Vanderbilt Ave. Bike Lanes, Landscaped XWalk, RAISED Median?

It's a done deal. The re-paving is currently under way and they predict that the Pedestrian and Bicycle project will be completed by the winter.

Well, I guess I'll just have to wait a year or two or three to say, "I told so!"

ugh i know the dust is horrible.
i dread haveing to walk down vandy now. and its been that way for over a week.

i hope they repave it soon...

Anyone know anything about the plans to actually landscape these medians? The one near Park Plc is starting to look like a weed covered mini-abandoned lot already.

On that note, the new planted medians around G.A.P. look really nice now...hopefully ours are are good when they get around to it. Otherwise they might be a candidate for some guerilla gardening.

Planting things like trees and shrubs are best avoided during the summer months and done during the fall to allow the plant to avoid a drought situation which would shock the plant too much. In the spring they will probably plant some annuals as well.

traffic sucks way more. i had to sit behind a ups truck & a bus honking for over 4 mins for the guy to move because you couldn't go around due to this "island" that put in the middle. the bike lanes fine and all but we also lost about 15 parking spots on vandy. not to mention what happens to the bike lane in the WINTER when its too cold to ride ??

supreme_ian wrote: traffic sucks way more. i had to sit behind a ups truck & a bus honking for over 4 mins for the guy to move because you couldn't go around due to this "island" that put in the middle. the bike lanes fine and all but we also lost about 15 parking spots on vandy. not to mention what happens to the bike lane in the WINTER when its too cold to ride ??

problem seems more due to some dumb-ass double parking, rather than the island...

caaahyoko wrote: And if the island weren't there? You would swerve into oncoming traffic to get around? Yeah, that's safe. :roll:

Plenty of people ride in the winter. It has to be in the 20s for me to NOT be sweating. It would have to be in the teens or lower for me to think about not riding.

amen. And why complain about the island instead of the UPS trucks, Fresh Direct trucks and all the others who illegally double park? They're breaking the law and are the real nuisance.

caaahyoko wrote: [quote=supreme_ian]traffic sucks way more. i had to sit behind a ups truck & a bus honking for over 4 mins for the guy to move because you couldn't go around due to this "island" that put in the middle. the bike lanes fine and all but we also lost about 15 parking spots on vandy. not to mention what happens to the bike lane in the WINTER when its too cold to ride ??

And if the island weren't there? You would swerve into oncoming traffic to get around? Yeah, that's safe. :roll:

Plenty of people ride in the winter. It has to be in the 20s for me to NOT be sweating. It would have to be in the teens or lower for me to think about not riding.

1st off definetly dont swerve into on coming traffic ..if you recall vandy was 2 LANES not 1 .. hence just go around.

2nd plenty of PEOPLE DONT bike in the winter. maybe a small percentage and definetly not many enough to say bike lanes are in use 365 in nyc. you and your group maybe the small minority when it comes to bike riding in such conditions. snow = no bikes heavy rain and temps under 30 in dec = no bikes..

vanilla wrote: and it's true, everyone i know bikes year round!

if only we could get those bike lanes like in paris or even ocean parkway, the ones with sidewalk on either side.

growing up in BROOKLYN for over 30 years i can safely say PEOPLE DONT bike all year round. its physically impossible like i stated above. its a welcome thing and all but the way traffic patterns have been changed to accommodate bikes is getting silly. and i think its makes some driver more nervous when they drive.

I'll add my name to long list of supporters here. I love the bike lanes (which I will also use during the winter), love the raised medians, love the fact that it's slowed traffic. The fact is that its much safer for bikes and pedestrians than it was as a four-lane road where a lot of drivers were blasting by at way over the speed limit.

now, if only want happened to vandy would come to washington! perhaps as a result i would see fewer accidents caused by cars from my bedroom window.

Minet wrote: does any one know when they will put actual plants in or will we be having weed gardens in the medians?

raisedeyebrow wrote: Planting things like trees and shrubs are best avoided during the summer months and done during the fall to allow the plant to avoid a drought situation which would shock the plant too much. In the spring they will probably plant some annuals as well.

I think it will happen in October.

MeredithB wrote: [quote=joncane] And why complain about the island instead of the UPS trucks, Fresh Direct trucks and all the others who illegally double park? They're breaking the law and are the real nuisance.

Nope, they aren't breaking the law. Commercial vehicles are allowed to double-park if there is any other parking available.

Fair enough, but they rarely (if ever) look for other parking within the legally prescribed 100 feet in either direction before double parking. Also, I would imagine that double parking in such a manner as to not allow other cars to pass (as described by an earlier poster) can't be allowable. Plus on Vandy, they almost always double park by encroaching into the bike lane, which is illegal. The proper way to double park, is to not obstruct the bike lane.

I'm with Meredith on this one. These medians are horrible. All of your local businesses rely on recieving deliveries via UPS and FeEx. If you put a bike lane on both sides and then build cement medians there is absolutely no where for these trucks to go. These types of medians are not the answer to the city's congestion problems, it's only going to make matters worse. Sorry, Mayor Mike, but cars won't just go away because you don't like them.

im NOT complaining because it takes longer im complaining because i DONT have an OPTION if im driving on vandy. where as in the past you could make perfect use of the 2nd lane. now if a delivery guy dbl parks and a biker has to swerve into traffic and thats WAYYY more dangerous.

as far as "stakeholder requests" i highly most of those business have been around on vandy long enough to warrant some sort of neighborhood change. i dont think any of the businesses with the exception of keyfood and that chinese restaurant and maybe he 2 dry cleaners have been there longer than 10 yrs. this area has thrived way before bike lines and will thrive way after its a huge residential area pedestrian traffic will ALWAYS be in abundance

those little islands in the middle of the street arent that good i see kids playing on them --- and then it becomes more dangerous because they think "its NOT the street" its just very silly

anyway enough of my rant about this terrible idea that wont go away