The Long, Ugly Road to a Federal Transportation Plan
Come September 30, Congress has to have a plan in hand to fund the nation's trains, buses, bikes, bridges and roads -- or pass an extension of the 2005 federal bill, locking in the same spending patterns that have nurtured Americans' addiction to the automobile. But the odds are that you haven't heard much about how the process works. What has to happen in order for Congress to meet that September deadline? Let's break it down a bit.
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J. Mork
What happens to people who don't own a car and get a DWI? Does this mean that they have to buy a car with an interlock in order to drive, ever?
in response to Today's Headlines
Chicken Underwear
I really think the way to make parking easier is to charge a reasonable rate for it. The city is giving it away.
Most parking in Park Slope is free and you can store you car there for a week or more with out moving it. The metered spots are so cheep merchants store their vehicle there all day.
in response to Use Your Phone to Find Parking! Just, Um, Not While Driving.
Larry Littlefield
Ie. suburban legislators and the 3 foot law -- some of them may be catching on that bicycles have the potential to do more for the suburbs (and suburban-like areas of the city) than the city.
Having been slammed to the pavement by a van mirror to the elbow, it sounds like a good law to me.
in response to Today's Headlines
BicyclesOnly
We have to redefine the debate, perhaps along these lines:
For decades we've devoted twelve lanes of separated highways around the perimeter of Manhattan to facilitate high-speed, low-cost personal rapid transit to the CBD's by private car, cutting off most access to the precious public waterfront in the bargain. How can a few separated bus lanes that will enable hundreds of thousands on the East Side to have a reasonable commute be "too much to ask for"? Have we made a societal decision that those car commuters' time is more valuable than the bus commuters' ?
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
BicyclesOnly
Leandra's law: Now that the bill has been signed into law, has it been released to the public?
in response to Today's Headlines
Nathan H.
"instead of rushing to judgment and suggesting that a felony for everyone is appropriate"
But are felonies for the drunk mommy microtrend appropriate? jsd is right that singling out particular drunk drivers doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The problem is that when MADD ran out of ideas, they embarked on a successful campaign to lower the BAC threshold so that now, nobody knows what a drunk driver is. It's easy for us in the city to say that any evidence of drinking is enough; there are plenty of alternatives to driving and we are the pedestrian hazards. We should talk about making this the law—that any drinking and driving is drunk driving in city limits—and eliminate the ambiguity. But outside the city it is still socially acceptable to have one or two drinks and drive, and yet, depending on an number of unpredictable factors, that activity can still land people with a very socially unacceptable DWI. As a result there are all kinds of easy outs for the rich, powerful, or connected. So for example police officers (who know that .08 is crap) don't subject each other to any BAC limit, and it's no surprise that they have been disproportionally responsible for drunk driving deaths lately.
If we were to step back from the dogma and take a look at results, we might be able to get somewhere. Did lowering the BAC threshold to .08 make any difference in the alcohol related fatality rate? I'm under the impression that it hasn't, that the rate has been relatively flat for some time, and if that's the case then there is no justification for this random criminalization of socially acceptable behavior. MADD would like to chase that BAC threshold down to .00 and move on to prohibition, but personally I'm only interested in not being hit by dangerous drivers (of any kind). Their advocacy is no longer helpful.
If we had new equipment to indicate intoxication that was actually reliable—which the err-on-the-side-of-guilt status quo gives no one any incentive to develop—we could establish truly deterrent penalties without worrying about the false positives. And in the mean time, we could use the current shoddy equipment with scientifically rather than politically determined thresholds for intoxication. I would suggest an automatic one-year license suspension, for, let's say a threshold of .12. (Drunk driving is not so much felonious as it's an indicator that you can't be trusted to operate a vehicle.) And driving without a license would mean the state takes the car, whosever it is. The law would be subject to automatic reversal if it did not reduce the alcohol related fatality rate within a year.
We should be judging by results, not by tabloid-news-fueled rage over drunk mommies.
in response to Today's Headlines
Emily Litella
This will not end well. The problem is the unrestricted access and priority that private cars and an army of yellow taxis have to the streets. Expensive and complex street designs can only work if everyone is on-board with it. The whining of one 'tobbaconist' losing a few sales to motorists seems to carry the same weight as 500 bus riders trying to save minutes a day getting to work. We are still some years away from seeing forced reduction in auto trips by fuel scarcity, which I beleive is the only thing that will reduce the dominance of large motor vehicles in our so-called democratic society. The powers that be are trying to make a go of improved bus service, but there are serious limits as to what is possible right now. Just look how the state caved to the outcry over a lousy $25 plate surcharge.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
BicyclesOnly
True BRT, I'm suggesting that the local bus service remain just as it is on the right hand side of the street. And I don't mean to inspire a "race to the bottom" to see just how degraded a BRT design we can come up with. But to me the essentials for BRT are: (1) separated lanes (2) preservation of local service (3) protected bike lanes incorporated (4) traffic calming on First and Second Aves. I'd love to do this in a "world class" fashion and I assure you as an advocate I would demand nothing less, but that is a very heavy lift politically and at some point the rubber hits the road and compromises must be made. I have been scolded in the past for airing my willingness to compromise on this site but honestly most of us in this conversation are devoted advocates of change so there is less to be gained by telling each other that we will accept world class, nothing less, than having a space for a frank discussio of what might work within political constraints. DoT knows what world class BRT is and yet they gave us the mediocre Bronx experiment. The fact DoT is calling this SBS and not BRT should tell us something about what DoT is going to let "drop" next month by way of an UES design, regardless of what we are saying to each other on this blog. The point of my proposed alternate design is that in a "worst case scenario" politically (I did use that term), we can preserve the four elements I posit as essential while countering opponents by pointing out that four of five traffic lanes remain.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
gecko
There should be a huge volunteer effort to plant a million trees along this small vehicle transit corridor.
Other corridors should be planned reaching out to the remote areas of the five boroughs.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
gecko
A 10,000-vehicle small vehicle transit system could be set up on the East Side corridor from the foot of Manhattan to its top.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
gecko
It’s really about time DoT stops all this copycat stuff and seriously consider small vehicle transit providing better than a 99% percent environmental improvement on cars and a significant improvement on large vehicle transit including costs, infrastructure, practicality, comfort.
The first small vehicles would likely be recumbent tricycles with auxiliary electric powering suitable for just about everyone including the elderly, parents with children, and the physically disabled.
Roads would have to safely accommodate these vehicles.
Everything else is incremental stuff, merely business as usual, and not addressing the true urgency of the accelerating climate change crisis.
The recommended change would show the world that New York City is serious in addressing this dire crisis.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
gecko
really like the idea of two-way cycle tracks just like pedestrians travel both ways on sidewalks
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
zach
Go Honda. Even National Geographic profiled Honda for being so innovative. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdjN7dIXRXo Okay, now how about some national standards?
in response to If a New Car Can Demolish an Old One, How Is a Human Expected to Fare?
zach
I like the old-fashioned looking black and white cars. The message is clear: cars ARE old-fashioned. Now we need graphics for buses that even from above look modern. Buses=future, cars=past.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Danny G
Fan of the first design. I hope it is installed as such. I hope also that this 1st/2nd Avenue bikeway becomes so incredibly used and successful that their bidirectionality becomes unfeasible. Ahh, that'll be the day.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Kaja
oman
now i truly know what it is to be owned
in response to State DOT's Misplaced Priorities: Widening Highways While Bridges Crumble
Douglas Willinger
Where can one see an illustration of the proposed ramps?
in response to State DOT Channels Spirit of Robert Moses in Major Deegan Expansion Plan
Douglas
Kaja-
You admit that you have no argument.
Sorry, the world does not work like the movie Day After Tommorrow where no one in Manhattan starves becasuse they detest trcks and highways?
Tell your masters you are confused!
in response to State DOT's Misplaced Priorities: Widening Highways While Bridges Crumble
True BRT
BO,
Your proposal is well intentioned but you need a space for SBS buses to pass local buses at stops. Your plan doesn't have that. Besides, 2nd Avenue is already down to 2 travel lanes in several places for 2nd Avenue Subway construction. By using curb space for peak hour travel lanes in Option 1, you really have more like 3 travel lanes. Further, if you consider the number of people moved by the bus lane versus the vehicle lanes, a true SBS design will move far more total people than the current configuration.
Yes, it's going to be a tough sell and not everyone is going to like it, and yes it's going to make it harder to drive down those streets. However, shouldn't we set our sights high? If the advocacy groups are arguing for a watered down version of this, we're going to end up with nothing. What we should be doing is building consensus around the most robust solution, which appears to be what TA is doing.
As far as I can tell, there are several robust and doable solutions which provide both protected bike and bus lanes, none of which provide more than 2 full-time travel lanes. You are correct that none of them are perfect in every way, but the benefits and precedent of creating Avenues with true BRT and protected bike lanes make this a battle well worth fighting. This could serve as a precedent across the city. If this works well, it could change the face of NYC, whereas a watered down version isn't going to win any converts.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
BicyclesOnly
Yes, SBS station is on the sidewalk. I guess that is a significant downside, taking away from already crowded sidewalks. But it's only every ten blocks, right?
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Todd Edelman
This is just so depressing. But it is clear that cyclists need to be able to go both two directions and that pedestrians need wider sidewalks.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Glenn
BO - I like it, but where is your SBS station? Same as one of the parking lane just on those blocks?
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
rhubarbpie
Funny stuff.
in response to Streetfilms: Veronica Moss Goes to Times Square
kent ave cyclist
i live right where this happened. kent and south 9th. this happens all day every day. i'd bet i could count a couple dozen people incorrectly turning on the bike path (going the wrong way) from broadway. and not to mention the drivers, like this one, that knowingly use the bike path like their own highway. and the minivans that continually park on the bike lanes all around williamsburg. . .
in response to Eyes on the Street: You Don't Belong in the Bike Lane, Sir
Chicken Underwear
Like there are not enough people driving around with their phone in their hand already.
in response to Use Your Phone to Find Parking! Just, Um, Not While Driving.
Chicken Underwear
The view from up there is awesome.
in response to Port Authority Work Puts GWB Sidewalks on Shifts
Philip Ashloc
Here's a wild idea that I'll describe as an attempt to emphasize that the problem is not a lack of lighting, it's just that all the light is blinding you in the eyes instead of illuminating the path.
Imagine if there was a small wall built on the edge of the road that had an angled mirror catching the light from car headlights and channelling it as defused light to a higher mirror providing overhead light for pedestrians and cyclists on the path. It would be like a continuous periscope redirecting the light from headlights. Of course, this wouldn't be consistent light, but it also wouldn't require electrical infrastructure.
Again, I really just wanted to describe this to emphasize that the problem is as much with the blinding light as it is with the lack of light on the path itself.
in response to Hudson Greenway "Cherry Walk" Users to Remain in the Dark
Josh
The 3-foot buffer bill is one of those things that sounds great, but amounts to an empty gesture when you bear in mind that almost all the roads presently in service were designed without taking into account the need for enough space for such a buffer (certainly the point here isn't to induce head-on collisions with oncoming traffic, a risk that one motorist quoted in the article alluded to), and that it's not like it'd ever be enforced anyway.
in response to Today's Headlines
Think_twice
Great satire. Must be seen to be believed.
Shout out to Kate McKinnon for her great comic timing and characterization. I hope she'll go far.
in response to Streetfilms: Veronica Moss Goes to Times Square
Ed
Amen.
A CRASH IS NOT AN ACCIDENT!
http://azbikelaw.org/blog/was-that-an-accident-or-a-crash/
in response to Accident vs. Crash: The View from Savannah
BicyclesOnly
Mars, I don't think three lanes would fly either; it will be hard enough to win a separated lane, and shoehorn in a cycle track as well. In a worst case scenario, I think you can get by allocating the available 70' as follows:
1. 17' combined SBS/cycle track (12' for SBS + 0.5' for flexards + 4.5' for the bikes)
2. 16' for parking lanes (2 X 8' for each),
3. 36' for traffic lanes (4 X 9').
Most of the traffic lanes on First and Second are either 10'2" or 9'10", but the westernmost lane of Second Ave. is 9' exactly, so 9' is feasible. Narrowing the lanes should slow the traffic down (that's a good thing).
The problem with separating the cycle track from the bus with flexards is the inability to plow snow in the winter, but on balance I think flexards are the way to go because snow is a serious issue at most portiions of two months of the year. If the cycle track became unsafe to use due to snow, cyclists would be permitted under NYC law to ride in plowed traffic lane, which leaves them no worse off than where they are now.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
rlb
RE: 5th and Madison Aves
I don't know precisely, but it is my impression that the sidewalks on fifth and madison are wider than the sidewalks on 1st.
If the distance between buildings is the same, 1st ave has 7 lanes including parking and 5th has 5 total.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
JJM 63
Well, some care, at least. Crumple zones can be designed to work both ways. Honda developed a pedestrian crash dummy a decade ago, and the hood on the Accord is designed to pop up a few inches of crumple zone between a pedestrian and the unyielding engine block.
http://world.honda.com/safety/real-world/
in response to If a New Car Can Demolish an Old One, How Is a Human Expected to Fare?
Clutch J
Todd,
The negatives of the slogan are far outweighed by the positives, but I do acklnowedge the negatives. Namely, will complete streets' emphasis on establishing rights of all roadways users (i.e, including motorists) hamper efforts to create car-free areas?
In the end, I think the answer is no, for several reasons. One, the national focus is on federal legislation and the federal-aid program, and most road projects involving federal dollars are major roadways or highways that almost noone would dream of making car-free. Two, car-free is a local concept, and such projects are usually small-scale, even temporary, and done with local (not federal) funds. Three, there are exceptions to most complete streets policies; we normally worry about these as a possible means of excluding walking, bicyling or tranist facilities from projects, but in a certain context the exceptions could be used to deny access to autos.
All-in-all, the startlingly positive implications associated with this simple, catchy slogan-- in brief, that people who walk or bicycle (or take transit or drive) need to be fully considered in all aspects of transportation project development-- dwarf any misgivings we might reasonably have over its potential misapplication.
in response to U.S. DOT Secretary Gets a Message on Pedestrian Safety
BicyclesOnly
5th Ave. and Madison Ave. during rush hour have plenty of buses (including express buses stopping even less frenquently than the proposed SBS service) that zoom along in dedicated bus-only lanes right next to sidewalks that are much more crowded than any I've ever seen on First and Second Avenues. Before we decide it is too dangerous to allow curbside SBS on First and Second, I'd like to know the bus-on-pedestrian collision data from those situations.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Mars
It's fascinating to see how people would re-arrange the lanes. What would be equally interesting to know is how many here really believe that the politics exist to take 3 lanes out of each of 1st and 2nd Avenue in one swoop.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Clutch J
It's fabulous to hear of LaHood's receptiveness to complete streets. What a difference a good slogan makes!
in response to U.S. DOT Secretary Gets a Message on Pedestrian Safety
Red
http://www.lohud.com/article/20091118/NEWS01/911180328/1018/NEWS02/Three-foot-buffer-for-cyclists-proposed-on-roads
Two Westchester state legislators say they will introduce a 3-foot passing law in January.
in response to Today's Headlines
J
I second rlb's remark. Bus lanes adjacent to sidewalks are not friendly and may be quite dangerous, whereas bike lanes are much more palatable directly adjacent to pedestrians.
However, I think you can and should do both bus and bike lanes on First & Second Avenues.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
paco
Thanksgiving threw our schedule for a loop. We can't do the meeting tomorrow, the 19th, so we're changing DAY AND TIME...
NOVERMBER 30th @ 7:30. Join us!
bit.ly/3jjTu3
http://www.transalt.org/events/calendar/3073
in response to Transportation Alternatives Brooklyn Committee Meeting
rlb
"enhance the pedestrian environment"
On first ave, there is one way to do this: wider sidewalks. The pedestrian environment is currently a joke and will continue to be unless that happens. Additionally, a bus lane next to overcrowded sidewalks is dangerous. People will get seriously injured with an express bus lane next to the pathetically narrow sidewalks on first avenue.
As such, my suggestion is drop the bike lane from first or second avenues, widen the sidewalks, bus lanes next to the sidewalks, and an enormously wide bidirectional bike lane on 3rd ave.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
James
Hasn't it been like this for some time? When I head to the GW to get across the river and over to Route 9W, I never know which path to take. It's always a crapshoot and the Port Authority is terrible about making it clear which side is to be used at a given point in time. I've arrived at the north side path only to find the gate locked with a sign reading "North Walk Open". Go figure.
in response to Port Authority Work Puts GWB Sidewalks on Shifts
shishi
TA has got the right idea with the first design. As others have said you need to move the bus island next to the sidewalk and create a cut in for the local bus, which allows the SBS to keep going. Shift the bike lane between bus and auto. I think you make it the most user friendly for all modes of transit.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
J
I think option #1 is on the right track, although I don't like the idea of separating the local & express bus services. However, that may be the only way for this to work. The second plan looks unfeasible, since the local buses need a curb (typically 16 feet wide) to unload onto. This is needed for wheelchair access. I also worry about 2-way cycle tracks on streets with many cross streets. Turning cars would have to watch for buses, and bikes going 2 different ways. With a lot of intersections and a lot of vehicles turning, it would be easy for a car not to see a bike approaching.
Option 1 also provides for some parking/loading on both sides of the street, which makes this much more palatable for merchants. With 130 foot long bus stations and 200 foot long blocks, that leaves 70 feet for loading/parking even on blocks with BRT stops. The big problem, though, it that deliveries would then need to cross a bus lane and a bike lane to get to stores. There would certainly be a temptation for trucks to park in the bike lane.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
BicyclesOnly
A key question in Scenario #1 is who gets to be near the curb. While both cyclists and bus passengers would like to be, I think you have to give this amenity to bus passengers, many of whom face difficulty getting from the curb to the bus. Plus, by putting the express bus stop at the curb, you no longer have to float an island for passengers, you save space. Put a line of flexible bollards in between the SBS and the bike lane, and then put the parking lane in between the bikes and the motor vehicle traffic as on 8th and 9th Aves. While some cyclists might not like being separated from the curb by an express bus lane, the flex bollards allay reasonable safety concerns, and the upside is that pedestrian encroachment on the cycle track are reduced compared to a curbside situation.
This approach has the appeal of simplicity and lower cost due to limited installation of new islands/curbs. I agree with Glenn that the transfer issue is adequately addressed by having people cross the street if they want to combine SBS with local service. At least half the people have to walk across the street to get the bus as it is.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Ed O.
Maybe TA can explain why this isn't a preferred option. Do you need boarding bulbs on such a long, three door vehicle?
Curb
1. Bus (Wide lane)
2. Bikes (Narrow lane. One way on both 1st and 2nd)
3. Parking
4. Traffic
5. Traffic
6. Traffic
7. Parking
Curb
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Charles Siegel
In the first design, the bike track is between the bus lane and the sidewalk. This means that people will constantly be walking across the bike track to get to the bus stop, and a crowd will walk acorss the bike track when the bus stops and lets off passengers.
Much better for bikes if you put the bus lane next to the sidewalk and you put the bike track between the bus lane and the car lanes.
I don't see any point at all to the second design: why have buses in the middle of a one-way street?
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
jass
I agree with tacony, forcing riders to decide if they want to wait at the curb or in the median is a problem. For short trips, the local is just as good as the express, so the first bus which arrives is best.
I think it is possible to fit a passing lane where the station platform is.
Vehicle lanes can be 9 feet, especially if all buses will be in the bus lane.
The bus platform does not need to be 16 feet wide at all. Make it 9 feet, like the lanes, and give that extra space for a bus to pass a bus stopped at the platform. If my quick math is right, this would give the buses 24 feet at the stations to pass, and the 12 foot lane elsewhere.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Urbanis
Another advantage of design 1 over design 2 is that there is less crossing distance for pedestrians and bicyclists to get to the curb.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like
Urbanis
In the first design, I like that the cycle track is bi-directional, which provides more commuting flexibility for cyclists. The only drawback is that pedestrians might be tempted to walk in the bicycle lanes (as can be seen all over Broadway) because they border the overcrowded sidewalks. To prevent this, I would make the bus shelter island adjoin the sidewalk and move the protected bike lane between the bus lane and the automobile lanes.
in response to World-Class Avenues for the East Side: What Great BRT Looks Like