Where were we? Oh! Bike racks, an immensely popular topic here. EVG regular Terry Howell notes the recent arrival of bike racks on Second Avenue at East Ninth Street ... and East Ninth Street at Second Avenue (pay attention!)...
How's it going so far? Per Terry:
"The one on 2nd Ave. is used primarily for the corner deli delivery crew. This rack also has the marvelous effect of forcing delivery trucks to doublepark IN 2nd Ave. most mornings with the usual horn-honking results."
Still, the more bike racks the better, right?
13 comments:
If you want to get deliveries move to....
No one's forcing anyone to double-park. It's a choice. And when the result of everyone's choices is that the system breaks down, but no one's willing to make different choices or give up anything in order to move forward... then I don't know what to tell you.
Except I can tell you that one bike corral sure as hell isn't the cause of all the double parking on Second Avenue. Oh, if only it were that simple, I'd agree to remove it. But that claim isn't about fixing the problem, it's about telling cyclists they don't deserve parking until everything else is fixed. Which will be never.
Damn. I thought those were hula hoops and have been trying to roll them down the street for days.
how about air dropping deliveries? anybody ever think of that.
@ BB- Then you're gonna need plane & helicopter racks! We don't have the space!
Double parking?! You can't regular park, let alone double park. And bike lines are not moving forward unless your previous ride was a horse and buggy.
So here's an example of "progress."
I'm walking across 2nd Ave tonight with my dog. I'm in the crosswalk and have the light. TWO CitiBikes come up the bike lane across the street, take a right towards me driving ON THE CROSSWALK, and turn right up the Avenue, cutting in between cars and people. One goes up on the sidewalk.
When I get near the sidewalk on the other side of Second Ave, a CitiBike blows through the light nearly hitting me and my dog. I let loose some breath taking verbal abuse on him and a woman passing by gives me a thumbs up.
Progress. Yeah.
@NOTORIOUS .. what you describe (vehicle passing red light when I am crossing the street, turning down on me when I'm crossing through a crosswalk -- because the vehicle's green light and mine are the same so the driver ignores my right of way and plows through) happens frequently with motor vehicles.
Police ought to enforce traffic safety laws for both motor vehicles and bicycles but the damage done when a motor vehicle hits a pedestrian is usually much greater (recall the 2nd Ave & 5th St disaster if you will) than when a cyclist hits that my concern is first with enforcement of motor vehicle traffic. Which isn't being done. At all.
I think the bike racks in the street are a great idea. It creates more bike parking, and gets it off the sidewalk at the same time.
Excellent. I am glad the bike racks are in the street. Cars park in the street; so should all other vehicles. Sidewalks are for pedestrians, and these are too congested already what with trash, mailboxes, newspaper boxes, parking meters.
As for deliveries, each business has access from the other street which comprises the intersection. No one is forced to double-park, and they should be ticketed and towed if they do.
The city adapted to (too much) automobile traffic; it can adapt to bicycle traffic and eventually a reduction in automobile traffic.
- East Villager
Bicycling is progress over cars: cleaner, good for the environment, promotes exercise, quiet, takes less space.
What is not progress? Rude, aggressive, and clueless cyclists who consciously or carelessly invent their own rules of the road.
EVERYONE is responsible for making the streets safe, civil, and courteous. That includes drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, dog-walkers, skateboarders, unicyclists, snake-wearers, cat-wearers, drunks, PCPists, glue-inhalers, deliverypeople, dogs, rats, "sanitation engineers', crusties, punks, yuppies, yippies, hippies, NYU sleepaway camper, sorry, I mean students, and even you.
You. Yes, YOU. Behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!
I submitted this Pic & the caption quoted by EV Grieve. First let me state that I am a total pedestrian & generally feel that cars should be heavily controlled (and charged) while driving AND parking in NYC.
Second, some seemed to "flame" on the word "forced". I didn't think my comment would be parsed quite so diligently for intellectual exactitude. In a great many more words, I would instead say that the delivery trucks (and there are many), instead of parking in and occupying (several spaces at a time)the few actual parking spots (these are very large trucks, not delivery vans), often blocking the crosswalk and even the bike lane (no!!!) now do all that instead IN 2nd Ave. Personally I don't care if the traffic on 2nd Ave. is at a crawl. I DO object to listening to car horns being used incessantly to express displeasure during traffic jams. Come and listen to the racket on Friday & Saturday nights & you'll understand my thoughts.
The bike rack in front of Village Farms is used predominantly by the delivery guys from the store. As their fleet of bikes used to be chained all over the sidewalk instead, this is a definite improvement from a sidewalk point of view.
There is not enough time in the world to discuss bike lanes. I will say that my partner is legally blind & crossing a bike lane, even with the light, is fraught with danger.
And lastly, returning to my first paragraph. Why is the parking on 10th St. between 2nd & 3rd NOT metered??? Charge for parking!
My only comment about police enforcing the laws on everyone is "ha, ha, ha, ha". The only policepeople I see are in a cruiser staring at their phones while their partner ducks into Veselka (or Village Farms) for coffee.
Best to all (except the a**holes who run thru red lights.
t howell,
The police have a lot of free time while stop and frisk is under review. Don't worry, they'll be back "protecting" the fair (black) citizens of the EV any day now.
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