which leads me to think of the adage about strange bedfellows.
The Post will probably crow about their reporting and the power of the press but its more likely that the design of the system has ALWAYS made it easy to move around the racks as demand suggested
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
Bronxite
•If you click on layers, you have the option to enable a bicycle lane layer. However, you are unable to differentiate between on-street bicycle lanes, on-street protected bicycle paths, shared lane sharrows, greenways or designated bicycle routes.
•It would also be nice to have labeled warnings for sets of stairs and narrow, unpaved paths, or other dangers.
•Street closure updates would be nice. Even information about events like Summer Streets.
•Satellite, terrain elevation, and traffic are useful Google Maps overlays that cyclist can use too.
Would like to see these features implemented.
in response to Official Citi Bike Mobile App Now Available