Results tagged “motorists”

New Yorkers, fed up with drivers zipping up and down Broadway at breakneck speeds, have demanded a gentler, calmer Upper West Side, and one politician is more than happy to oblige. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal has proposed placing speed bumps, or new signage, at the Amsterdam-Broadway "bow tie" (the intersection where Amsterdam crosses over the north and southbound lanes of Broadway on 71st Street—the one where a taxi cab drove into a subway station) to slow traffic down, reports WCBS 2.

The existence of dedicated bike lanes are a sought-after city feature by New York's cyclists; but even when they appear they're often blocked by delivery trucks and drivers who remain oblivious to their existence. While Mayor Bloomberg has attempted to discourage drivers--or cash in on them--in the city with congestion pricing, the mere existence of bike lanes apparently does little to prevent drivers from owning the roads. The Times looks into the conundrum of bike lane non-compliance today.

Although city regulations forbid cars from blocking bike lanes — a violation that carries a $115 fine — those rules are routinely ignored by drivers who use the lanes as parking spots, loading zones and places to pick up passengers. Such maneuvers have enraged cyclists who say they are unlawful, rude and dangerous.

Streetsblog recently featured some video from online magazine Slate, which set out to identify the stupidest bike lanes in America. Slate's conclusion: don't rely on a thin stripe of paint to protect you from idiotic or disrespectful drivers. For those who imagine that Europe is a halcyon haven of bike friendly traffic design, the Slate video has multiple examples to the contrary.

Weighing in on the modified congestion pricing plan the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission recommended, Mayor Bloomberg said:

"The Commission has done a thorough and thoughtful job. They've taken testimony from hundreds of residents, community leaders and civic organizations. They've held dozens of public meetings and have analyzed mountains of data. Although the final recommendation varies from our original proposal, I accept it.

Continue reading "Bloomberg Accepts Commission's Modified Congestion Pricing Plan "

Short-term strategic improvements to subway, bus, and express bus service should be put in place before pricing kicks inYou can read the recommendation here (PDF) and Streetsblog's Aaron Naparstek is at the meeting and tells us the commission's recommendation "is an impressive piece of work."

"The commission did a great job of taking the mayor's plan and improving it by incorporating feedback from the public. The process was outstanding. I really hope that the Council and Assembly will see the wisdom in passing this and allowing this pilot project to go forward.. If they do, NYC will immediately be a model for 21st cent urban sustainability and any example to other cities around the world."

Continue reading "Commission Recommends Modified Congestion Pricing Plan; Boundary Would Start at 60th Street"

The Independent Budget Office released a report examining who might be affected by congestion pricing. The report, "Behind the Wheel: Who Drives Into The Proposed 'Congestion Zone'" can be read here (PDF) but the topline is that drivers are middle-class and over half are from Nassau County, Westchester, NJ, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The report states, "Looking at the extremes of the earnings distribution for all congestion zone commuters, motor vehicle users were less likely...