In Wake of Subway Stabbing, Concerns About Crime on Public Transit
In a blast from the not-so-fondly-remembered past, violent gang activity spilled out of Central Park into Manhattan subway stations last week, with one of the teens involved in the altercation getting stabbed.
According to the New York Post, the trouble began when one gang confronted another in Central Park. One group fled, heading down into the subway station at West 72nd Street and Central Park West and jumping the turnstiles. 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
Crack-down on Traffic Dangers
Here’s to posters and banners in every government office reminding legislators that their first Constitutional duty is to protect public safety, especially now, when they’re planning to cut budgets for police, fire fighting and the safest travel mode, public transit.
Government evidently needs to learn that moving traffic violations are life and death matters. And bicycling violations are not mere quality of life offenses, especially when they are everywhere—even on low-traffic East End Avenue. Walking just one block home from the East 79th Street Neighborhood Association meeting, Ruth S. was almost struck by a delivery food bike speeding along the sidewalk. I yelled, “Off the walk!” The problem is, nobody else ever does, even though lawless biking is often deplored at civic meetings. Read more
Duane Wants Early Board 7 Bike Lane Review
With many community leaders on board for the new protected bicycle lanes planned for Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, State Sen. Tom Duane wants the Department of Transportation to release the plan for full public review sooner than usual.
Duane sent a Feb. 9 letter to the department, signed by other West Side elected officials, asking for the plans to be sent to Community Board 7.
“The Department of Transportation’s outreach efforts and consultation has been excellent to date,” Duane said. “And there’s no reason to think releasing the proposal and subjecting it to final review would derail their proposal.” Read more
STUDY: WS BIKE LANE BLOCKED
Bicyclists throughout the city have long complained about the painted sections dedicated to them. The lanes offer no protection from double parkers, pedestrians and motorists, who regularly drive through them, forcing bicyclists to veer into moving traffic.
A bike lane on the Upper West Side is especially bad for bicyclists, according to a new study by Hunter College.
The observations by Hunter students show that the West Side’s bike route ranks as one of the most obstructed lanes.
On a Tuesday morning, between 8 and 9 a.m., there were 17 obstructions on the West 106th Street lane, between Riverside Drive and Central Park West.
Cars made up 30 percent of bike lane blockage, according to the study. Small trucks and taxis made up 17 and 14 percent, respectively.
However, one bike lane, Central Park West from West 79th to 85th streets, had no obstructions during an observation on a Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m.
Wiley Norvell, communications director for Transportation Alternatives, said the report confirms what bicyclists throughout the city see first-hand.
“Our bike lane network is, in many cases, rendered dangerous or unusable,” Norvell said. “There’s some hope around the corner. We encourage the city to expand the number of protected bike lanes.”
That December Glow
“I wish that glow would never fade away,” is a line from the lamentably overlooked Perry Como song, “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Forever,” featured in all his Christmas shows. It is a CD I most heartily recommend.
It’s all about the glow December bestows—in the lighting, the music and more frequent smiles and kindly exchanges. Whatever our background, we are affected by places, sounds and social mores whether we know it or not. Read more
Changing Lanes
The pedestrian-cyclist-driver saga is familiar to anyone living in Manhattan today. Pedestrians loathe bicyclists who break traffic laws. At public transportation meetings, some residents have called for bicyclists to get licenses, like drivers. Bicyclists, meanwhile, say they just want a safe place to ride, away from motorists, who in turn often see bikers as a nuisance.
But this decades-old story may be about to change, as the city is likely to install protected bicycle lanes on Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. Unlike the painted lanes drawn on asphalt throughout the city, protected lanes are strictly for bicyclists. Read more
WEST SIDE TRANSPORT SURVEY
Nearly 150 West Side residents went to the John Jay School of Criminal Justice to hear the results of a survey outlining new safety initiatives to address pedestrian concerns.
Council Member Gale Brewer and Margaret Forgione, Manhattan Borough Commissioner for the Department of Transportation, led a panel that detailed the transportation issues between West 55th and 86th streets. The study is a continuation of a 2007 survey that culled pedestrian concerns from West Siders.
The most frequently mentioned complaints—aside from bicyclists—were intersections congested with pedestrians and high-speed automobile driving. The survey highlighted 27 problem intersections.
There were four intersections in the study area that averaged 10 or more accidents a year between 2006 and 2008. One intersection, West 56th Street and Eighth Avenue, had five pedestrian accidents in a year.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) increased pedestrian crossing time at five avenues, including West End and Amsterdam avenues between West 60th and 81st streets. The change was intended to allow the neighborhood’s senior citizens to safely navigate large intersections.
“The DOT sees some very challenging intersections,” Brewer said. “I think the main goal is to slow down the traffic and figure out the best signal and best traffic pattern for such a pedestrian-heavy neighborhood.”
This year, the department also surveyed 99 small businesses in the area and found that more than half of them don’t offer employees incentives to take mass transit, and 66 percent were unwilling to accept night deliveries to alleviate truck congestion.
During the question and answer portion of the evening, more than two dozen West Siders made comments and asked questions, mainly about police enforcement of unruly bicyclists and automobiles.
One resident asked police to crack down on trucks that back up into crosswalks along the West 82nd Street truck route. Residents also complained of illegal left-hand turns at the intersections of West 79th Street and Riverside Drive, and West 72nd Street and West End Avenue.
Are You Prepared?
At the end of summer and in early fall, New York City often weathers storms that can cause flooding and power outages. Winter will bring its own set of problems, including apartments that lack heat, and heavy snows and ice storms that can also cause power outages. Then there are the year-round unexpected problems, like water, gas or steam line breaks that can cause widespread havoc; building (or crane) collapses; explosions; subway problems; and disease-related issues such as swine flu and West Nile virus. Finally, there is fire. A fire starts in New York City every eight seconds, and doubles in size every 30 seconds—meaning that the tiny fire in your garbage can become a blazing inferno in three minutes. Read more
Health Care Reform of the Most Basic Kind
First, here’s wishing Sal Silvestra Caputo, who faithfully delivered this paper for so many years, a full recovery from the fall that so unfortunately broke his hip. No, it didn’t happen delivering the papers, which even in clement weather is high-risk work in New York City. Nor was he knocked down by a “rogue cyclist” or driver who doesn’t yield when turning into a crosswalk. Rutted crosswalk conditions didn’t fell him either; rather it was an indoor fall, about which we 65-plussers are constantly warned by policy makers who do too little about the forementioned outdoor dangers. Read more
