Vision Zero picks up speed

whynot_31 · April 2014

While billed as a way to reduce pedestrian and bicycle deaths, many viewers perceive the effort as really being motivated by a desire to wrestle control over NYC speed limits and roadways from Albany.

Does that mean I am against it? No.

It just means that that this campaign is a little more clever than it first appears.

whynot_31 · April 2014

Off to Albany the advocates go....

http://www.transalt.org/calendar/7464

whynot_31 · April 2014

Nothing is easier than giving New Yorker's a place to complain, then showing the complaints to Albany:

http://visionzero.herokuapp.com/place/178191

pragmaticguy · April 2014

And as soon as we can stop kids from running out into the street and pedestrians from crossing where a driver doesn't expect them we can really become safe. I suggest a collar that gives people shocks when they do something stupid like this. Because after all, it's always the driver's fault.

whynot_31 · April 2014

In my view, pedestrian and bicycle deaths could actually increase over the length of this campaign, yet the organizers could declare it a success.

....after all, the goal is to show concern for the deaths [this earns one votes] and get control over traffic rules from Albany [this gives one power].

morralkan · April 2014

Probably that collar should be worn by some of the parents whose precious little angels are running out into the streets.

mike dunlap · April 2014

In my view, pedestrian and bicycle deaths could actually increase over the length of this campaign, yet the organizers could declare it a success.

....after all, the goal is to show concern for the deaths [this earns one votes] and get control over traffic rules from Albany [this gives one power].

The goal is also to decrease traffic violence. Car drivers collectively kill more people than gunmen in this city.

pragmaticguy · April 2014

@ Mike Dunlap...Maybe so, but it's not always the driver's fault. So, they'll get tickets but all the people that jaywalk get away free. The discrimination against vehicles is blatant. I don't think any driver purposely wants to run down someone whereas a shooter purposely has to pull the trigger. You're not comparing apples to apples. It's acceptable to give drivers tickets, not so much walkers.

whynot_31 · April 2014

By stating that the primary goal is reducing biker and pedestrian injuries and deaths, the proponents of Vision Zero have effectively insulated themselves from accusations of "power grabbing" by Albany politicians and car advocates.

The advocates learned this technique the hard way: A few years ago, they failed in their attempt to toll the East River bridges.

This time, their goals are the same, but they are being more clever about their tactics and messaging.

morralkan · April 2014

You do realize, pragmaticguy, that DeBlasio is not simultaneously campaigning against unsafe bicycling practices. I doubt whether it is safe for a cyclist to wear noise-blocking headphones while riding, but I've seen that many times. Or for a cyclist to talk on his cell phone while riding, but .. ditto. How about tickets for the cretins blithely walking through crosswalks while texting? Or parents letting their little darlings play in the street while unsupervised? No, any pedestrian or biker death is automatically the fault of the driver and the "victim" must never be blamed. And certainly not the city's ill-advised "bump-outs" which can cause a vehicle to swerve unintentionally.

[By the way, I don't drive, never did; I walk, take public transportation, and bike.]

mike dunlap · April 2014

No, any pedestrian or biker death is automatically the fault of the driver and the "victim" must never be blamed.

You cannot be serious. Car drivers kill cyclists and pedestrians in this city almost every day and very, very rarely receive anything more than minor citations for it.

mike dunlap · April 2014

I don't think any driver purposely wants to run down someone whereas a shooter purposely has to pull the trigger.

Of course, but the end results are what I described. Car drivers now kill more people in this city than gunmen. And they do far more damage in other areas.

They rip up and down Crown Heights avenues in their giant machinery, greatly endangering its residents and polluting the area in numerous ways, from their noise to their dirty exhaust to the incredible amount of glass, metal, oil, and other garbage they scatter everywhere.

Bravo for De Blasio and anyone else who wants to reduce the immense amount of damage cars do to our neighborhoods.

whynot_31 · April 2014

Part of the genius of the map is that it allows everyone (bikes, cars, pedestrians, trucks. etc) to complain about everyone:

http://visionzero.herokuapp.com/place/183432

This makes it appear as if Vision Zero has everyone in mind, and is out for everyone's best interests. It implies that there are ways in which everyone can win; no group will lose.

whynot_31 · May 2014

Throughout the city, DOT and the politicians are doing everything they can that does not require the permission of Albany:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140501/inwood/speed-limit-be-reduced-on-broadway-above-columbus-circle-dot-says

The real fun begins a few months.

If pedestrian and bicycle injuries and fatalities go down, the politicians and the advocates can proudly declare success. Then, they can state that they could be EVEN MORE successful if they could remove additional cars from midtown during workdays, and that tolling the East River Bridges would accomplish this. They would promise that all revenues would go to very popular things: Parks, improving subway and bus service. They would implore the public to hate Albany even more than they already do.

If ped and bike injuries don't decrease, they can make the same speech! They can't lose.

morralkan · May 2014

So, Mike, does that imply that EVERY death is the fault of the driver?

Also, you really do have a thing about motor vehicles. ("They rip up and down Crown Heights avenues in their giant machinery, greatly endangering its residents and polluting the area in numerous ways, from their noise to their dirty exhaust to the incredible amount of glass, metal, oil, and other garbage they scatter everywhere.")

"Giant machinery"? I'm assuming you grow all your own food and that any else that comes to your house is helicoptered to your roof.

If you find all this exhaust, etc so horrible, perhaps you should move someplace like Oregon, Idaho, or wherever. I'm sure the extremists out there would be glad to have you. NYC is obviously NOT the place for you.

mike dunlap · May 2014

Nah, I'm fine here, thanks. We have a long way to go still, but things are moving in the right direction. City leaders are now getting much more serious about the incredible amount of death and destruction car drivers cause in this city.

whynot_31 · May 2014

Serious press is now being paid. The NYT just profiled four injured people that its reading demographics can readily identify and sympathize with:

http://t.co/vdRCvbteYd

eastbloc · May 2014

As a pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist, and driver in this city for eleven years, I have a cautiously optimistic view of Vision Zero.

Historically, the enforcement of moving violations against cars has been practically non-existent. If anything, the NYPD discriminates in favor of drivers. You're far more likely to get a ticket for running a red light on a bicycle than for doing the same in a car. I've been stopped four times at motorcycle-only checkpoints, and ticketed for such infractions as failing to have my visor fully down on a hot August day, but never once in a car. Speed limits are a joke, and drivers who do hit pedestrians are very rarely charged with even a traffic offense, not to mention criminal charges.

In the last month, I've witnessed some things I've never seen before. I saw a cop on the service road at Bedford and Eastern Parkway actually pursue and pull over someone who ran the light there. I've seen cops with radar guns parked on Park Ave under the BQE, hunting for speeders.

It's about time cars have had their comeuppance.

whynot_31 · May 2014

I don't know whether enforcement is yet up citywide, but it is certainly up in the 77th pct, which covers Crown Heights north of Eastern Parkway:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140423/crown-heights/crown-heights-drivers-ticketed-up-88-percent-more-this-year-police-say

mike dunlap · May 2014

It's about time cars have had their comeuppance.

Total agreement with your post (obviously); the only thing I would change there is "cars" to "car drivers." The numerous cars that come ripping up Franklin Avenue all day, often in an especially dangerous side-by-side competition, are not piloting themselves. They are being wielded by people with a complete, neighborhood-menacing disregard for anything but themselves.

(I realize you know all this; just using the opportunity to make a point about the importance of language in this discussion. This too is an area where things are improving as media outlets and government officials are starting to be much more thoughtful about the wording of this stuff. "Accident" being used in the cases of wreckless car drivers smashing into people and property is another error being reconsidered.)

Anyway, thanks for the post and encouraging anecdotes about cops pursuing law-breaking drivers (which driving a car makes 100% of us at some point). More evidence that Bill Bratton is serious about aggressively pursuing traffic violence; something Ray Kelly was completely disinterested in attacking.

booklaw · May 2014

The most reckless drivers in this city are driving cop cars. They completely disregard traffic lights, stop signs, and all rules that they enforce against other drivers... Whether their sirens and flashers are on or whether it's lunchtime and they are going for pizza.

chrismcnally1111 · May 2014

Vision Zero is about ending all traffic fatalities, not just pedestrians and cyclists. Car passengers and drivers are killed in motor vehicle collisions. A nine year old passenger was killed this weekend.

In order to control our streets we need to power to make our own laws. This is not a power grab, it's sensible that the city of millions with a density unlike any other in the state needs a different set of standards for traffic behavior. I am in favor of automated enforcement, such as speed cameras and red light cameras, though I think street redesign will be the most effective.

Vision Zero is also a change in mindset for all users of the road, that we have to take care of each other. Instead of cyclists vs pedestrians and car vs cyclists, we have to realize we all have responsibility when using the streets for our own safety and the safety of our fellow citizens.

Vision Zero is about making streets more forgiving. Everyone makes mistakes, pedestrians, drivers, everyone. Those mistakes should not have be fatal. We've had a mindset that auto crashes are "accidents". They are not. When you build wider streets for high speed, people with powerful engines will speed. An engine is designed for power. But our neighborhood streets are not an autobahn, it's the streets we live and walk on, so it's time to change the design of our streets for life at people speed, not machine speed.

whynot_31 · May 2014

Bike's gather at St. John The Divine on May 3rd, for the annual Blessing of the Bicycles:

whynot_31 · May 2014

Meanwhile, in areas that are less well served by public transportation, a hearing on Vision Zero results in a conversation that generates 403 posts:

http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2014/04/a-vision-zero-town-hall-meeting/

whynot_31 · May 2014

As of today, city residents now have easier access to city collision data.

Data:
https://data.cityofnewyork.us/widgets/h9gi-nx95

Article about said data:
http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/05/07/nypd-crash-and-fatality-data-now-easier-to-use-and-updated-daily/#more-325007

There are lots of ways to use and misuse this data.

whynot_31 · May 2014

Meanwhile, there were several fatalities this weekend on NYC roads:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140512/ozone-park/cyclist-killed-hit-and-run-with-mercedes-van-police-say

whynot_31 · May 2014

The battle over space (and aesthetics) takes shape on the UWS:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140514/upper-west-side/neighbors-rip-proposed-uws-street-safety-features-as-ugly

whynot_31 · May 2014

Fun with bike data:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikestats.shtml

whynot_31 · May 2014

Fun with ticketing (aka fishing in a barrel)

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140520/civic-center/nypd-begins-two-day-crackdown-on-speeding

pragmaticguy · May 2014

The speeding crackdown seems to be everywhere. Driving out on Long Island there were more cops on the highway with cars pulled over than I ever saw. Had one client get an eight point violation for doing 80 in a 55 (dumb shit) on the LIE. Oh well, back to using the radar detector.

whynot_31 · May 2014

Police often step up speeding and DWI enforcement during the summer, and on holiday weekends.

In NYC, I not only perceive a lot of more cars stopped for moving violations, but also a lot more parking tickets being issued. The agents also seem to be using the "boot" and tow trucks to get the point across.

pragmaticguy · May 2014

Atlantic Ave. in the 75th pct. must give out more tickets than any other in the city. There's usually three or four cars just waiting to pull someone over when I'm traveling there about 9:30am. It's like a mobile stop and frisk.

mike dunlap · May 2014

It's like a mobile stop and frisk.

The difference being that people in this case are actually known to be wielding deadly instruments while demonstrably breaking the law. Stop and frisk is just guessing.

whynot_31 · May 2014

More of her is needed:

whynot_31 · May 2014

My favorite part is the guy riding his bike on the sidewalk while the car drivers get a lecture on the law and politeness:

mike dunlap · May 2014

My favorite part is the guy riding his bike on the sidewalk while the car drivers get a lecture on the law and politeness

Yeah, car drivers and cyclists both constantly break the laws, and both groups have many jerks among them. The big difference though is that only one group kills or cripples thousands of New Yorkers every year. Not that that really matters, of course.

whynot_31 · May 2014

I think safety plays a secondary, but important, part of this campaign.

whynot_31 · May 2014

In case you were wondering whether a majority of the City Council is behind Vision Zero:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/city-council-passes-bills-that-aid-mayors-quest-to-end-traffic-deaths.html?referrer=

whynot_31 · June 2014

whynot_31 · June 2014

Albany will soon decide whether to give NYC the ability to lower the speed limit to 25 mph

Passage is less than certain.

whynot_31 · June 2014

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/bill-city-set-25-mph-speed-limit-article-1.1833876

pragmaticguy · June 2014

DiBlasio has seemed to start an end run around Albany by making many streets "slow zones". He has done this on much of Atlantic and I noticed it on E.P. this morning too.

mike dunlap · June 2014

Albany will soon decide whether to give NYC the ability to lower the speed limit to 25 mph

Passage is less than certain.

Now certain:

https://twitter.com/StreetsblogNYC/status/479844119057932288

whynot_31 · June 2014

Coming on the heals of LICH and the charter school defeats, this is a much needed win for DeBlasio.

pragmaticguy · June 2014

He may need the win but I don't know if drivers are going to be thrilled with this because even though on many streets due to traffic the speed doesn't get much above 25 it makes it sound like things will get even slower. This whole initiative could be much ado about nothing and just leave a bad taste in many peoples' mouths.

whynot_31 · June 2014

He will need to show fewer deaths, accidents and/or more revenue to overcome such feelings.

Or, play with statistics, to present same.

pragmaticguy · June 2014

He better stick with showing fewer deaths. I don't think that the revenue increase due to speed cameras and such will prove to be a major point of success except to people like Mike Dunlap who appear to hate motorized vehicles.

nothinlikeabklyngirl · June 2014

He better stick with showing fewer deaths. I don't think that the revenue increase due to speed cameras and such will prove to be a major point of success except to people like Mike Dunlap who appear to hate motorized vehicles.

I'm nominating this for comment of the day.

mike dunlap · June 2014

He better stick with showing fewer deaths. I don't think that the revenue increase due to speed cameras and such will prove to be a major point of success except to people like Mike Dunlap who appear to hate motorized vehicles.

1) I don't think anyone supporting the cameras cares about the revenue increase.

2) Not that I'd care if I were, but I'm certainly not alone in hating cars. And the realization of how much death and destruction they cause is clearly growing, thus VisionZero being something more and more politicians are supporting. Cars kill or cripple millions of people every year. I hate war, cancer, and the like for the same reason. I know... crazy. Oh well.

ehgee · June 2014

I don't hate cars. But I do hate there being excessive numbers of cars driving at excessive speeds in the city, and the car-driving minority's demands that the vast majority of roadway space be reserved for their usage .

Those are very different things. Cars are useful and fun— they're just not usually the right tool for urban transportation.

whynot_31 · June 2014

Public transportation was recently described well by The Onion.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/anthropologists-classify-43-new-species-of-weirdo,36332/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:1:Default

newguy88 · June 2014

We really need speed cameras. Has anyone noticed the speed limit sign that displays the speed cars are actually going at Eastern a little past Washington? It's great to see all the cars ignoring the speed limit and going between 30-40. If only we had a body who had the legal authority to stop and issue monetary punishments to those exceeding the legal limit.

booklaw · June 2014

I've been driving in this city since 1968. It didn't take very long to discover that the only way I could get pulled over by a cop in NYC was to honk my horn at one (which I actually, stupidly, did back in my student days because two cop cars were sitting in traffic jawing with one another, completely preventing anyone else from proceeding down 113th Street).

So, sadly, until serious, continuous enforcement (whether by radio cars, motorcycle cops or speed & red light cameras) becomes a fact of life in NY, speed limit signs and traffic lights are likely to have little impact on driver behavior.

whynot_31 · June 2014

I have not owned a car since moving to NYC in 2003, but I rent cars regularly to escape the city on weekends.

The only ticket I have ever received was coming off the Throggs Neck Bridge in Queens. There is something like a 45 mph limit on the Clearview Expressway, and the layout makes it very easy for the police to hide and to pull cars over.

It is much harder for the police to hide on local streets, and -until recently- traffic enforcement was not rewarded by the chain of command.

whynot_31 · June 2014

DeBlasio celebrates his much needed win:

http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/301-14/mayor-de-blasio-signs-package-life-saving-traffic-safety-bills/#/0

pragmaticguy · June 2014

Maybe a win for him but let's see how the general population feels. Slower speeds might embolden people to jaywalk more as they feel they can make it across the street.

newguy88 · June 2014

The Patrol Borough vehicle was parked off of Nostrand and Eastern had a Vision Zero banner draped across the back. Anyone else reminded of the under new management banners fixed to the front of a failing restaurant?

homeowner · June 2014

I saw a guy step off of the corner on the east side of EP at this intersection and stand in what is now the merging right lane, to pick up some change he had spotted in the street. He seemed oblivious to the fact that 1) it was rush hour on EP; 2) cars still use the lane to merge once they have crossed the intersection, and 3) that he could be hit from behind as he was bent over with his butt in the air.

All of these changes simply embolden stupidity as folks compete to become a Darwin Award finalist.

whynot_31 · June 2014

I think part of the problem stems from people (drivers, peds, bikes, etc) taking progressively more risks, because similar risks haven't resulted in injury before.

Even if they don't increase their risk taking behavior, the law of averages eventually catches up with a lot people.

homeowner · July 2014

In my view, pedestrian and bicycle deaths could actually increase over the length of this campaign, yet the organizers could declare it a success.

....after all, the goal is to show concern for the deaths [this earns one votes] and get control over traffic rules from Albany [this gives one power].

The goal is also to decrease traffic violence. Car drivers collectively kill more people than gunmen in this city.

Just thought I'd come here and share this. Interested to see if there is going to be any sort of public campaign to decrease these deaths...

A shocking study by the Health Department reveals that 200 kids age 15 through 17 died from gunfire — more than any other cause of injury between 2002 and 2011.

Sixty-three others died from stabbings.

Bullets proved far more deadly than cars. Eighty teens died as a result of car accidents, the second-leading cause of death.

Thirty-five died from suicide by hanging and 33 from accidental falls.

More than 53 percent of the teen deaths were classified as homicides. Two-thirds of those victims were black.

The study’s findings come amid a spike in shootings in the Big Apple this year — as well as new constraints on street stops by cops looking for weapons.

Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights in Brooklyn was the most deadly area for teens, with 31 gun-related deaths.

http://nypost.com/2014/07/07/200-city-teens-killed-by-guns-during-10-year-period-study/

whynot_31 · July 2014

Homeowner-
As you are aware, a large scale campaign to decrease those deaths will be mounted when it is perceived as bringing the campaigners power.

So, um, don't hold your breath.

We may want to invent a metro card for local youth we care about: It would only allow them to travel to parties that happen west of Vanderbilt Ave, and would force the hosts to overlook any differences they may have and let them in.

whynot_31 · July 2014

The red light cameras seem to have a good ROI

Prepared by Bernard O’Brien
New York City Independent Budget Office

"Preliminary data for fiscal year 2014 indicate the city received about $41 million in revenue from camera-generated red-light, bus-lane, and now speeding summonses, as well as $14 million in ticket revenue from traffic violations written up by police officers. The proportion of revenue generated by cameras rose from 38 percent in 1999 to 75 percent in 2014.

The budget for this fiscal year, 2015, assumes that revenues from these sources will total about $62 million.

The jump (from about $2 million to $8 million) in anticipated revenue from camera-generated speeding summonses is attributable to Albany’s recent approval of an increase of 120 in the number of speed cameras to be installed in school zones across the city. Twenty speed cameras have been in use in the city since January 2014 as part of a pilot program approved last year by the state.

The jump from $24 million in 2007 to $45 milion in 2008 in revenue from red light camera summones followed a state-authorized increase in the number of cameras installed throughout the city.

Revenue from red-light camera summonses also spiked in 2011 to $71 million as a result of a ruling that unpaid red light summonses (in addition to unpaid parking tickets) would count towards the $350 threshold for having your car towed for unpaid tickets. Many motorists were required to pay delinquent red light camera fines that year in order to reclaim their vehicles from the tow pound."

Click for snazzy graph:
http://ibo.nyc.ny.us/cgi-park2/?p=793

morralkan · July 2014

So maybe THAT'S the real reason for reducing the speed limit to 25MPH. Think how much more money could be generated by reducing it to 15MPH !

pragmaticguy · July 2014

Of course it's the real reason. That's why it's being done all over the country. Hell, soon bicyclists that ride faster than 25 will be ticketed.

newguy88 · July 2014

Actually red light cameras have a solid history of reducing accidents, injuries and deaths. But yes they do increase the amount of fines. But you know you break the law you face consequences so your really don't have a case to complain.

whynot_31 · July 2014

Demonstrating the ROI in terms of safer streets is beyond the scope of the NYC Independent Budget Office.

newguy88 · July 2014

True but to ignore that return just gives way to emotional knee jerk reactions of "all they want is moneys!"

whynot_31 · July 2014

For some it may.

Others know that it is difficult to measure those who are alive, but would otherwise not be.

whynot_31 · July 2014

As a result of calming traffic in Park Slope, the CO of the 78th now gets to oversee the part of the NYPD that has historically done the most work on moving violations: The highway patrol.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/78th-precinct-top-transfers-head-nypd-highway-patrol-article-1.1869410?utm_content=bufferb1c97&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

pragmaticguy · July 2014

I never said I was against red light cameras. Hell, I even got a ticket from one once but I knew I was wrong and I had no qualms about paying it. I just mentioned that they generate lots of money. Not only for the entities using them but for the companies that maintain them who usually end up with nearly 50% of the revenue.

whynot_31 · July 2014

Because they don't take points off an driver's lic, red light cameras extract something akin to a sin tax.

Like taxes on alcohol and tobacco, they are imposed under the guise of discouraging consumption. However, they seem to merely tax a population that doesn't seem to mind paying for a rude, unhealthy habit.

pragmaticguy · July 2014

Is drinking alcohol rude? If so, then the bar owners in the area must be major contributors.

whynot_31 · July 2014

I regard running a red light as being rude and unhealthy.

....because I enjoy alcohol, I regard it as a vitamin.

Note: Not all vitamins are necessary, but all must be consumed in moderation.

whynot_31 · August 2014

6 Months into Vision Zero: The 77th Pct is cited as being the best (most assertive) in Brooklyn North.

http://transalt.org/files/news/reports/2014/Report-Card-Six_Months_of_Vision_Zero_Traffic_Enforcement.pdf?v=2

Page 5.

pragmaticguy · August 2014

I'm not saying these stats aren't a good thing as far as safety is concerned but I guarantee Mayor Billy is licking his chops at the money this is bringing in.

whynot_31 · August 2014

Given how much money he is spending on the various municipal union contracts, he is going to need all the money he can get.

The projected "health cost savings" are going to be very hard to achieve....

pragmaticguy · August 2014

Of course, because the workers don't want to pay for their own health insurance. Unlike me, who shells out $1350 a month for the wife and myself.

whynot_31 · August 2014

I must admit that even if part of the motivation is raising money thru tickets, I am ok with Vision Zero so far.

....I am impressed that the police have complied with their new orders.

whynot_31 · August 2014

I'm not sure if anyone on this board remembers TIME'S UP - Critical Mass. It was basically a pro-biking organization that engaged in civil disobedience:

http://times-up.org/rides/critical-mass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time's_Up!

The group is still around, but as their cause has made progress (bike lanes, citibike, etc), they have lost many of their members. The police also hate them, and effectively now make it very difficult for them to clog and block busy streets.

A far milder group (Ghost Bikes) has now taken the limelight. Unlike Time's Up, they pursue their cause (memorializing dead bikers) in a way that is designed not to annoy lots of people: http://ghostbikes.org/

Now we have a group that wants to memorialize pedestrian deaths though the rapid application of spray paint:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/05/arts/design/memorializing-traffic-deaths-with-an-artists-touch.html?_r=0

mugofmead111 · August 2014

There's a ghost bike near me by the Firestone on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Empire Boulevard. I remember that story.

It'd be nice to see pedestrian deaths memorialized through spray paint...in addition to makeshift memorials of candles, flowers, and teddy bears.

mike dunlap · August 2014

NYT article on Broadway (Manhattan) speed limit being lowered from 30 to 25 mph:

A few blocks
south, at 73rd Street and Broadway, where delivery trucks were idling in an
unbroken chain, Anthony Henry, a driver for Fresh Direct who drives this
stretch six days a week, said he thought that the new speed limit would help
get cabdrivers under control.
“Yellow cabs come through here speeding all the time,” he
said. “They aren’t giving old ladies enough time to cross the street — they’re
always trying to make the old ladies run,” he said.

I don't think lowering speed limits does much; true results come from street redesigns... but symbolic moves in the right direction are better than nothing.

pragmaticguy · August 2014

The average speed in Manhattan is about 6 mph according to the last study that was done so I don't think the slower limit will help much except on the avenue streets. Crosstown it's not going to change a thing. And as for the truck driver complaining about the cabs....well that the pot calling the kettle black because as we all know, everyone tries to make as much time up as they can. If they didn't there would be no jaywalkers either.

whynot_31 · August 2014

Wondering what Vision Zero entails at the agency level?

It isn't a secret

http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pages/home/actions.html

morralkan · August 2014

If deBlasio were truly serious about Vision Zero, he would act to make it illegal for pedestrians and cyclists to wear earphones and text/phone while crossing a street. Of course there are bad drivers, but there are also a hell of a lot bad cyclists and pedestrians.

I didn't realize that the average crosstown Manhattan speed is 6MPH, pragmatic. Maybe the limit should be lowered to 4 or 5 MPH to further ensure pedestrian and biker safety. LOL

mugofmead111 · August 2014

The law already restricts cyclist to wearing one earbud at a time.

If one is going to ban pedestrians from texting while crossing the street, one might as well ban pedestrians from texting while they are walking on the sidewalk!

I can see average crosstown Manhattan speed being 6 mph. I drove into Manhattan yesterday. It;s bad. I wonder whether there there should be a separate lights for pedestrian crossing and vehicle movement.

whynot_31 · August 2014

As the city becomes more populous and wealthy, I think traffic will get worse.

Wealth = huge amounts of commerce and movement of people

Vision Zero will leave the popular lexicon in a few years, and it should be interesting to see if it is deemed a success despite these factors.

Will people declare that, although it may not have reduced traffic or injuries and deaths, there would have been more of them without Vision Zero?

southeast · August 2014

How does NYC compare to Los Angeles as far as traffic injuries/deaths go? LA is a big city that has limited public transportation options. It is worth noting that pedestrians are much better behaved in LA, and jaywalking is actually enforced (at least more than we are familiar with here in NYC).

homeowner · August 2014

I don't think the city is going to get weathier. I think that a small portion of the city is going to be stupidly wealthy and everyone else is just going to be trapped here, biking and walking because they can't even afford to ride on the bedbug infested subways. Vision Zero is preparing us for this future.

whynot_31 · August 2014

Subway ridership has certainly soared over the past few years. Annual total rides increased by about 150M between 2007 and 2013.

http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/index.htm

Yup, some of those riders are going to have bed bugs on them.

pragmaticguy · August 2014

Just for information....one out of every 25 people (or 4%) in NYC is a millionaire so how much more wealthy can the city get? It's a paradox to the statistic that states that NYC is the unhappiest city in the U.S.

whynot_31 · August 2014

Only if you don't think many people are happiest when they are complaining.

pragmaticguy · August 2014

Are they complaining or bragging??

whynot_31 · August 2014

I think that depends on the individual.

morralkan · August 2014

How many cyclists have you seen wearing only ONE earbud, Mead?

mugofmead111 · August 2014

How many cyclists have you seen wearing only ONE earbud, Mead?

I can't say I've seen any. Honestly I don't pay much attention to cyclists at all. Those whom I do notice aren't wearing any.

morralkan · August 2014

You need to be more aware of your surroundings.

mike dunlap · August 2014

How many cyclists have you seen wearing only ONE earbud, Mead?

Well over half of those that wear them whenever I notice. I don't obsessively monitor cyclists for such things though given I've never seen one hurt or damage anyone or anything.

morralkan · August 2014

When cyclists are biking distractedly through intersections while grooving to their "music" or talking on their cell phones, they may not crash into anyone, but they can and do cause traffic accidents.

I know that you hate all cars and think that bikers cycle on water.

mugofmead111 · September 2014

Rats. I wish the Vision Zero map were open to accept more comments. I could add a few more comments about a nearby intersection or two. (Crossing Empire Boulevard in the morning sucks!)

newguy88 · September 2014

I saw a NYPD police van pulling along double parked cars this evening threatening to give tickets if they didn't move. Hopefully the 77th is beginning to take double parking seriously! They could easily issue a ton of citations if they focused on Dean and Bergen.

pragmaticguy · September 2014

They gave a client of mine a double parking ticket outside my office on St. Johns and Troy. I think he was inside for about three minutes but as soon as the cop got out of the car he started writing and by that time it was too late

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