This morning, Shawn Chittle spotted workers installing the Citi Bikes docking station on the north side of St. Mark's Place ... just east of Second Avenue...
Early Monday morning, workers installed the docking stations on the same side of St. Mark's closer to First Avenue.
Per Citi Bikes:
• North side of St. Mark's Place near Second Avenue
This station will have 39 docks and is located in a no-parking area of the street.
• North side of St. Mark's Place near First Avenue
This station will have 31 docks and is located in a no-parking area of the street.
So 70 docks total for the block. (Perhaps we can now call this stretch Citi Bikes Place?)
And if the FDNY seemed annoyed by one docking station on this block... wait until they see this...
50 comments:
If only they had announced these locations a year ago, we wouldn't be so shocked at the installations!
You're seriously going to report on every single one of these installations?
@ anon 10:36
Probably not. I think there are 24 coming in total. I can try though!
are these bike docking stations permanent? or just a seasonal thing?
i hope these are not permanent. they're ugly and bothersome.
I believe the point of reporting of the installation of these docking stations is that it's as if it's happening almost literally overnight, not a gradual process -- forceful, shoved down our throats where one either has to swallow it or vomit it out, either or, no in between. It's tactical to keep the residents off-balance, making it difficult to respond effectively at any given point, an infiltration, to catch resident's unpreparedness, and an inability to react swiftly enough to the bikesharing offensive operations. It's like a blitzkrieg, or in this case it's a citibikekrieg. Emperor Bloomberg and his Citi cohorts are cognizant of this tactic. Pretty much how he has ruined and still ruining the city. If you guys can't see it and are accepting this without resistance, then all hope is lost. We might as well live in North Korea or Syria.
This was announced long ago with planned stations. Anybody that reads this blog shouldn't be surprised as it was reported long ago by EVGrieve.
Whining about first-world problems.
Prediction: Bike lanes overcrowded from infusion of bikes. Cyclists move into streets to navigate instead of bike lanes. 400% increase in cyclist and pedestrian fatalities. Outrage. City pulls Citi Bike program.
When we revolt, the docking stations will make excellent barricades. I feel an entire rewrite of Les Miz is in order on the subject. My pen, where's my pen!
"We might as well live in North Korea or Syria."
You first.
Announced long ago with planned stations -- yes, but no date or timeline on when the actual installations were going to place. Kept postponing it. Kept us on edge and anxious. No announcement or warning on when they were actually going to install these stormbikesharing. One day they just did. Stealth. Divide and conquer. Those who do not read or ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
Can't even tell that there's no difference between Bloomberg's regime and this fascist bikesharing program, gfsa. Been drinking too much of Citi Kool-Aid mixed by Daddy Bloomberg.
Yes, it's a blitzkrieg - it's exactly as if the massed Nazi armies were striding across the landscape killing everything in their path and destroying things left and right.
A bike rental/share station on a few blocks in the EV is just the same as being starved or murdered by your own government in North Korea or Syria.
What is it about bicycles that makes some people so unhinged? I mean, seriously?
You missed the installation on Avenue D between 3rd and 4th.
One can only assume that Anon 11:33 is brilliant parody of a stereotypical EVG commenter.
Doesn't this seem like a tremendous waste of labor and money that could better be utilized for...I dunno.... Anything else? Aren't the Rockaways still kind of a mess, for example?
And 12:21pm is a brilliant parody of a stereotypical EVG trust-fund gentrifier.
Well, shoot me now, but I think the bikes are a great idea. They will force cars to slow down, and maybe get some cars off the street. They take away parking spaces, and that discourages people from driving.
The problem seems to the be placement of the docking stations. When bikers pull a bike away from the dock, they will be pulling it directly into traffic - someone's gonna get run over. Well, I have the answer: inside every Citibank. It's their name on the product, so they should store them. And it will be easier for tourist to find the stations - just look for a Citibank branch. They are usually empty and have plenty of room for bikes.
Wow, fascism...first bike lanes, next we all are put up against the wall! Watch out!!
It's a metaphor and not literal blitzkrieg. But the way literally are being overly used literally nowadays by froyo and cupcake eating masses, of course one'd be literally thinking literal blitzkrieg. It's about the way the installations are being implemented. Now go line-up for your next shiny toys and Apple products.
So I'm sorry, Bloomberg does ONE big thing that isn't basically about positioning NYC as the world's preeminent playground for gazillionaires, ONE thing that actually makes living in his gilded city easier for those of us who've yet to make their first million and never will, and the same commenters who are usually hollering about the upscaling of the nabe are invoking Godwin's law like there's no tomorrow? I know, we've been at this for days now, but it still blows my mind.
Some advice for people on a budget: It's cheaper to buy a good used bike for $90, a bike that you will have for years, than it is to take part in this bike-share program.
Dont quite understand what everyone is complaining about, I for one am very excited and happy about the possibility of more bikes less cars....
They've been installing stations for about a month now. If anything, it's been a fairly gradual process.
The bike stations are a death trap. Yesterday I "docked" my bike at the station on 3rd street and 1st Avenue and then pulled it out as if I was renting it, and immediately I almost got run over by the cars turning the corner who have no idea there is a bike station or someone standing almost in the middle of the street there until its too late.
The blind spots for cars turning on the corners are a major problem with the docking station placement, I could figure this out in 30 seconds why couldn't the city?
They need to put these in protected areas, or put metal barriers around them, or many accidents will happen.
Now i can't wait for the inevitable east village protesters to start locking old abandoned bikes to these things, or for the guy who tiles the lamposts or the lady who covers things with knitting to start working these monstrosities over.
The Mayans predicted the end of the world in 2012, but 2013 has something much much worse: CitiBikes docking stations.
Totally agree with Giovanni, the stations are ill placed near the corners. Someone is totally going to get hit. Also. We lost 8 parking spots on our street. We have a double parking problem as it is. There's usually no less than 4 cars double parked at any given time....
Anyone who honestly believes that these ugly dildoes - uhh, I mean, docking stations - filled with bikes will actually lessen the number of cars on the streets can boast of a serious case of room-temperature IQ. Nope, we will have just the same number of cars AND a bunch of lunatics on two wheels careering through the streets, making city life and getting about even more festive for all.
So who's going to the be first smart entrepreneur to open Helmet rent/buy stands next to these docking stations? They are required by law, aren't they? What are tourists supposed to do, carry around helmets after parking the bikes? There's money to be made here, folks!
since i live on the 5th floor of a walkup with no space to safely store my bike in my apt or the building, i am pleased to see the bike programme with so many stations. yes i'd rather buy and maintain my own bike, but it's just not a possibility for me.
whether the stations could be better positioned is a valid criticism, but saying any bikeshare programme is somehow intrinsically bad needs to STFU. i work on climate issues and anything that makes it harder to drive/park and easier to commute carbon-free is a win.
what a bunch of whining elitists.
People walk these streets in a way that's mindless, distracted, inconsiderate, self-entitled, etc. You would think the streets should be littered with pedestrian casualties but somehow, people get by. I think the bikesharers will figure out how to avoid getting flattened by an oncoming car much in the same way the Megans of this world are able to by and large avoid the same fate. Just more wishful thinking just like the people who are convinced that the streets will be choked off by drunks riding arm in arm, that docking stations will be pissed on, blithely knocked over by cars, dragged to faraway locations by angry residents, bike tires slashed, etc.
"We might as well live in North Korea or Syria."
Funny thing is that if this was North Korea, and the government was installing bike share, every single person not praising Kim Jong Eun for bringing such dazzling bike share docks would be put into a political prison camp, like the guy who said he'd rather live in Korea.
Tell that to Shin Dong Hyuk who actually escaped from a political prison camp in North Korea called Camp 14. I'm sure he would think you're a genius that because NYC decided to put in bike share, you'd rather live in North Korea where you have no freedom of speech. Not.
Gojira, maybe its not about reducing the number of cars on the road. Maybe its merely an F YOU to motorists. Every kind of person who lives here for an extended time gets fucked in the ass one way or another at some point, now these people are getting theirs. It's not a big deal at all. Why the sudden compassion for motorists looking for a free parking.
I think the stations will be fine. In DC, Capital Bikeshare is set up in a similar fashion on sidewalks and on streets. If suburban MD and VA drivers (who are the worst drivers ever encountered) don't really hit the users of CaBi, then I doubt it'll be a problem here. Remember the bikes aren't there yet and once they are, it's really hard to miss. Trust me, I've driven in DC, I've ridden CaBi in DC, and it's not the doom and gloom everyone here thinks it is.
Also, tourists. If you really think a tourist is going to take this out all day, then they are idiots. They'll be paying $10 for a pass, and if they take it out for more than 90 minutes, that's an additional $13. I don't know what the going rate for renting a bike all day is but $23 seems like a lot.
trollllllls
@ Anon 2:26: DC has nowhere near the population density of Manhattan. It's a completely invalid comparison, yet one that bikeshare proponents keep using. Almost like they were using scripted talking points...
They went up today on 11th St. too, and some media person (well, someone with a real camera) was in the street documenting the installations, which was likely some promo for Shitibank (lots of baldies in suits). I'm neither for or against the program, though it did strike me as expensive, as in it made immediate sense to instead buy a bike if you're serious about the prospect. I have been thinking about that for years, but now I'm a little freaked by the thought of tons of newbie cyclists on the streets. I think I'll wait to see the carnage level the summer brings first. The docking stations are UGLY tho, and god knows what the Halal truck guy is going to do ...
The placement and mass of these things reflects absolutely no forethought. The installed a massive rack mid-block on 12th street and 3rd avenue last night -- which is a horrible traffic bottleneck because of the two way traffic on third avenue (the hysteria that is going to result on NYU moving days will be a unique disaster). One block south, 11th street dead ends into 4th avenue, and has virtually no pedestrian or vehicle traffic. There is another two blocks away.
Honestly, I've never seen accusations of trolling thrown at people with differing opinions so much since hate-reading comments on Fox News.
comparing bike docks to nazi's is not a differing opinion...it is trolling
I'm a newbie cyclist and I purchased an annual membership. I never owned a bicycle because I live in a walk-up, my neighbor is a serial bike thief and I see someone outside pissing on bikes/cars on an almost daily basis. This program will definitely help me get around the city and I'm looking forward to not having to take the train/bus as much as I do now. With that being said, it's nice to know that the malcontents of the neighborhood can't wait until I get run over by oncoming traffic.
I always love how these bike share posts rack up so many comments; especially from elitist bikers/ecologists who call people who can or need a car to work elitists or assholes... Its like they want Manhattan [or most likely their own precious section of neighborhood] to be devoid of cars, until they have need of one of course.
If some one could tell me how I can transport six bags of mulch, several flats of plants and other gardening stuff on a bike from nursery in LI or NJ I'd be up for it.
I have two bikes myself, my good one for touring is in my walk up apartment, and I had another one for short trips [visiting friends uptown, supermarket trips etc] chained to a bike rack that was fucked with by {i presume} some drunk assholes who stood on the rear tire and bent it to the point of un-usability
...
On a side note, saw on one of the news channels that cars are being towed by private companies [instead of by the city] and then car owners are made to pay outrageous towing fees because of course when the signs for no parking go up angry elitist "political activist" rip them off
These CitiBikes and docking stations are trolling IRL.
Nazi comparison is apt -- people act as if this is this is the transportation master race and everyone and everything else is inferior.
The first official Citi Bike docking station accident has already happened and the program hasn't even started: a garbage truck turning onto E 11th St. crashed into the racks. Imagine the same thing with a bunch of tourists getting crushed, the multi-million dollar lawsuits, the bad PR for Citibank.
The NY Post headline will be priceless: Headless Tourist Found In Topless Bike Rack.
The next a Mayor will score major points just by removing the bike racks and eliminating some bike lanes too. Since the bike lanes have been in, average car speeds have increased min Manhattan by several MPH and pedestrian accidents are up.
In the long run, Bloomberg may actually do more harm than good to biking in NYC with his overly aggressive and poorly planned rollouts of sensible transportation programs which should be much better and safer Instead of steamrolled and corporatized without real community involvement or education, but then that's the kind of guy he is. Luckily Christine Quiin only let him steal one extra term before she becomes Mayor.
@ Giovanni
Really? What part of East 11th Street?
@Giovanni
Sorry to hear about the crash but I don't think this will stop the City. If anything, they'll just try to improve safety measures like adding bollards. Initial costs are covered by Citibank. They're not gonna throw their hands in the air at the first sign of distress and say "Oh shit what now?"
2nd: How does a bike lane increase vehicular speed? The adverse is suppose to happen, that's the whole reason why the DOT installs them, that and to increase bike presence on the street.
Plus, compared with 2001 when Bloomberg took office, there's 45 fewer pedestrian fatalities and 119 fewer traffic fatalities overall for 2012. So he's obviously doing something right. So to suggest to remove bike infrastructure the City spent $11 million to install and then offer no alternative or no other viable solution is just an empty argument.
Here's the site where I got my numbers: http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/03/18/dot-speeding-the-leading-cause-of-nyc-traffic-deaths-in-2012/
Oh, and 3rd. You said Quinn's becoming mayor. I ain't voting for that bitch. I rather vote for the Rent is Too Damn High candidate.
You are correct that pedestrian accidents fell n the last decade, but fatal accident suddenly spiked up 23% last year with the advent of 200 miles of open bike lanes where thre used to be parked cars. Cars now have wider sight lines and room to maneuver, they also use the bike lanes to pass and turn, causing dangerous conditions. Just ask anyone who has crossed the street in the last year. Here's the data:
New York City has made significant improvement in reducing traffic deaths over the past decade. That’s why many citizens, officials and safety advocates are surprised by New York’s fatal accident data for 2012. The city’s most recent Mayor’s Management Report showed a 23 percent increase in traffic deaths in the 2012 fiscal year (June 2011 to June 2012).
The Bloomberg administration admits that the increase in auto accident deaths is disappointing, but believes it’s somewhat of an anomaly amid a greater trend in increased safety on New York City streets. Overall, fatality statistics lend credibility to this argument, but there are still a number of unsettling figures that help depict New York’s struggle with traffic:
New York City traffic fatalities rose to 291 in the 2012 fiscal year, up from 236 in 2011.
More than 60 percent of the fatalities were pedestrians or bicyclists.
Approximately 74 percent of serious accidents — those involving serious injuries or death — occurred in intersections.
About 57 percent of all serious pedestrian accidents occurred when the pedestrian was following a “walk” signal.
http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2012/Dec/919839.html
The verdict is in, bike lanes are leading to more dangerous driving and fatalities for pedestrians, the solution is to slow the cars down with new stoplight patterns and speed limits.
We've learned one major thing from Giovanni's information: It's the car drivers fault. Until police crack down on their dangerous driving, no one is safe.
Spike is exactly right. Because I've read the article and it doesn't even say that bike lanes lead to dangerous driving. And there were no recorded fatalities between cyclists and pedestrians so that's out (I saw the article somewhere, I dont want to find it.) However, I still won't blame the infrastructure, it's the road users that violate the laws. Wrong way cyclists, double-parked cars, failure to yield (which is the big one).
Now, in terms of thing you've mentioned, I think it can be best countered with just one phrase: Columbus Ave. That street is a perfect example of the before and after. Yes, drivers have wider sight lines when making turns but that's the whole idea, to increase visibility. And drivers have the legal right to enter the bike lane to make a turn, but only when the line is broken or to go in a driveway.
I can go on for ages about this but as your article rightly mentions, the blame is not so much on the road, but the road users.
total bastardization of our beloved village
WHAT
THE
F*CK
GET OFF MY GOD DAMNED LAWN!!!
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