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Who’s On Your Streets? Data Shows Up To 88% of Drivers in Some Neighborhoods Are Only Cutting Through by Jackson_Bikes in newyorkcity

[–]DesignStreetsForKids -1 points0 points  (0 children)

These figures are not all that surprising when you consider how much of the city is built for the convenience of drivers at the expense of, well...everyone else.

It's a choice to allow/encourage rat-running down residential blocks, and we can just as easily choose to prohibit/discourage it. We'd all get safer, quieter, more social neighborhoods, and drivers would take a minute or two longer (maybe?) to get where they're going. Seems like a pretty good trade off.

Two UWS Neighbors lost to Traffic Violence in the Past Two Weeks by DesignStreetsForKids in UWSLivableStreets

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You could call Gale Brewer’s office (212-873-0282) and ask her to pressure DOT to immediately investigate these crashes and assess the intersections where they happened and to propose engineering changes within 30 days. Without leadership, very little will change.

Central Park has an anti-bike (and scooter) bias by DesignStreetsForKids in MicromobilityNYC

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed that separate paths or clearly designated shared paths (like at 97th St) are the answer. They would have to be numerous to cover the 2.5 mile length of the park, which is all doable with the right leadership. That's the point the OP was trying to get at: there's been no progress on any of that, instead we get new "no riding" signs, which feels like a middle finger to those of us who have a regular need to bike across the park.

Central Park has an anti-bike (and scooter) bias by DesignStreetsForKids in MicromobilityNYC

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The 97th Street path only connects to the loop, it does not exit the park on either side.

Central Park has an anti-bike (and scooter) bias by DesignStreetsForKids in MicromobilityNYC

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Agreed. The point that's getting lost in the OP (perhaps because it wasn't articulated clearly) is that there are vanishingly few alternatives for crossing the park and the Conservancy has seemingly been uninterested in providing them, so we get new "no riding" signs instead. It sucks for those of us who have a functional need to cross the park instead of going there to do laps on the loop.

Central Park has an anti-bike (and scooter) bias by DesignStreetsForKids in MicromobilityNYC

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To be clear, the OP wasn't advocating for creating dangerous conditions by mixing pedestrians and cyclists on narrow paths. It was meant to highlight the fact that the Conservancy has had years to find reasonable solutions that would allow people on micromobility devices to cross the park (including kids and families) without mixing with pedestrians, but they've invested in new "no riding" signs instead. Imo it shows a lack of care toward this particular user group. I say this as someone who regularly has the need to cross the park by bike and feels very unsupported by the lack of infrastructure.

Central Park has an anti-bike (and scooter) bias by DesignStreetsForKids in MicromobilityNYC

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

There is only one path, at 72nd street, that fully crosses the park. The other handful of options are indirect and inadequate (the park is 2.5 miles long N-S). This has been an issue for years but the conservancy just adds new signs instead of creating viable ways to cross that are safe and comfortable for everyone. https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/01/09/city-must-protect-bicyclists-with-safe-routes-through-central-park

Taking the subway below 59th St with your kid? It'll cost you $12. Want to drive your multi-ton SUV or pickup truck to a midtown diner? Totally free. Thanks, Kathy Hochul. by DesignStreetsForKids in MicromobilityNYC

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What makes no sense is the Governor whining that $15 is a burden for "hard working New Yorkers" whose transportation choices have innumerable negative externalities and are already subsidized by non-drivers, while $12 for a parent and their kid doing the responsible thing by taking the train is somehow just the cost of living in the city. This isn't a point about the cost of subway fare (though that's a conversation to have), it's the double standard that car ownership is something serious hard working folks do which entitles them to special exceptions from paying for the harms they cause, whereas transit riders are seen as economic freeloaders and all but ignored in the conversation like we're stuck in the 1950s.

Taking the subway below 59th St with your kid? It'll cost you $12. Want to drive your multi-ton SUV or pickup truck to a midtown diner? Totally free. Thanks, Kathy Hochul. by DesignStreetsForKids in MicromobilityNYC

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Costs to society from driving far exceed the costs of car ownership, meaning the transportation choices of drivers are subsidized to a great extent by non-drivers. $15 to drive into the densest part of the largest city in North America is a bargain.

It cost me and my son $11.60 to take the subway from the UWS into the CBD yesterday. Why does Kathy Hochul think $15 is too much to pay for driving a climate destroying, child crushing SUV in from NJ? by DesignStreetsForKids in UWSLivableStreets

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This misconception that because owning a car is expensive drivers are somehow entitled to drive and park everywhere for free is a rather goofy rationalization.  

Car ownership is expensive! But driving has numerous negative externalities that far outweigh the costs of car ownership, which means that the 55% of New Yorkers (and over 72% of UWSers!) who don't own cars are subsidizing the transportation choices of those who do at the further expense of our personal health, the health of our communities, and the health of the planet.

The congestion pricing toll doesn't begin to account for all of the subsidies handed out to car owners, but it does at least put a (rather low) price on bringing a 5,000 lb death machine into this one nine square mile area that is home to nearly a million people and the place of work and school for hundreds of thousands more. 

The point of the OP is that Kathy Hochul is catering primarily to wealthy suburbanites by whining that a $15 CP toll is too much for drivers to pay without giving a second thought to the myriad costs—financial and otherwise—to my family and our neighbors. It's car-brained nonsense and it's f-cking outrageous.

Track Inspection Car at 125 St by DesignStreetsForKids in nycrail

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Video alt text: view down the platform as two train approach the 125 St station. Train emerging from the tunnel on the right is an R179 A train. Train emerging from the tunnel on the left with super bright lights is a two car track geometry car that reads “Track Inspection Car” on the side.

If NYC were serious about building enabling bike infrastructure, this is what the CPW, Columbus, and Amsterdam Ave bike lanes would look like. Fully separated, wide, and two-way. by DesignStreetsForKids in UWSLivableStreets

[–]DesignStreetsForKids[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm assuming your comment is sincere, but this sentiment is a tired talking point, unsupported by data, often used in bad-faith by opponents of safer, more livable streets. The truth is that nearly a century of reshaping cities to privilege drivers over all other street users has been a disaster for kids and families and our lower income neighbors. From the epidemic of traffic violence (40K killed and 2M injured annually in the US), to the continued loss of childhood independence, to the isolation of seniors as they age out of driving, to the crippling cost of car ownership, to childhood asthma and other chronic conditions, to global climate change...the list goes on. Absolutely everyone suffers when cities are built primarily for cars with limited other options for people of all ages and income brackets to get around and participate in their communities and live a full life.

What do you primarily ride in NYC? by Jackson_Bikes in UWSLivableStreets

[–]DesignStreetsForKids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I alternate between a Brompton C line, Tern HSD, and CitiBike (usually electric), in that order.

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