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Streetfilms

Let him know what you think at anthonyweiner@aol.com

May 22, 2013
in response to Anthony Weiner: I Love Bike Lanes. Let Me Count the Exceptions...
Larry Littlefield

We’ll need a scorecard, and I suggest Streetsblog do one.

The categories are concern for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and general concern for the common future and the serfs — those not in the political/union class or the executive/financial class.

Double demerit for promises not paid for, or past promises kept in the past that one or all of the above will be sacrificed to pay for in the future.

May 22, 2013
in response to Anthony Weiner: I Love Bike Lanes. Let Me Count the Exceptions...
Daphna

You do not want the docking station to replace parking or a pick-up and drop off area by your daycare, or do you want docking stations on the other side of the street making the street more narrow (but still passable even by large trucks although more slowly). Someone else doesn’t want docking stations on the sidewalk. Someone else doesn’t want docking stations in a plaza. It is not just your voice yelling against docking stations. Each location chosen will have someone complaining. This is the problem. Docking stations must go somewhere. They have to either replace park space, plaza space, sidewalk space, parking space, or other curbside street space. With each choice there will be someone who objects. The DOT used community feedback and did the best they could.

I see plenty of open space in many midtown locations that could have nicely fit large docking stations. I wonder why there are no stations in these abundant locations but I bet it is because there was some group or another who objected.

I hope NIMBY becomes yes-on-my-block or yes-in-front-of-my-building very soon regarding stations.

May 22, 2013
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
Jonathan R

Thanks, Ben, for putting in black and white the stark difference between the boondoggles of city-funded off-street parking and the bike-share system.

May 22, 2013
in response to Earth to New York Post: Citi Bike Stations Are Designed to Be Flexible
Bronxite

I’m using the Android version.

May 22, 2013
in response to Official Citi Bike Mobile App Now Available
Jonathan R

I am underwhelmed with the brochure (I realize actually have a pile of them in my office) as a safety tool. The truck advice is in the last half, after a spread explaining the bikes-in-buildings law, something about how to lock up your bike, and a guide to the different kinds of bike lanes.

The first thing after the cheery cover picture is a two-page spread on biking laws, then a spread on helmets (not mandatory for adults), then locking your bike and the bikes-in-buildings law (irrelevant to bike-share users), then a Manhattan bike map excerpt and a “Know Your Lanes” guide.

Probably most people flip through and then throw it away before even seeing the part about trucks.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Anonymous

No, it doesn’t take the entire block, only about 50 feet to an alleyway. But part of that block is also reserved for govt. vehicle parking. While I wish the parents wouldn’t park there either, is one impractical bike share location worth trying to change human behavior? Let’s be realistic: traffic cops don’t prioritize giving tickets to working people dropping off their kids,

May 22, 2013
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
Mark Walker

He seems to want to have it both ways. It’s a modest improvement but my vote is still up for grabs.

May 22, 2013
in response to Anthony Weiner: I Love Bike Lanes. Let Me Count the Exceptions...
Steve Vaccaro

If this bill passes, it will significantly increase the potential consequences for drivers who injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists while violating the law. The driver might get a summons even if a cop didn’t happen to witness the crash. The summons makes it much harder for the driver to lie and otherwise defend against later civil litigation, and it can serve as a flag for investigation by the DA to see whether criminal charges are appropriate. And if a driver receives multiple summonses under 1146, then criminal penalties and licensure action kicks in.

May 22, 2013
in response to Careless Driving Amendment Passes Senate, Awaits Action by Assembly
Brian Van Nieuwenhoven

that nonsense needs to end quickly.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Joe R.

The city’s position on this seems to be bicycles are vehicles when it comes to ticketing them for breaking traffic laws, but are not vehicles if they inconvenience motorists in the slightest way (i.e. NYPD ticketing cyclists for not riding in the bike lane).

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Joe R.

“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.”

Even though that would be expensive, it would solve a whole host of problems in one fell swoop. We could do it fairly cheaply if we just put pedestrians and cyclists on the raised deck. With both out of the way on the lower level, you could use part of what used to be the sidewalk for BRT or LRT (just save a 5′ strip so people can walk to the nearest stair or escalator to reach the raised deck). I actually love the concept. It would make the city infinitely more livable with pedestrians and cyclists in a sunny area free of motor vehicles. It could be sort of like the Highline park, but encompassing the entire city.

May 22, 2013
in response to After Two Meetings, CB 6 Still Hasn't Decided on QBB Bike Access Plan
Brian Van Nieuwenhoven

Actually, cars shouldn’t turn across your path unless they’re ahead of you, and really they should be looking behind to make sure they’re not cutting off the bike lane. If the city’s position is that cutting off bikes is legal for cars, then we have a serious issue with the whole “bikes are vehicles except when they’re not” structure

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Brian Van Nieuwenhoven

That’s a good suggestion about the handlebars. There is already a simple statement of road safety/legal obligations on the kiosks, which I think is also very smart.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Ian Turner

Does the day care need the entire block? And if it does, is there a reason parents can’t park on Grove, Fulton, or Livingston?

May 22, 2013
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
Ben Fried

You’re not alone. My wife and I signed up on day one and we’re still waiting. If it doesn’t come tomorrow I might start to freak out.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Anonymous

Does this impact other counties or just NYC?

May 22, 2013
in response to Careless Driving Amendment Passes Senate, Awaits Action by Assembly
Clarke

I’m in the same boat. Trying to not worry until Friday.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Anonymous

No it wouldn’t. That parking is for a day care. Full disclosure: I walk or bike my kid to that school. Those vans have a legal right to be there, and it’s a drop off zone for parents. If DOT takes that away to accommodate and prioritize bike share, critics aren’t wrong to call elements of the program elitist. Better to either narrow the left sidewalk to move the racks inward, or relocate entirely like they did at 60 Remsen Street.

May 22, 2013
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
Ian Turner

Agreed, that street is very narrow to have parking on one side and bike share on the other. Would probably have made more sense to put the station where the parking is now.

May 22, 2013
in response to FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano: Bike-Share Racks Are Not In Our Way
James Reefer

They actually do take safety classes as part of the CDL – it’s just much, much harder to drive a semi on city streets than people imagine. We should do what the French and Pakistani’s do, and make them deliver only at night.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Morris Zapp

This is so much better than getting these unsafe trucks off the streets.

I assume a similar brochure will be sent out to every household in NYC where anyone owns a bike or a pair of shoes.

Thanks NYC!

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Anonymous

This is good. I see a lot of riders who don’t seem to realize that large trucks drive differently than cars and small trucks. A lot of large truck drivers will move left before executing a right turn, and it is dangerous to try to pass on the right during this maneuver because the cyclist often ends up in the blind spot as the truck is turning.
Now if there could just be some type of similar safey info distributed to truck drivers

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Joe R.

In general, you should never pass anyone on the right near intersections, not just trucks. The brochure has pictures illustrating that on page shown and the previous page. Good job as that’s one of the major ways cyclists get into collisions.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Joe R.

The best way to end driving without a license is to confiscate and auction off the vehicle of anyone caught doing so. No car, no driving. And besides that, they might be stuck making payments on a car they no longer own.

May 22, 2013
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Anonymous

I haven’t gotten my key yet. I signed up on day one. Cry.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Mark Walker

Jailing them changes their behavior, at least temporarily. They can’t drive when they’re in jail.

May 22, 2013
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Mark Walker

Jailing them changes their behavior, at least temporarily. They can’t drive when they’re in jail.

May 22, 2013
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Nicole Gelinas

The graphic in the written materials is good. They should put a simple phrase on the handlebars, as in Paris. (Or, at the very least, put it on the kiosks.)

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Nicole Gelinas

The graphic in the written materials is good. They should put a simple phrase on the handlebars, as in Paris. (Or, at the very least, put it on the kiosks.)

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
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.

May 22, 2013
in response to Citi Bike Member Packets Include Cycling-Near-Trucks Safety Tips
Anonymous

Or walks!

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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?

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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?

May 22, 2013
in response to How Cuomo Could Expand DWI Effort to Target All Serial Dangerous Drivers
Joe Enoch

I still have not received mine!

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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?

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
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.

May 22, 2013
in response to Q Poll: Support for Cycling a Vote Winner for Mayoral Candidates