Be Firm With Sidewalk Blockers
To the Editor:
Regarding sidewalk oblivion (“The Good, the Bad and the Oblivious,” Aug. 25); yes, it’s aggravating when oblivious pedestrians forget they’re sharing the city with 8 million other people. And, like the author, I resent having to ask forgiveness (“Excuse me”) or permission (“Please”) to do something I’m perfectly entitled to do: walk down the sidewalk. So I’ve developed a tactic that works pretty well. In a firm voice, I simply declare my intention: “Coming through!” The offenders usually look a bit startled, but they move aside. And, I hope, they remember it for the next time.
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Marcia Spires
The Good, the Bad and the Oblivious
I can only forgive some people who block the way when I walk
Combine one part self-absorption, one part 21st-century apathy and one part urban burnout and what do you get? You get a way-blocker.
Read more
Raising the Veil on Traffic Tragedies
Pedestrian deaths and family love deserve more media coverage
By Bette Dewing
Here’s hoping that “all the news that’s fit to print” paper’s new executive editor, Jill Abramson, and news editor, Dean Baquet, give more coverage to non-political violent crime and to what I’ve long called crimes of traffic.
Respect Bike Lanes—Clear the Path
New survey shows more than 1,700 abuses in three days
For anyone who spends time on the streets of Manhattan, the congestion in our bike lanes has become a familiar sight: Cars and buses block the lanes for minutes at a time, sometimes longer. When motorists open their doors without checking for oncoming bikes, collisions can injure passengers and riders alike. Read more
Pedestrians, Bicyclists Need To Get Along
To The Editor:
I was very much interested in the West Side Spirit’s story (“Dismount Signs Ignored, Taken Down in Riverside Park,” Sept. 1) about bike rider’s etiquette (or lack thereof) in Riverside Park.
I am a bike rider and I always dismount and walk the bike through the park from 72nd Street until I reach the river. My experience is that I’m invariably smiled at and thanked for showing them this small consideration. To me it makes good sense. Who wants to terrorize pedestrians and dogs?
Now on to the signs!
“Cyclists Must Dismount” seems a bit like those garbage trucks that shout “Don’t Litter.” ”Please Don’t Litter” has more of an appeal and I think people would surely respond to it. Similarly ,“Cyclists Please Dismount” has a much more charming and persuasive ring.
While workers were putting up the new vandal-proof dismount signs, I suggested they should instead hang banners over the pathway. They might read “Please Dismount for Safety’s Sake.”
Personally, I have a beef with pedestrians and joggers who inhabit the bike lane all the way down to Battery Park City. There is a path especially for them, but they use the bike path anyway. It’s a menace to bikers, especially when fast bikes need to overtake the pedestrians and come very close to hitting oncoming bikes in the other lane!
Part of the pleasure of cycling along that route is being able to look at the buildings, the sky and the river. The advent of nearly running into a pedestrian who has just arrived in one’s lane is very upsetting indeed. During the weekends, it’s sometimes hard to even get past groups of pedestrians in the bike lane.
David Hakes
Upper West side
Mayoral Attention for Crimes of Traffic
Yield to pedestrians, stop speeding and support mass transit for safer streets
By Bette Dewing
Just before the mayor’s weekly John Gambling WOR radio show, I heard the following public service announcement: “Parking violations violate the rights of disabled persons. Call 311 to report.” But where are the warnings to drivers and cyclists against their moving violations, which take lives and physically injure and emotionally stress even traffic law-observant pedestrians? Read more
Parents, Schools Tackle West 90s Traffic Hazards
West 96th Street, a major four-lane thoroughfare, has long been a problem for parents of young children, seniors or anyone else who can’t react quickly enough. Aggressive drivers barrel out of nearby exits from the West Side Highway, and cross-town traffic streams in and out of the Central Park traverse. Many complain that drivers regularly make turns with pedestrians still in the cross walk. The problem is prevalent on West 95th and 97th streets, too, in the area between Central Park and Riverside Drive. Read more
Action for All Seasons
How very appropriate and providential that the select bus service display was held in a place of faith, Temple Israel on East 75th Street. Public transit is by far the safest travel mode, a life, health and planet-saver—goals shared by creeds of every faith. It was providential in that I picked up a message at the synagogue’s information table that succinctly and powerfully relates to this initiative. Read more
GROUP WANTS CAR-FREE AMSTERDAM
Taking a page from the “Summer Streets” program that closed off Park Avenue to automobile traffic, a business group wants to block off Amsterdam Avenue for a few Sundays in May.
The Columbus/Amsterdam Business Improvement District (BID) is close to getting the avenue approved for the city’s “Weekend Walks” program.
If the mayor’s Street Activity Permit Office approves the plan, Upper West Siders will be able to stroll down the middle of Amsterdam Avenue, between West 106th and 110th streets, on three consecutive Sundays: May 9, 16 and 23. People could sample food from local restaurants, shop at small businesses in the area and discover neighborhood organizations and service providers. There are also plans to have music performances and art displays during the day.
“It’s going to be a chance for a community celebration and community education,” said Peter Arndtsen, the BID’s district manager. “We hope to bring people together and let people know about organizations that exist in the neighborhood and how to get involved in them.”
The plan has already received support from Community Board 7, the Department of Transportation and the 24th precinct, Arndtsen said.
CLARIFYING BIKE COMPLAINTS
To the Editor:
I do not wish to have an ongoing dialogue with Peter Goldwasser of Transportation Alternatives regarding his answer to my previous letter (“Bad Cycling Behavior,” Dec. 4). But I cannot have him accuse me inaccurately without defending myself.
He is the one who is incorrect. I have never, nor would I ever, accuse Transportation Alternatives of condoning the unlawful behavior of bikers. I have not done this in my letters, to the media or to the Transportation Alternatives office.
Can Mr. Goldwasser just make clear what has been Read more
