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This past Saturday was the city's second of three Summer Streets weekends. One of the bigger issues from last week's first try seemed to be that pedestrians and bicyclists weren't as aware of each others' space as they could be. And so the Department of Transportation responded with fast and slow lanes.
However, a Streetsblog writer wonders how effective the lanes were, given:
The writer adds, "While we encountered a handful of cyclists behaving irresponsibly, it goes without saying that we were passed by hundreds more who were courteous and respectful of the potential for bodily harm, to pedestrians and themselves."
The second thing we noticed was an event "marshal," stationed in the middle of Park Avenue at 40th, cheerfully repeating this instruction to passersby: "Bikers to the left, walkers to the right." Based on all I'd read about cyclists and pedestrians co-mingling peacefully during the first week of Summer Streets (which we missed), this seemed odd.Not for long, though, as Jennifer and I were nearly hit by speeding bikes no fewer than three times between 40th Street and low 20s. Though we stayed to the right in the designated "slow lane," we were passed on the right more than once. Bells were few and far between, while verbal warnings, in our experience, were non-existent. Realizing that a half-step toward either curb at the wrong moment could result in injury, we learned to look over our shoulders before making any lateral moves.
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"While we encountered a handful of cyclists behaving irresponsibly, it goes without saying that we were passed by hundreds more who were courteous and respectful of the potential for bodily harm, to pedestrians and themselves."
Shh! You'll make the heads of the bike-haters around here explode. All bike riders are jerks, don't you know? Personally, I don't know why people desperately need to speed down the closed street. I didn't bring my bike, but if I had the street with no cars, I'd be taking it easy and enjoying it at less than 10mph.
Except for that one person, I never saw any signs or anybody explaining the fast/slow lanes. DOT is learning, I guess, but they still have a ways to go. I was thinking all the way down Park Ave that people should just do like on regular streets in cars, with passing on the left only, so it gradually gets faster as you ride further to the left. But that would take intelligence and consideration for others, something that's not in generous supply in NYC among cyclists, pedestrians or drivers.
I see a jogger in one of the pics - has anyone tried to run this route? Is it enjoyable or a pain in the ass to dodge pedestrians and the like?
Like last week we entered Park Ave at 63rd as we came into Manhattan on the F Train at Lex/63rd. The first thing different we saw this week were the red cones segregating bikes from peds. We felt instantaneously safer with our 6 and 4 year olds.
For the most part Week One bike riders were courteous but asking them to slow down for running kids is tough so having the kids "confined" to the pederstrian / runner's side of the avenue this week was great.
It's a nice run--there are a good number of runners and joggers on the street. Even with the wide range of wheels and walkers, everyone seemed to mesh well during summer streets.
Although we did encounter a cantankerous biker who yelled at walkers to use the sidewalk rather than be in the street.... she was the only angry or rude biker I saw within week one or two.
Week One we walked, Week Two we jogged, Week Three we're going to find a set of wheels.
I'm all for the street closing, but trying to cross at 53rd with my dear old mother was actually alot more difficult that I expected. People weren't slowing down at all. At least street lights ensure (relatively) safe passage.
I noticed a lot of people on rented bikes which was cool. But few people had nor used bells, which was weird.
I biked the whole route and had a fine time. The lane separations on upper Park Ave were great. I went early so there were fewer people and the flow of wheeled and foot traffic was much better than last week. I talked to a cop and learned that the two NYPD boroughs involved in the event had distinctly different approaches: Manhattan North used the cones to separate the lanes, while Manhattan South just let the TransAlt volunteers tell people where to ride/roll/walk/run. One trio of cops (what a crazy bunch of cut-ups!) used their buggy to block the southbound lane in Chinatown so cyclists had to swerve into the northbound lane.
summer streets are great...but resultant vehicular traffic gridlocked onto nearby streets is unbearable for pedestrians who need to cross these streets. Not all of one's Saturday errands can take place on a "summer street," so I am hopeful that the next step will be to disabuse the bridge & tunnel jerks who drive into town every weekend to utilize public transportation (or better yet, stay home).
Please let in pour next weekend....
I biked up to Central Park from the e.village. It all just seems like a silly novelty. We have great parks, some of which, like the east river parks, could certainly use the extra man hours spent on this experiment. Could we experiment with turning Central Park into full access driving for a few days a year? I'd love to rent a sports car and do that.
All these issues of lanes, usage, etc. takes time to reconcile, and already has been largely figured out in the parks. By the time everyone uses the proper lane the novelty will have worn off, and the parks needing the attention will still be the same. Does anyone here think the path down the east river is a joy?
After last Saturday I've concluded that cyclist are just as inconsiderate as motorists. In the end it's all the same.
The silence without the cars was extraordinary. The cyclists were a nuisance and made it dangerous.
It was fairly hard to avoid bikes while crossing Park Ave as a simple pedestrian because there were not too many gaps in traffic, at least from where I was below GCT.
But all in all, it was really nice walking down Park Ave and yielded some nice photo ops too. I will rent a bike next week and see how it is to ride the whole way.
I'd recommend you guys xootr. It's great cause I was able to go in the pedestrian lane when I was going up hill and then into the bike lane going down. I actually was a ton faster than most bikers. I made it from houston to 72 street cp west down to 33rd street again in 35 minutes on a xootr without breaking a sweat. xootr's actually are faster than bikes going downhill. I was going 40 mph at one point. there weren't many professional bikers who are usually the biggest assholes cause they go fast. It was mostly casual speed joggers, walkers and bikers.
"we learned to look over our shoulders before making any lateral moves."
I do this 100% of the time if I'm in an area where other people may be walking. On the sidewalk, in an aisle at the store, at the bar... maybe I just don't like bumping into people, I dunno. Am I the only one that does this?
(I'm not commenting on the age-old ped v. bike battle, just on my own personal quirks)
"we learned to look over our shoulders before making any lateral moves"
this should be done as a matter of course whenever riding OR walking. i don't assume anything about what might be coming up from behind anymore!
The side streets for several blocks east and west where I live had more than the usual Saturday morning vehicular traffic.
I know because I looked out my window to hear what all the horn honking outside was about. It was from gridlock on my corner. It sounded worse than a weekday.
All the bikers think this is a good idea but they don't have to put up with this nonsense and noise on their blocks.
When I went out to check it out, I have to say that
#10 got it right. It was not easy crossing.
DOT: Can this silly plan next year, or move it to Portland.
Believe it or not, I actually missed the cars when I first set out on my bike up Park Avenue. Bikers and pedestrians are much more unpredictable than cars are. But one thing I really liked about it was being able to safely cruise past most of the red lights.
The volunteers did a great job stopping the bikes/peds to make way for the crosstown traffic. But I was very disappointed in many of the police officers I saw who were supposedly handling traffic at major intersections. They clearly did not feel like directing traffic. I know these guys are not official Traffic cops, but that doesn't mean that they should just stand there at a busy intersection letting a bunch of dumb they please at the red light. At one intersection, when the light turned green for us, the cop turned her back to us. Thanks!
My second Summer Streets and things didn't change much from the first one - still a great idea poorly executed. Pedestrians should be able to walk without fear of being run down by ANY vehicle, and that includes bikes. Either make it so that all bikes have to stay in one lane away from the people or lose the bikes altogether.
@JenChungsBra:
"Either make it so that all bikes have to stay in one lane away from the people or lose the bikes altogether."
Ummm...or, crazy idea that it is, make it so that all the pedestrians have to stay in one lane away from the bikers, roller bladers, etc.
Call me crazy but the entire time I was out there on Saturday, I kept marveling at how few pedestrians I actually saw ambling in the middle of the road, how slowly they were walking when they were out there (and how much space they were blocking), and how I couldn't really understand why people on this blog and others were making such a fuss about the disrespect shown them by bikers. They have sidewalks to walk on every day of the week, as well as during Summer Streets...
The increased congestion surrounding the SS project should serve as evidence of what happens when you limit vehicular access to an area. This is a abject failure for everyone except the miniscule percentage of people participating in the event.
After last Saturday I've concluded that cyclist are just as inconsiderate as motorists. In the end it's all the same.
You're dead wrong. It's not about bikes. To paraphrase an old slogan, "It's the people, stupid." A selfish twit is a selfish twit no matter what method of locomotion he's using. He'll drive erratically in a car, blast past on a bike or wander slowly in the middle of the road if he's on foot, not caring whether he has the green light or not on a regular day. Some of the footpaths in lower Manhattan are separated into two directions of travel. Yet I always see pedestrians completely ignoring those, walking in whatever lane they want. Should I make an unprovable statement like yours that "I've concluded that walkers are just as inconsiderate as motorists"?
Bikers and Pedestrians...
Can't we all just get along?